A delightful weekend in Droitwich

It's been a hectic couple of weeks aboard AREandARE, so blog posts are a little behind!

To make up for it there's some of Barry's amazing photos on this blog which is a rare treat - above is a scene from the journey to Droitwich.

Moorings were still plentiful when we arrived, with spaces along the towpath and in the basin all weekend.  It was a busy place though with so many BCF narrowboats around; a pleasant atmosphere with lots going on.

For us though, it was a great opportunity to discover more delights of Droitwich, and catch up with family.  We've visited the town many times in the past, but found places we never knew existed.

A short walk from Vines Park, we came across Droitwich Lido Park - a vast expanse of parkland and amenities that I'd not seen previously and a great find for all the great grandchildren to visit when they come to see their great grandparents!

Droitwich Lido's outdoor pool

There's lots of historical buildings in Droitwich too ...

The Visitors Information Centre and Salt Museum building

The Raven Hotel

Quaint canalside cottages

Still a few mooring spaces left - and a trio of accommodation here: boats, houses and a church

More charming cottages hidden away

Coincidentally my three sisters had planned the same weekend to stay at my parent's home to do a bit of decorating, so Barry and I went to assist - well Barry assisted and I took my parents out to Whitley Court.

My youngest sister Viv collects us from Droitwich for a day at my parents

Whitley Court - Magnificent

The spectacular Perseus and Andromeda Fountain

We managed to get my parents onto the boat for the first and probably only time which was very precious - here I am with my dad who wanted to come and live with us I think!

We had lunch at a pub we frequently go to, we've just forgotten the name of it!  This one below is just up the road - we remember this one, it's called 'The Cock Inn' - no comment ...

My dad is getting very old, but for 93 he's still amazing and loves a game of pool.  He's also still a very good player despite his failing eyesight and stability - it's wonderful to be here spending time with him.

Back in the basin and here's a photo of the mural showing the legendary 'Captain Kidd' which was unveiled on May 4th.  In June's Waterways World, there's a write-up of this which states the mural "...was inspired by the tale of Richard Coote, MP for Droitwich from 1688 to 1695. Coote was appointed governor of America's early colonies, and recruited Captain William Kidd and others to captain a privateer galley to stop piracy.  The plan backfired, and Kidd, of course, went on to become a pirate himself."

On Sunday Jenny met my three sisters - so we had two Teutenbergs and six Walshes sat around the table enjoying a Sunday Carvery - very special.

We finally left Drotwich on Monday morning, heading to Worcester.  The canal is definitely worth a visit, so well kept with reed beds either side ...

And at the second to last lock, we became the centre of attention for a mass of schoolchildren from Kings Hawford school who were taking part in a sponsored canal walk, and had great fun helping to open and close the lock gates - it was quite unnerving having so many young people so close to the paddles and gates, but they were all kept well controlled by the teachers so thankfully there were no mishaps!

The final lock skims past a very grand property, and then we were onto the River Severn once more (the last time was May 2009) and rushing to Worcester at a breathtaking six miles an hour with the flow!

Our first Tardebigge experience - how many locks?!

On Monday we left the England's second city behind, and idled along the greenery of Kings Norton and Bournville, and taking a short walk to the Guillotine stop lock on the Stratford Canal. Last winter, with the help of £200,00 from the 'People's Postcode Lottery' funds, this unique construction was restored and only opened on 30th April.  In the latest edition of Towpath talk they say "There is a worry that the structure will be once again spoilt with graffiti and damaged. Dean Davies reported that the trust is trying to educate local youths on the value and status of the monument."  Sadly their worries have come to fruition, with graffiti appearing on each side.

Guillotine Lock, aka Kings Norton Stop Lock - the only one of its kind and a Grade II* listed and Scheduled Ancient Monument

Continuing on to Alvechurch, we moored not far from where we hired a narrowboat called 'Wye' from 'Anglo Welsh' in April 2007, Barry's first foray onto the canals - which caught him hook, line and sinker!  

On that occasion we chose not to do the 'Tardebigge Locks', the longest flight in the country - luckily for us this time we had an extra pair of hands and managed 42 locks in one day! It was hard work but fun, and with rare bright blue skies and sunshine, I also got a bit sunburnt  - I even alternated with a bit of driving into the locks for the very first time on AREandARE with hardly a bump - very impressive I thought.

Jenny must have the idea now, and to make it even quicker we used the fold up bike to get from one lock to another and smooth the ride for the captain ...

Just to prove it, we have a few of Barry's shots - here I am gliding her in, gently and smoothly ...

Last night we moored not far from Hanbury, so Jenny could cycle to Hanbury Hall today - Barry and I chose to stay and catch up on some work-related things as we'd previously visited there (when we had our National Trust membership).

Tomorrow we'll be heading down the Droitwich Canal for the first time - though the timing isn't so good and we may not get a mooring in Droitwich.  We hadn't realised until yesterday the 'Churches together' group have chosen 8th and 9th of June to have a weekend of family fun and activities at Vines park.  A number of Boaters Christian Fellowship narrowboats have been passing us - so we're crossing our fingers and other appendages there's a 60 foot long space there somewhere for us ...

We made it back to the motherland for mother's day...

Well here we are once again in England - Barry made the flight to Auckland last Tuesday night, thank goodness.  

It’s been 16 months since we were here, so it’s fabulous to be seeing my family again.  So far we’ve stayed with my parents in Ombersley (no photos yet Dijon!), been to Brighton to stay with Kim and Joe, had a brief visit to my sister in Southampton and then back to Ombersley.  

A couple of hours in Kuala Lumpar airport - with a humid jungle walk in the background

Within a day or two of arriving, Barry had managed to visit the Droitwich Canal, where we had a walk around the basin – we’re looking forward to travelling on this newly opened (in 2011) waterway when we return in 2013 – Barry took a few photos on his camera, so we’ll upload those when we’re back in New Zealand as he doesn’t have his card reader or laptop here.

Barry caught up with a friend in Brighton for a few drinks on Saturday afternoon.  Well when I say a few I may be understating the facts!  He suggested they'd managed to drink about 8 pints of Guinness in the space of a few hours, he really is incorrigible …

Despite that over indulgence, he obediently found his way back to Kim's on time, in the early evening, and we went out with Kim and Joe and a friend of theirs, Joanne, to a night-club in Brighton called ‘Cassablanca’s’ – there was an excellent band on and the girls boogied to the beat while the boys talked boy things and drank beer (I'm so thankful I'm a girl, I think we have so much more fun!).

Joe and Barry, Sandra, Kim and Joanne off in a taxi for a big night out

On Wednesday we managed to squeeze in another canal fix for Barry, this time to Stourpourt as I craved some good old British fish 'n chips and curry sauce - yum!  We were just in time to assist a boat through the locks after lunch ...

Stourport locks heading onto the river Severn - and above the foot bridge where a boy fell off his bike and sadly died - now covered with ugly scaffolding

We’re now at Lisa’s and have met our grandson for the first time – hurrah!  At last!  He's the sweetest little boy you could ever wish to meet and adores his Grandad Kiwi - he's had many more cuddles than Grandma Kiwi who's maybe just so much more scary.  We're off again this evening to Lichfield for my sister Kath's partner's 55th birthday party and another live band to dance to, then tomorrow, I'm handing Barry over to Captain Ahab for a weekend of canal cleaning around Tipton and Oldbury, then a night on Wand'ring Bark - he will be in seventh heaven bless him.  

I'll be driving back to Malpas, in Cheshire, again to spend Mother's Day with Lisa - her first one ever so it'll be very special.