The lovely Tardebigge flight

Saturday 8^th October; Tardebigge top pound to Stoke Pound

When I took the dog out first thing this morning it was freezing cold, but the sky was clear.   The sun was still well down behind the hedge.  We weren’t too bothered about when we started to tackle the flight.  Most of the locks empty themselves overnight so we would have to turn them whether we started first or followed another boat down, but we didn’t want to wait for a boat to come up first – there may not have been one!  I took last night’s chicken bones along to the skip before we left, and met the lady from the hire boat we had followed yesterday, which was moored above the top lock.  They looked nearly ready to leave, though they said they weren’t in a rush as they had contacted CRT and asked for volunteers to help them down.  By the time I got back to last night's mooring, about 9 o’clock, Dave had already left to set the first lock and had even started the next one filling.  It was cold as the sun still hadn’t risen above the towpath hedge, but we were soon into our rhythm of shared work.

Passing the reservoir

Two fishermen had left their cars in the little car park by bridge 54 and were drinking their tea looking gloomily down to the lack of water in the reservoir.  As a third crossed the bridge to join them, I spied the familiar sight of a volunteer setting the next lock for us.  She was a little disconcerted to find that we weren’t Arthur Owl who she had come to help, but closed up the lock Dave had just left as her companion arrived, and they went on up to find them.  After a while they reappeared – Arthur Owl was nowhere near ready to leave, so they helped us instead as there was no-one else on the flight. As we approached Halfway House bridge, we learnt from Tom that many years ago the Halfway House was a pub, a very welcome pause for the early boatmen with stabling for horses too.  It became a doctor’s surgery for a while, and eventually a private house.

We approached the Dog House, the one with all the giant radio aerials.  No longer the Noisy Dog House, as the one that barked so much died a while ago, and the Alsatian who is left spends much more time in the house and doesn’t bark at passing dogs.

Debbie and Tom helping Dave down by the Dog House

Tom also told me the origin of the term ‘toe-rag’ as a term of abuse.  He said the men who legged boats through Tardebigge tunnel were so poor that they couldn’t afford new boots and used to beg rags to stuff into the holes.  I don’t know how true that is – my parents certainly knew the term and as children we were forbidden to use it.  They grew up near the Lee Navigation in the East End, so the term might have come south with the boatmen, or the story could be rubbish!

Dave was getting a bit bored just steering by now, so we were quite pleased when boats started coming up and we suggested Debbie and Tom gave someone else a hand.  Even though the flight has 30 locks (29 in one go if you moor below the top lock), we really enjoy working the flight – the work isn’t particularly heavy and the surrounding countryside is lovely, especially in the sunshine we had today.  We were down by lunchtime – a mere 3 hours, though of course we had help for over half of it.

Short offside beam on the bottom lock

After lunch we booked a table at the Queen’s Head, for a little earlier than we would have liked but on a Saturday we were lucky to get a table at all.  Meg and I went for a walk and found a footpath between the first two Stoke locks leading into a field which had been mown, so Meg enjoyed a good game of ball before we went back for another cup of tea.

Hurry up Mum

We got on with various jobs during the afternoon as four more boats came down the flight.  Dave was concerned about the amount of water collecting in the bilge after rain and discovered that the drain from the surround of the engine board was blocked.  The hose was the ideal size and flexibility to push out the dust, leaves and cobwebs.

The remains of yesterday’s rain still sitting in the surround soon drained away.

Arthur Owl was the last boat to come down, after 5 which is quite late.  I wonder whether the volunteers were still around to help them – it would have been a very long day for them if they had been!  If you ask for help, you really should take it when it is offered and not expect it at your own convenience.  I think they may have been waiting for the first boat to come up, but we didn’t speak to them again to find out.  The first boat down after us moored just in front and brought their beautiful Maine Coon cat out on his harness – he doesn’t go far, it is more a safety precaution in case he falls in. 

What a gorgeous boy!  I think it is the largest cat breed and he has a dog harness as he is too big for a cat one.  The couple is planning to spend the winter cruising – with two dogs as well I imagine there will be a lot of mud as well as fur inside!

We had a lovely meal in the pub, though I had to nick a cushion from a spare chair as I find the chairs in the bar area (which we prefer to the main dining room) rather too low for comfort.  I was interested to see whether Robert Redford and Paul Newman still graced the doors in the Ladies’ – they were looking a little the worse for wear when we visited in the first Covid year.  But they have been refurbished and are still strutting their stuff.

Butch and Sundance

The young lady who came in after me was rather taken aback, as you would be if you’ve not seen them before.  She was only about 30 and had never heard of either actor, or even the film.  How are the famous soon forgotten!  We lit the fire when we returned to the boat.  What a lovely day!

2¼ miles, 29 locks