Social distancing

Friday 17^th July; Whittington to nearly Stourport

What a fabulous mooring this is.  We woke to sun filtering through the trees on a beautiful morning but it would still have been lovely in the rain.  No rush today – we pottered off at about 9.30, round bends and past cliffs towards Cookley Tunnel, where the houses perch atop.  You do wonder how they do any maintenance on the backs of their houses, let alone put the washing out or care for the garden – perhaps they just don’t?  You’d need a head for heights anyway.

Cookley Tunnel

Luckily no-one was coming round the tight bend at the far end – we once met a 70-footer there, and it was interesting, to say the least.  On to the super-pretty Debdale lock.  This is the one with the cave in the rock face and the high footbridge across the canal.  Local schools have broken up and they all seemed to be out on their bikes with parents, watching the boat, milling about, wanting to go in the cave, but not allowed to do so by Mum till we had finished.  Strangely they didn’t speak to us at all, and kept their distance.  There was another Dad with a little one and he closed the top gate for me.  With all the kiddies around I felt I couldn’t take pictures till we had left and the girls were in their cave at last.

The deck isn't on a slant so why are half my pictures?

There follows another glorious stretch, river-like in places and with sandstone cliffs to marvel at.  Cyclists and dog walkers passed occcasionally but it was quiet again.

At Wolverley lock it was a different story.  The towpath, with the car park so close, was busy once more, people were wandering about, and the pub had several customers sitting out watching the action.  Their tables were well-spaced, but they were right by the wall on the offside so technically I was walking by well under 2 metres away!   At least it was outside.  A young girl and her Grandad were out on their bikes, keen to talk and he politely asked if she could ‘have a go’.  Her social distancing was exemplary, unlike some of the other gongoozlers and help is jolly useful at this lock.

We could see them cycling ahead of us as we went on to Wolverley Court lock, and there they were, waiting for us.  We complimented them on her social distancing – it was her first day doing it ‘out in public’ though she has been at school all the time as her parents are both in the NHS.  Once again we were grateful for her help.  I have had trouble in the past here, as the gate paddle on the top gate is set a long way from the towpath, and it is a stretch to the footboard.  But the gear was easy to operate so that was a relief – it must have had some attention since the last time we were here.

As we approached Kidderminster, where we needed to stop for Sainsbury’s as well as lunch, Meg said she was extremely bored.

It turns out that late lunchtime is an excellent time to go to the supermarket.  I would say about a third of customers are now wearing masks, but it was so quiet that social distancing was not a problem.  Dave went over to Halfords as I put the shopping away, then I collected up the bags of recycling – including the cans and a bottle we had picked up at locks – and disposed of the lot in the excellent recycling bins the far side of the car park.  We were just about to make ready to leave when I spotted a well-known name through the porthole – What a Lark! - so I rushed out for a hasty wave and Hello! as Lisa and David disappeared round the bend.

We were off again at 3, and I resisted taking the photo of the church up above the lock, everybody does that, instead snapping the river Stour as it flowed under the Aqueduct.

River Stour on its way to Stourport

Oh, I seem to have taken the photo after all ….  I like it because if you look at the blue clock face you see it's the same colour as the sky and for a moment you wonder if the tower is solid at all.

Below the lock the McDonald’s drive-through was busy, all the children in the waiting cars waving madly as we passed.  On our way out of Kidderminster a pterosaur (maybe) watched us go.

Pterosaur?

We dropped through Caldwall lock, meeting NB Alchemy (another blogger and Droitwich Spa moorer from the West Country) on our way to Falling Sands.  We pulled in between bridges 9 and 10, as we didn’t want to be further on where towpaths are narrow and much busier.   

Towpath wide enough to feel safe

There were dog walkers, runners and bikes for a while.  There do seem to be more bikes on all the towpaths now.  They aren't all boy racers and I hope they keep their manners.  Internet signal was absent except for a brief spell Dave managed on Bluetooth.  (Any excuse for being so behind with the blog!)

6 locks, 7 miles, Cookley Tunnel, 2 blogger boats.