Quiz answers illustrated.

Alf wrote to complain that I hadn’t given the answers to my picture quiz. Sorry Alf, all you needed to do was to look at Adam’s answers at the top of the comments because he got them all right, but for you and any others who didn’t have a clue as to how you would know the answers, here is a bit of an explanation for each.

1.

 

The funfair gives the game away.The lock is at Stourport where the canal basin exits to the River Severn. Hence the signpost points down river to Worcester and up the canal to Wolverhampton. So the answer is W.

Here’s a nice picture of my shoulder and the signpost as we exit on to the mighty Severn

2.

is also at Stourport.  The basin has both narrow and wide lock exits to the river, even though wide boats cannot  out of the basin and up onto the canal proper because that has only narrow locks.

3.

Is the chain ferry at Hampton on the edge of Evesham (where I went to school). My Mum and Dad are buried not far away on the other bank of the river Avon.

4.

This unusual French manufactured paddle gear is used on the locks on the upper Avon navigation.  I haven’t seen them anywhere else. Actually despite my earlier grumbles about the locks, the paddle gears are actually quite good and light to use.  Most of these locks were built by working parties from local prisons and the like and according to the notices at some of the locks, they were built in incredibly short times, like a couple of weeks.

Quite an achievement. A pity the design makes them such a swine to use!

5.

Is on the little 100 yard Lapworth link which allows you to hop across from  the Grand Union to the Stratford canal.  If you go under the little bridge, you head down to Stratford and if you go right, through the lock you can see, you go towards Kings Norton and Birmingham. So the signpost says Stratford and Kings Norton.  ust out of the frame on the right is the lovely little grassy area with picnic benches where we lazed away a sunny afternoon after a heavy morning’s locking.

6.

We look through the bridge to see the stop lock at the southern end of the Shropshire Union canal at Autherley junction where it meets the Staffs and Worcester. More or less Wolverhampton really although you wouldn’t know it from the canal which is very attractive thereabouts.

7.

The blue paddle posts give it away. They are painted that way so you can follow the correct sequence of paddle opening at the unique Bratch locks where the locks are so close that there is much less than a boat’s length between them.  Here we go out of one lock and into the next.

I don’t know of anywhere else where they use blue paint in that way.

8.

 

A hard one, and one that some got wrong. Just through the bridge is Norton junction where the Leicester Arm leaves the Grand Union main line.  It’s a place we know well as we often pass through on our return to Crick.  I’m not surprised Adam knew it because its just a few yards past a place he (and we) like to moor for the night.  There is a lovely view out across rolling farmland to the left of the picture., and a super cottage just through the bridge on the left.

9.

Is Tewkesbury.The lock entrance you can see on the right is where you leave the Avon to go down to the Severn.

10.

I’m pretty sure this is a White Park. What a handsome beast.  We spotted them an the bank of the Avon somewhere between Tewkesbury and Eckington.

The black ears. nose and feet and the horns and the general build are all indicative. Not long ago this was an endangered breed, but rare breed farmers have pulled them back to reasonable numbers.  They are supposed to be easy calvers and give lean beef.

Well there you are Alf and others.  Now you know.  Hope you enjoyed it and a happy new year to all Herbie readers.