First Trip of 2013
The first trip of 2013 saw us going to Birmingham up the Worcester and Birmingham and returning via the GU and Lapworth flights to Kings Norton and back down the W&B. Apart from the Silly number of locks between Droitwich Marina and the top of Tardebigge (45 in 7 miles) the trip in to Birmingham was uneventful. After a night in Birmingham moored on the Oozelles loop and a Japenese meal in the Mailbox we braved the bad lands of South East Birmingham including the Farmers Bridge flight and Ashted tunnel to reach the end of the GU at Proof House Junction. After an overnight mooring at Catherine de Barnes we continued to the Lapworth link canal on to the Stratford canal to climb the Lapworth flight back to Kings Norton. Overnight moorings at the Boot near lock 15 on the Lapworth flight and at Alvechurch for the excellent Weighbridge pub at the Marina Before once again tackling Tardebigge and the other 12 locks back to Hanbury Junction. As we were coming diwn Tardebigge we met the biat Talyllyn owned by a fried i had nit seen fir years. we had both worked on the Talyllyn Railway as volounteers many years ago and indeed he us now a Senior Driver on the railway.Ii must go back and have a look around some time.
At Hanbury a short detour took us to an overnight mooring at Dunhampstead where we visited the Fir Tree Inn for dinner Before returning to the Marina.
Everything on the boat performed well including the new mains powered fridge replacing the ageing 12v unit. One if the advantages of the hybrid system being that the continuose 230v power makes the use of standard (and generally cheaper) domestic equipment possible rather than the special 12v units normally used.
So all ready for a fortnight away in May.
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