A peaceful mooring, mostly

Our mooring last night was one of the best. It's one of the few we've used in the past years that has no road noise at all, not even in the distance. It used to be that there were quite a few such on the rural canals, but the steady expansion of the motorway network has reduced their numbers considerably.

So the main source of row outside the boat (apart from bicycles hurtling by) was the birds. There was one, in particular, whose startling call was familiar but caused us both to have the equivalent of a tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon for it. In the end, Sheila cracked it. It was a green woodpecker earning its alternate name of yaffle. The sound really is quite unmistakable, the closest we have in the UK to a laughing jackass, but more urgent. There's a good example of it here.

With only a couple of hours run contemplated today, we made a leisurely start and got away just after 8.15. I walked to Gothersley lock and worked us up, then on to Rocky similarly. Both were empty, so it didn't take long, though they are deep locks. I then rode a little way before hopping off again at Flatheridge Bridge and walking on to Greensforge. This was our last chance for water for a bit, so we stopped on the service point and filled the tank. Good pressure here, so the answer is to use either Greensforge or Kinver and avoid Stewponey.

At Hinksford Lock, Sheila wanted some exercise, so I took over steering for the last stretch to the visitor moorings at Swindon whilst she walked. There were a few boats tied just before the 48 hour moorings, but we are the only one using the restricted section.

After lunch, we took a short walk up into the village, bought a loaf of bread and checked out the chippy. We're planning to have some of the doubly recommended fish and chips tonight, yum.

Tomorrow, it's Sheila's turn to do the work as we put in a solid day up Swindon, Marsh, Botterham Staircase, Bumble Hole and the Bratch. We plan to stay a couple of days there – it's a good spot for blacking the gunwale as the towpath is comparatively low.

Heading back and a disappointment

We had a quiet night on the mooring at Stourbridge. It's right by a park and near a school but the hard surfaced towpath is well used by the locals for walking, dog walking and cycling and there was no feeling of exposure. By evening, another three boats had arrived and tied up.

We got away on good time this morning, Sheila steering and myself doing look out. It was a good run back to Wordsley Junction where Sheila made much better job of the turn into the bridge hole. As she commented, the turn the other way, into the bottom lock of the Stourbridge flight, would be much trickier.

Sadly, it wasn't anything like as fine weather today, indeed, it was a case of fleece and gloves for both steerer and lockwheeler. On we plodded back to the top of the Stourton locks. Three of these were empty and the third one down was full, just as they were yesterday. Another boater we spoke to then said they had been like that the day before too, so there's obviously something about the way the gates leak that does that.

We turned right and headed back up the Staffs and Worcs. We're going to vary our stopping places going back, just to make a bit of variety, so today we've stopped short of Gothersley lock on the moorings by the remains of the old roundhouse. A pleasant surprise was that there are reasonable phone signals here, a change from the usual situation at a middle-of-nowhere mooring.

Unfortunately, one of the emails which arrived told us that our planned boating partners for the trip into Liverpool in June have had a domestic disaster and will not after all be able to join us. No one killed or injured or anything like that, but they will need to concentrate on sorting stuff out at home during the summer. It's a great pity, we were really looking forward to their company.

Ho hum, that's the way it goes, I guess, but it's a real shame.

Tomorrow, we'll head on up the locks through Greensforge to Swindon. We had thought of eating in the nice pub there tomorrow night, but maybe not on a Saturday...