Bratch Locks

Another short cruise with three locks saw us mooring at the top of the famous Bratch Locks. When we lived in Netherton we'd parked nearby here and enjoyed a canalside cycle more than once.

The Staffordshire and Worcester Canal is proving to be so much quieter than the Shroppie. Sitting outside during the day we could hear occasional barks from a nearby field with greyhound kennels and runs. On the other side of the adjacent hedge was a large number of horses who we could hear neighing during the night. It was very peaceful.

The following day Will's friends Bryn and Sally came to visit and helped us down the Bratch lock flight. Sally accompanied Vicky at the stern and was brilliant with Leo, chatting away to him while he sat on her lap with a huge grin on his face. The idea had been that Bryn would help Will work the locks, but there were an unheard of six lockies on duty, so he didn't get as much hands on experience as he might have! Neither Bryn nor Sal had been on a narrowboat before and seemed to find it a fun experience.

It was another beautiful day so we left the dogs to rest in the relatively cool boat and walked to The Round Oak for a very tasty burger and chips. Afterwards, we climbed the hill to Wombourne, taking a route past Ounsdale (now Wombourne High School) that Will and his sister attended as teenagers. Contracters were in the midst of demolishing and replacing the buildings.
Luckily the remarkable wavy roofed section was still standing for Will to see. The school grounds run alongside the canal and back in the day pupils had the chance to build a canoe in woodworking classes. They'd then carry it down to the cut to test it out!

By this time the sun was beating down and we were relieved to be able to walk back to Rainboat via a tree covered old railway line. We'd moored her on the opposite bank to the towpath. A swathe of Cow Parsley divided us from a footpath which led up into a local nature reserve. The only people passing us on the bank were fishers and few of them. Three kids came to try fishing for the first time with their parents. They'd been virtual fishing on their Wii and wanted to give the real thing a go. They had no clue and only one rod between them so Will lent them a couple of rods and taught them the basics. They were thrilled when one got a fish and to make it up to the others, Will got them each to land a fish he'd caught.

On Sunday our friend Ade brought his girlfriend Berna over to meet us. It was great to spend some time with him again and we got on well with Berna. Leo was overjoyed with more visitors and Berna really took to Tiger, who snuggled up on her lap and went to sleep.

Ade and Berna each had a go driving Rainboat on a short journey towards the Round Oak, where we moored and had an enjoyable lunch. We hope they'll come back and visit soon!Read more