Rock dwellings

rock face studded with post holes

Wolverley's picturesque pub

As promised after breakfast the Captain took us up the hill to the church. It was the one we remembered.


We looked inside, wandered around the church yard and studied rectangular caves - the remains of rock dwellings. The rock was also scarred with square post holes where houses had used the rockface as their back wall. 

old cottages climbing the hill

Afterwards we headed into the village. It was pretty with white cottages tumbling down the steep lanes, a hidden piece of rural England.

After refreshments the Captain cast off and we cruised into Kidderminster. We met loads of boats including a fleet of boat shaped cruisers from a cruising club that were travelling together.

Cyclists whizzing by Kidderminster lock

We had a near collision going through the tall arch of a railway viaduct with a boat that swung towards us as if we were invisible. Too late we realised that the other skipper was watching a steam train crossing the viaduct. 

The Captain was disappointed not to have caught the train on camera but he had been too busy reversing.

“What are the chances of seeing that on our way out,” I asked, wondering if the steam train made several trips each day.

“Nil,” he replied.

old industrial buildings

We stopped for lunch just outside Stourport in case we couldn’t moor in the basin. We couldn’t! There were only two visitor moorings there and they were taken.

leaving Kidderminster

mooring for supermarkets

Stoically the Captain stopped at the water point. While I filled our tank he visited the nearby chandlery and took photos of the basin.

During this time a hire boat company released its three boats with new-to-canal crews. By the time the Captain cast off for our return journey we had to queue behind the last of the three hire boats and a young single handed privateer who had a boat full of passengers.

A rock sided lock

The privateer did everything at the lock while five of his six passengers sat in the boat. The sixth had to be told how to attach the windlass to the paddle gear so the privateer did everything himself.

The young helper told me they were just visiting his uncle and that they had never been on a canal before. While we were locking up they all said goodbye and he set off ahead of us just as we left the lock.

Rather than stop at the Stourport mooring and walk a long way to the shops the Captain decided to return to Kidderminster and shop at one of its canal-side supermarkets.

Stourport basin

We helped the single handed privateer at each lock by closing up for him. We were rewarded by the sight of that steam train crossing the viaduct as we rounded the corner. In spite of its age the beast moved swiftly, the Captain only just snapped it as the engine chugged behind a belt of trees. how amazing to see it twice.

We follow a boat to the lock queue

After shopping we cruised out of Kidderminster even though it was 6.40 as it was a lovely evening and lovely rural moorings were less than an hour away. We passed one hire boat moored before our last lock of the day. They told us it was their first time on a narrow boat and they were loving it!

We moored above the lock and cooked an easy meal- pizza!

Catch that train!