Netherwich basin

An interesting day today!

We awoke to a clear blue sky so decided to head on up the canal towards Hanbury junction in case the Droitwich was now open. A check on the stoppages website later in the morning said that it was. A short stop for breakfast just north of Tibberton then up to Hanbury and turn down the Droitwich junction canal. There was a C&RT volunteer helping with the first 3 locks. He confirmed that the Barge lock was now open. We got as far as lock 6 to find the top gates padlocked together! I called the C&RT help line, told them the problem, but they couldnt get hold of the local supervisor. They said that they would call me back. Heddi walked back to the volunteer to see if he could get hold of someone. He made various calls to discover that the guy with the key to the padlock had gone on holiday. They would sent someone to cut the lock off . Two C&RT operative arrived about an hour later with cutting tools. One of them looked at the padlock and said “I think I’ve got a key for that” So within a few minutes we were on our way again.
On arrival at the tunnel under the M5 we couldn’t get under the gauging board. So I had to remove the anchor and the box we keep it in off of the roof. We then just cleared through with only a couple of inches to spare!
Now moored in Netherwich basin.

Leave a Reply