It could have been a lot worse

Saturday 31^st August; Pitchcroft to the Commandery

When I took Jess out soon after 7 this morning it was immediately apparent where the boat had been hit last night.

No wonder we didn’t see anything last night, hardly any glass there at all

There was very little glass on the path, but to avoid any chance of a cut paw I took Jess up to the racecourse via the steps further away, then when we came back I shut her in before sweeping what little glass there was into the river, where most of it must have gone last night.  A small bit of label on a glass fragment showed it was probably a beer or cider bottle.

Right down to the bare metal – quite a large point of impact and a splatter pattern of damage.  The culprit must have been sitting on the set of steps by the rowing club.

I went and did parkrun (slowly), while Dave gave Jess a good run.  parkrun goes round the racecourse, which is bright green against the brown strawy edges where members of the public are allowed!  We all got watered as we ran by, but when I went to take a photo after I had finished, the water had just that moment been turned off. 

Serious water supply for the racing.  At least there will be worms for the blackbirds!

Then I walked, in a chilly wind, to the Tesco Metro in Foregate Street to get milk, bread and the paper.  When I got back Dave had been busy tidying up the damaged area on the starboard side of the boat.

The grass above the mooring was parched, unlike the racecourse.  The bridge is the Sabrina footbridge.

Next time we come this way we’ll moor further downstream towards the railway bridge – it may be noisier but there are no steps for louts to hang about on.  After Dave had applied some Vactan to the damaged areas to protect against rust, and I’d got some warm clothes on and made some coffee, we donned our lifejackets and set off for Diglis junction and our return to the canal system.  The wind had risen ahead of the forecast rain.  To our delight the familiar blue shirt and red lifejacket of a CRT volunteer could be seen at the canal/river junction, and he was opening the bottom paddles of Diglis Bottom Lock, number 1 on the Worcester and Birmingham.

The wind was strong now so Dave was grateful for the lock being ready, and with both gates open.  It's so much easier than dropping crew off on the pontoon downstream, then taking a wide sweep closer to the weir to get the approach right and compensate for wind and river flow.

It is a novelty for me to be on board in one of these locks.  I had the opportunity to look around.

The rod I believe is attached to the paddle below and the winding gear above on the bottom gate.  The chain and counterweight I imagine are to keep the paddle in position no matter what the river flow is doing.  I’m sure someone will tell me if I am mistaken!

I got off the boat when it was safe to do so, and went to help the lockie.  I kept my lifejacket on till we were up the first two locks, as they are deep and wide.  It was very windy and the dog needed a wee by now, so I opted to walk round the basin with her so Dave didn’t need to manoeuvre to pick me up, and got to Sidbury lock in time to open the bottom gates for him.  We were pleased to find space on the Commandery moorings above in time for lunch – and now with enough hot water for me to have a shower after parkrun!  It rained on and off all afternoon.  I stayed inside and cleaned through while Dave and Jess braved the weather for another walk.  We went down to the Anchor by the basin for a meal in the evening.  It’s a pleasant enough place, with nice enough food, and we got one of the two tables where you can bring your dog.  They even supplied a box so I could take my left-over pizza back for tomorrow’s lunch.

3 locks, 1½ miles, bare steelwork but at at least no broken solar panels or windows