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28th April

Saturday brought more sunshine but unfortunately the weather was showing signs of a change to that more typical of April.
We moved off towards Stoke Prior climbing through the first six locks of the Ashwood flight before tackling the next six at Stoke. 

Approaching Stoke Prior

The canal through this area becomes a little more industrialised but the former large salt works at Stoke is now been cleared, presumably for more housing. The last six locks of the day up from Stoke brought us up to our mooring for the night outside the incredibly busy Queens Head pub. The moorings are quite pleasant and make a good stop over prior to the accent of the thirty locks of the Tardebigge flight.
I decided to do some more fishing, this time landing two Bream and three Roach within the space of an hour. 

First of two Bream

During the early evening I noticed the water level in the pound had risen significantly so I wandered up to the lock to see what was happening. The water was pouring down the bottom three locks, with one of them flooding over the towpath.
The reason soon became apparent, there were three boats coming down the locks, the leading boat proceeding as normal but  being followed by a very impatient boater who was opening paddles before the leading boat had left the lock, clearly wasting loads of water and causing the flooding.

We awoke early on Sunday to make sure we had a quick getaway to take advantage of the fact that the locks would all be in our favour,  the thought of thirty locks was somewhat daunting,  however we soon got into our stride and following three and a half hours we reached the moorings just below the top lock at Tardebigge. 

Tardibigge Locks

Once moored up we sat back and reflected on our ascent of the longest lock flight in the country. The locks fill quickly as the paddles are reletively large making for quick filling, the scenery always had something to offer with views back down to the Malvern Hills and beyond. Getting close to the top we passed the reservoir built to supply the summit pound, the water had to be pumped back to the top and this was done by a large steam powered pumping engine,  sadly now dismantled. The large engine house has now been converted into apartments.

Tardebigge is a lovely spot although very quiet. The canal scene here has lots to offer,  the wharfs are still inhabited by crt and full boater services are available. There is also a partially restored steam tug sat outside the crt offices,  these were used to pull boats through the three tunnels that have to be negotiated between here and Birmingham. The tunnels are wide enough for two boats to pass but the tow path goes over the top hence the need for the tugs.

We had a walk up past the church and onto the New Tardebigge pub, this is built within the old stables of  Hewel Hall, it's a large place with a wacky warehouse attached,  however we sat outside under the intense blossom of two large Apple trees. The food is typical large chain fayre but was ok and satisfied our hunger following a busy morning on the locks. 

Beer Garden of the New Tardebigge

The whole area is watched over by the imposing church with its slender spire.

Tardebigge Church

We stayed over through Monday and took a walk down to the outskirts of Bromsgrove, passing close to the Rugby club, another impressive set up. Our route took us down through the fields of a small valley then along some achingly beautiful country lanes,  enhanced by the spring weather. Worcestershire certainly is a beautiful county. We made our way back to the canal and followed the locks back up to the boat. 

Near Boundary Farm, Tardebigge

The following morning brought heavy rain, lasting for most of the day, so we spent a third night here before setting off towards our next stop.
Passing through the two short tunnels at Tardebigge and Shortwood we soon covered the short distance to Alvechurch, we moored opposite the large marina with its impressive fleet of hire boats.
The centre of the village of Alvechurch lies about a mile downhill from the canal, but using our Alyesbury Laundrette guide we managed to locate the laundry, leaving our washing with them for a service wash. Due to the laundry taking most of the following day we stayed for a second night.
The weather was still wet but we managed a couple of walks between the showers. The temperature had  dropped significantly and were back to keeping the stove lit.
Saturday morning brought yet more rain but we decided to make an early start, moving across to the marina services before the hire boats started to move in and out, Saturday is change over day so can be very busy. We were soon under way towards our destination at Bournville to visit the Cadbury factory.
The journey towards Birmingham is pleasant enough with the added highlight of the 2500 meter long tunnel at Wasts Hill, at the southern end of the tunnel the canal enters a deep cutting surrounded by open countryside, emerging at the northern end we were plunged straight into a suburban canal, passing Kings Norton junction, where the Stratford canal heads off to the river Avon, we soon arrived at the visitor moorings at Bournville. 

Southern Portal of Wasts Hill tunnel

The moorings are secured by gates with access via a CRT key, the moorings are long enough for two or three boats.
Following the journey I went below to warm up, I had got really cold at the helm and it seemed a distant memory to the week before when I had been in shorts and t shirt.

Bournville
The enormous Cadbury factory overlooks the moorings and railway station, the latter being painted in Cadbury purple. We walked down to Bournville Lane and through the factory grounds, the area around the factory has an airy feel as there are sports fields and parks surrounding the works, for this reason it is known as the garden factory.

Not a Munchkin or Charlie to be seen

The Cadbury brothers moved their factory here from the smoky centre of Birmingham, in 1879, they then decided to purchase the land surrounding the factory and intersected by the Bourne brook hence the name Bournville. They built a village for the factory workers and, due to their Quaker ideals, they ensured that they were provided for with parks and sports facilities. 

Bournville School and Carillion

The village comprises of houses of varying sizes and architecture, each with a large garden as well as churches and schools. 

The Garden factory

Cadbury Dental - must be kept busy with all that sugar!

Selly Oak Museum

We called at the very busy Cadbury World but decided not to do the tour as there was a two hour wait, however we visited the factory shop, spending rather too much on chocolatey treats!
This place is another must see particularly for families as the whole set up is geared towards kids and the young at heart. You can pre book the tour avoiding the long waits.
Sunday morning was another cold start, but the sun finally came out providing a little warmth for our short trip to the end of the canal at Worcester bar in Gas Street basin. The bar is a narrow spit that originally seperated the canal from the Birmingham network, due to concerns that water would be lost from the BCN to the river Severn. Eventually a stop lock was provided allowing the passage of boats and eliminating the need for goods to be transhiped across the bar. The gates are no longer there but the narrow passage through the bar makes for an interesting challenge to pass through.
We intend to spend a couple of nights here before heading across to Wolverhampton and the northern BCN.