We left Tytherington in three cars at 7:45. Heddi and I in one each and Jan & Mike in theirs. In the little car park near Splatt bridge we moved various stuff from one car to another and then all piled into my car. Leaving the other two cars behind we headed up to Kinver. Traffic on the M5 was reasonable, though it was stopped for miles going south the day before, and we reached Kinver just after 10:00. The boat was loaded up with all our stuff, and we took on water before setting off for Stourport.

At Whittington lock we came up behind a boat with a completely clueless crew. They had no idea which paddles to use when! How they got that far I dont know. We helped them on their way, with the prospect of meeting them at every lock all the way to Stourport. Soon after going through Cookley tunnel they got up in the undergrowth at the side of the canal. Feeling a bit bad, but also relieved, we took the opportunity to overtake them. The rest of the journey down the Staffs & Worcs went well, with the weather grey and overcast, but dry.

On reaching Stourport, we came out of the staircase locks and onto the Severn and it was as if someone had turned a tap on. The rain started and didn’t stop all the way to Worcester. Jan & Mike weren’t fully equipped with waterproofs, so they stayed below, whilst Heddi & I did the steering.

We moored up at the racecourse moorings just after 6 o’clock and went downstairs to dry out and warm up. Mike cooked some huge gourmet beef burgers and we were in bed before 10 o’clock.

On the way down the canal to Kidderminster Mike & I had made some bunting supports for the roof of the boat. So now we were all decorated up for the Jubilee weekend. As we were coming down the Severn, our friends Andrew & Wendy were in the Queen’s Pageant on the Thames, some great pics here.