NB Bonjour: A lovely mooring on the way to Kinver

Wednesday 27^th August; Stourton locks to Hyde lock

With heavy showers forecast for later this morning we were happy we had just a short cruise to do after yesterday’s efforts. We left this pretty stretch before Stourton locks soon after nine, to meet a hire boat coming up the first lock, then another at the second … more boats in the first half hour today than we crossed in a whole day’s cruising yesterday. We were soon joining the Staffs and Worcester at Stourton junction. It seems to have plenty of water and a lot more boats on the move too. We were behind a boat at Stewponey lock, and another soon arrived behind us.

One of the circular weirs on the Staffs and Worcester

The car is crossing Stewponey New bridge, the brick wall is the original Stewponey bridge, and just below the wall is the decorative edge of the narrow little footbridge for crossing at the bottom of the lock.

Once through the rocky Dunsley tunnel it wasn’t long before we were moored up at The Beeches, the local moorers’ name for the delightful (and very popular) mooring above Hyde lock on the way to Kinver. We relaxed with coffee as boats and a few light showers came and went. After yesterday's exertions it was lovely to to be relaxing, watching the sheep crossing the sloping field opposite and listening to the buzzards calling above the wood.

Neighbours at the Beeches

Towards lunchtime there was a very heavy shower and we were glad to have come down the Stourbridge flight yesterday!

Some proper rain at last

The sun came out again after lunch and we went for a walk, down to Hyde lock and then taking the footpath/bridle path which took us to the outskirts of Kinver. It was a longer walk back down to the canal through Kinver than we had anticipated – it’s a surprisingly big and spread-out place - and I think the only reason we would go that way again would be to pick plums – two trees with the little round yellow Mirabelle type, delicious! Eventually we made our way downhill (thank goodness) to the Co-op for some milk, and thence back to the canal past an example of the way the sandstone cliffs have been used in local building.

Not as famous as the cliff houses at Kinver Edge! I wonder how deep the soil is in the garden above?

It is permanent moorings all the way from Hyde lock, and the visitor moorings are all below Kinver lock.

The boater responsible for this amazing display was astonished we had had our pick of the mooring this morning – it is normally very busy, and heavily used by the resident boaters when they need to visit the CRT services closer to Kinver lock, or the waterpoint at Stewponey - the winding hole is back at Stourton junction so they often spend the night at the Beeches on their way back! We got caught in a sharp shower on the way back to the boat but managed to keep more-or-less dry under the trees.