Coo look at that. Kath in 1991 with our sheltie Jaz. Those Teddesley hire boats were our favourites. Come to think of it they were quite like Herbie. Anyone who has been to that spot will easily remember which canal we were on. Yes, the Staffs and Worcester. We haven’t been back there in all that time, but we are about to.
Yes, it’s time for our summer cruise (at last! You wouldn’t believe how many times we have had to put it off). Here’s the route, starting from Crick.
What a cracker. The Severn and Avon bits are the only possible problem, because if it rains too much they are not safe places to be, so please keep your fingers crossed for decent weather. Should we have a wet month we may have to change course and find our way back via Wolverhampton and Brum. I see we are due some light rain later next week. Typical.
I wouldn’t try to overlay my sketch on a proper map if were you, its not to scale and not to shape either. 245 miles, 195 locks, 8 tunnels according to CanalPlan. 123 hrs they say. We won’t be rushing. What might take a keen crew in a hurry not much more than a fortnight, will take us five or six weeks, especially as we are having to pause for 5 days at Fazeley for family commitments. As usual our organisation has been uncertain and chaotic. Our poor friends hoping to join us for a ride are going to have to play it by ear as we don’t really have a clue which bit we will get to when.
I’m really looking forward to it because there will be some new bits for us. Fradley to Gt Heywood, and the rivers Severn and Avon. Rivers I know quite well but have never boated on. I spent most of my teenage years fishing in the Avon near Evesham.
I’m a bit worried about space on board. As we are going to be away from home for quite a while, Herbie will be bursting at the seams with half our worldly goods. Not just clothes and food but musical instruments, and hobby stuff. If you see a boat with a bed on the roof, that might be us!
Oh I forgot to say, we’re off tomorrow. Yippee.
5 comments:
We did exactly that route when Mintball was based at Braunston. I (and so CanalPlan) call it the "Round Birmingham Ring". It's a super trip: a real mixture of wide and broad, canal and river, old and new, restored and ... you get the picture.
Have a great time!
Great cruise - how long are you out for?
If you're on that route in July we might bump into you!
Sue, nb Indigo Dream
Have you done the Droitwich yet? If not, you could come off the Severn, do the Droitwich, do the Worcs and Brum to Worcester, and back on the river again. Admittedly it turns a journey of a coup,e of hours into a couple of days, but if we were worried about that sort of thing we wouldn't boat anywhere, would we?
Sounds like a good summer cruise. Let's hope it's good summer weather for you too. We're on the fens at the moment and don't want any rain either!
Karen
Have a great trip, Neil and Kath. I look forward to your posts from along the way.
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