Our 8 o’clock departure this morning was timed to allow us to be the first boat through the swing bridges and all the locks before Droitwich Spa Marina. It worked a treat but the hire boat next to us at Vines Park, aka Netherwich Basin, was not too pleased as they had to follow us all the way.
Our passage under the M5 bridge was uneventful. We didn’t touch the roof or the sides.
The Marina office was actually open when we arrived at 9:45 and so we were able to complete our pump out and be on our way again at 10am. In the intervening fifteen minutes three boats got ahead of us and there were several boats coming the other way so the passage through the next three locks, before the junction was slow. These were the first locks we have been through with side ponds, an interesting experience and one that reinforces the ingenuity of the Victorian engineers.
The scenery changed for the better after the junction. There were no other boats in sight and pleasant countryside on both sides of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal.
We found an excellent countryside mooring just below lock 17, the bottom lock of the Astwood Flight.
The first task after stopping was to check the TV reception which turned out to be excellent.
We then walked to Hanbury Hall where we spent an enjoyable few hours looking around the house and gardens. The front of the house was not looking its best however as it was being scaffolded in preparation for a new paint job.
Hanbury Hall looks wonderful, we were moored next to the footpath off the footpath, it looks like they’ve recently cut back to grass. Good news on the TV signal