The Bird in Hand, Stourport

Stourport on Severn is the point at which the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal meets the River Severn. It's a hub of boaty activity and has quite a seaside feel to it, with countless bars, eateries, holiday rentals a huge park and permanent funfair.

Our mooring spot was in a residential area beside The Bird In Hand pub. The spot had been recommended to us by Francis and Andrew Phasey of the Royal Yachting Association. We'd both been studying the online RYA course for VHF Radios and this was the closest part of the canal to the Phasey's home, where we were scheduled to take verbal and written exams.

It's obligatory to carry a VHF radio when travelling on many tidal waterways and strongly recommended on others. You are only allowed to operate a radio if you are qualified, or under the supervision of someone who is.

There was a lot to learn, such as the phonetic alphabet, procedural words, the content and order of mayday, urgency and safety calls and the names and uses of all the different safety gadgets carried by seagoing vessels. We each passed the online course but were quite nervous for the face to face exams. Andrew and Frances did what they could to put us at ease and happily we both passed! Our official certificates will be posted out in a few weeks.

To break up the revision we explored the local area. The Bird In Hand was ok, but didn't seem to make much effort. The Rising Sun pub was the second nearest and had a real homey feel to it. We were 'greeted' by Bo the black spaniel as we entered. Penny served up a pork pie with mustard for Will, from her stash in the corridor fridge. We've come accross several pubs that will only accept cash for cobs and pies and this was one of them.

Leo and Tiger accompanied us to BOA brewery tap, which had a special beer pull customers could use to pour their dogs a bowl of water! The brewer was pleased to be distracted from their job of labelling cans one at a time and got chatting, recommending several other pubs nearby. It was because of him we visited The Black Star for delicious Garden Burgers and a young but eager to please team of staff.

As keen as we are on charity shops, we didn't manage to get round all that Stourport had to offer. There were two chandlers by the marina and never liking to miss out on something we might need, we visited both. Terry at Silverline provided us with a bilge pump and a new tiller pin, to replace ours that got knocked into a lock. When he heard it was going to be our first time on the Severn he spent a good 15 minutes sharing tips and drawing a map with guidance on it. People are so kind!

The dogs enjoyed their stay here because we discovered a cycle and walkway along an old railway line, similar to the one at Gnosall. Although it just provided 'there and back' walks, it's always good to have a change of scene from the towpath and there were lots of other dogs to meet and greet too.Read more