Staffs
& Worcs canal:(Adjacent
canals can be viewed with
the above links)
From the River Severn, the navigation locks up into the Stourport basin
- the start of the Staffs & Worcester canal. Here within the
basin there is a mix of ‘seagoing’ river boats and the more familiar
narrowboats. I find the basin intriguing, with it's mixtures of boats.
The basin is pretty well unique - a true inland port in years gone by.
Stourport itself surrounds the basin and waterway junction, to which it
owes its existence - the town itself is well worth a visit.
Locking up
again from the basin we enter the canal, proper. Almost immediately the
canal hides away from it’s built-up surroundings. North from
Kidderminster, now undergoing major canal side rejuvenation, we soon
join Kinver Edge. This is a sandstone escarpment the line of which we
follow for a good number of miles. It is a feature that makes this
stretch of canal most attractive. Perhaps the canal is best
described just with some extra photos...
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| Two
shots of the Basin at Stourport on Severn, where the
Staffs & Worcs starts. Stourport was a purpose built
inland port, linking the navigable River Severn to the canal system. |
Caldwell
lock, set in the local sandstone ridge feature, just south of
Kidderminster lock, set in the local sandstone ridge feature,
just south of Kidderminster. |
2 to 3
miles north of Kidderminster's centre and we have
entered one of the prettiest stretches of canal in the UK. |
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| Debdale
lock - another one set into the local sandstone escarpment. The
early engineers included a stable/cave, dug out of the sandstone cliff,
to give the boat horses/mules a place for overnight food and shelter.
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This
rather poor quality photo doesn't do Whittington lock justice - totally
charming when seen in real life. |
Whittington
Horse Bridge - wide enough for horse and carriage, but not for modern
cars. |
The canal
winds around the bottom (cliff) edge of the scarp slope of the
sandstone Kinver Edge escarpment. |
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| The
scene above Hyde lock near Kinver.
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The
diminutive Dunsley Tunnel - smallest canal tunnel in the UK. |
Toll
House at Stewponey Lock. |
The cave
'boat house' at 'Devil's Den' - In recent years some BW twit thought it
dangerous so ordered it 'boarded up' - without the land owners
permission - (H&S gone mad). |
The Staffs & Worcs is
one of the earliest made canals forming an important link between the
River Severn in the west to the River Trent in the east (via the
T&M canal). Today it’s lock infrastructure is charming. The
canal is never far from the Birmingham conurbation to it’s east - but
you wouldn’t know it with canal scenery as pretty as anywhere in the
country. Passing Kinver we arrive at Stourton where the Stourbridge
canal heads off for Stourbridge and Birmingham’s BCN. Staying on the
Staffs and Worcs we continue to hug the ‘Edge’ heading NE. At the
Bratch we have an unusual, but interesting flight of locks with ‘side
ponds’. The intervening pounds are only a few feet long.
We boaters tend to think of the Staffs & Worcs canal as being
two canals in one - the southern and the northern Staffs &
Worcs.
To look at the
infrastructure of the their respective locks and
bridges you could be forgiven for thinking that they are different
canals. So firstly here's some photos of the southern, quieter, end of
the canal (from Stourport heading NE towards Autherley Junction).
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| Botterham
Staircase locks.
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Climbing
the unique Bratch locks - not a 'staircase' but a flight with unusual
offset side ponds. |
The
unusual Bratch flight with side ponds, need the 'paddles' to
be opened in the correct order - lock keeper gets a good view of
proceedings from his tower office. |
Attractive
road bridge at Awbridge lock. |
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| Dimmingsdale
Lock.
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Aldersley
Junction, with the first of the "Wolverhampton 21" locks, considering
proximity to Wolverhampton, a pretty location. |
Another
Aldersley view - peaceful now, almost 'park like'. |
We pass
Autherley junction continuing NE towards the Trent & Mersey -
but here looking NW up the 'Shroppie'. |
We skirt the Birmingham and
Wolverhampton area, almost without realising their presence. Here the
much more recently built Shropshire Union canal heads off north at
Autherley Junction, but we carry on NE. Now on the northern section of
the Staffs & Worcs the infrastructure of the canal appears to
be the work of different engineers. We pass thru a very narrow
sandstone cutting at Coven, cross heath land in the Gailey area then on
to join the Penk Valley passing Penkridge heading NE for the
T&M.
We pass south of Stafford then join the Sow Valley on our way to
Gt.Haywood.
One of my favourite stretches, with it’s flood plain water meadows -
attractive. We skirt the northern end of Cannock Chase reaching Tixall
Wide. When the canal engineers were building the canal, permission to
cross the land there was withheld - unless the canal company built the
canal to pass thru a made ornamental lake. The land owner wanted to
have a pretty outlook - hence Tixall Wide. But the landowner must have
had a grandiose lifestyle - just look at the photo of his 'gatehouse'.
Through the Wide, passing Shugborough Estate to the South, we reach
Gt.Haywood junction and the
Trent & Mersey canal.
A
favourite area for narrowboaters and a
real boating town/village. So here's more photos, this time of the
northern section of the Staffs Worcs....
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| Narrow
sandstone cutting, 'with passing places', known by the old
boatmen as "Pendeford Rockin" .
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Looking
south to Gailey lock and it's distinctive 'roundhouse'. |
Waiting
in a short queue at Otherton lock. |
Filance
lock at Penkridge. |
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| The
canal near Penkridge, here looking north.
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Park
Gate lock, with attractive stoneware infrastructure, typical
of the Staffs & Worcs canal. |
Remote
Deptmore lock - the original lock keepers house has no road access. The
lady who lived there until spring 2009 had her routine provisions
delivered by boat (which she dubbed 'James'). |
Spring
time view of the canal, where it skirts the southern edge of Stafford. |
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| Lodgefield
Bridge.
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Milford
'turnover' bridge, allows the towing horse to cross over the canal
(where the towpath changes side), without having to disconnect the
towing rope. |
Little
Tixall lock raises the level approx 4ft up from the level of 'Tixall
Wide'. |
Still
wide, the canal narrows a bit coming out of the lake
at 'Tixall Wide'. |
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| The
'Gatehouse' overlooking Tixall Wide - this was literally just an
ostentatious garden gate - with the actual mansion house some distance
to the rear.
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Tixall
Wide is boat depth right the way across, enabling us to get near enough
to photo this nesting Grebe. |
Swivel
Bridge near to Great HaywoodSwivel Bridge near to Great Haywood. |
Bridge 109
- the last on the Staffs & Worcs at Haywood Junction. |
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