Canal Boat Diaries (2019–2022): Season 2, Episode 2 - Market Drayton to Stourport-on-Severn - full transcript
I'm Robbie Cumming
and this is my boat.
I gave up a busy life on land
for a supposedly quieter
existence afloat.
Oh, it's stuck in the mud.
Over spring and summer,
I'm making my way
to the heart of our canal network,
soaking up the scenery...
..and enjoying our industrial
heritage along the way.
While filming,
I'm aware life is on hold
and difficult for many people.
And I'm lucky to have this
chance to escape
through some quintessential
English landscapes.
Starting in Cheshire,
I'm heading south
to the River Severn and Worcester.
I'll take a detour to
Stratford-Upon-Avon
and then up into central Birmingham.
Around 200 miles in all.
DOGS BARK
I can't wait.
And I'm glad I can share
the experience
in my Canal Boat Diaries.
BIRDSONG
Waking up early on a narrow boat
is like finding
an extra little pocket within
this secret world
that you're already inhabiting.
I love looking out the window and
seeing the mist on the water.
Setting off on a journey before
anyone else
can be quite a challenge in the
height of summer,
when there are so many
other boats around.
You have to get up pretty early
in the morning
to be the first at the lock,
if it's a popular location.
ENGINE CHUGS
It's like you've got the canal
to yourself.
On this leg of my journey,
I'm setting off
from Market Drayton,
in Shropshire.
There'll be plenty to see,
like Compton Lock,
the prototype for narrow canal locks
and the town of Kidderminster,
in Worcestershire,
before arriving in
Stourport-on-Severn,
possibly the finest canal town
in the country.
It's 52 miles by water,
through 36 locks.
It's about 6:30am in the morning
and I'm creeping through
Market Drayton, in Shropshire.
It is nice to be up before
everyone else,
but I've still got to be considerate
and pass by these boats
at a tick-over speed, which is
something like two miles an hour,
just to make sure I'm not
waking anyone up
before they want to get up.
This is absolutely magical
canal cruising
because we're going through
what is essentially
a wooded cutting with stone.
It's incredible.
And we're deep in the forest now.
No road access, nothing.
We're in the middle of nowhere.
And it's just, yeah, it's magical.
I love it, absolutely love it.
At Tyrley Locks, the canal marks
the boundary between
Shropshire and Staffordshire.
For several miles, I'll crisscross
the two counties.
My destination is
Stourport-on-Severn,
and it's going to be a fascinating
place to visit, I think.
It's also where the Naughty Lass,
my narrow boat home,
was originally fitted out by a
hire boat company.
So, I might go and
check they're still operating.
It's funny to think of
the Naughty Lass as a holiday boat
back in the '80s.
She may well have cruised the
Shropshire Union many times before.
Civil engineer Thomas Telford was
responsible for this waterway.
These workers' cottages are
strikingly similar
to the toll houses on his
Holyhead Road,
the A5 in North Wales.
Recycling designs no doubt
saved time and money.
I've just reached the top of this
flight of locks and I want to
show you something, just while
we're here at Tyrley Wharf.
These lock gates, normally,
in other parts of the system,
they're black and white,
but on the Shropshire Union,
they chose grey.
The reason behind that is that,
after World War I,
there were quite a lot of stocks
of battleship grey paint,
so the Shropshire Union Railway
and Canal Company
bought up those stocks and used them
to paint their gates.
Well, that's how the story goes,
anyway.
A lot of people do think it's very
cheap or even free
to just live on a boat.
It's not at all -
it's quite expensive.
For example, each year,
I spend roughly £350 on diesel,
over £250 on coal,
£900 for my Canal and River
Trust licence.
And if you still think that's cheap,
a lot of the time that you need
living on our boat
is spent on moving it around
and that takes you away
from any work hours that
you're able to put in.
HE EXHALES HEAVILY
Yeah, I'm just run aground at the
worst moment possible.
So, I've got one boat coming from
this direction
and another one following up
behind me.
Right, let's try
and pull it over a bit more.
HE GROANS
Oh, it's stuck in the mud.
These narrow cuttings are so steep,
everything goes downhill.
Rocks, mud, trees, and it all ends
up in the canal.
There's a bit of a traffic jam.
There's at least...
..four boats waiting
to get past now.
Just one of those things.
As soon as the canal becomes
particularly narrow,
you just get tons of other boats
showing up at the same time.
I slowed down and then that was it.
Ugh!
Right, I'm just rolling.
I managed to get the boat back.
Sorry about that. It's all right!
I just got stuck in the mud.
Ah...!
It's just typical on these
narrow canals,
especially ones with steep sides.
Landslips and even small avalanches
in winter months
are an old and reoccurring problem
along this stretch.
Woodseaves is the longest canal
cutting in the country.
Dug by navvies,
working with picks and shovels.
RAIN PATTERS, THUNDER RUMBLES
This reminds me the first night
I spent on board my boat.
I'd just got it,
just got out on the water,
and then something went wrong with
the throttle, so I had to...
I had a spare one and I replaced
that one whilst it was
chucking down with rain and
there was a thunderstorm going on.
THUNDER RUMBLES
I love it. Who needs TV, eh?!
Just sit out and watch
thunderstorms.
Whenever I go back into a house,
things do seem to be
a lot more roomy.
There's a lot more space and it just
seems luxurious, straight away!
The fact that I don't have to
empty the toilet
or worry about using too much water.
But at the same time, when they are
complaining about parking issues
or their neighbours having parties
or something like that,
I do feel like I've made the right
decision, living on a boat.
ENGINE PUTTERS
The next 18 miles are lock-free
cruising,
which, for many people,
sounds great.
You just... You on your boat,
chugging along.
This is the most iconic structure
on the Shropshire Union Canal,
it's High Bridge.
It's got a second arch to take
the strain of the pressure
that's forced in by it
being so high.
That pylon was actually installed
for telegrams.
The wires then changed
for the telephone system.
And now there are no wires
going through it at all.
But I love the fact
it's just still kept there.
Norbury Junction is where
the abandoned Shrewsbury Canal
branches away
from the Shropshire Union.
A short section of this
lost waterway remains
and it's now used for moorings.
This is incredible.
It's all carved out of sandstone,
so it's completely unlined.
So you can see all the rocks.
Cowley Tunnel is the only tunnel
on the Shropshire Union main line.
At 81 yards, it was planned
to be much longer.
But during construction, they
discovered faults in the sandstone
and were forced to dig a deep
cutting instead.
Short but sweet, that one.
But no less magnificent.
The colder and warmer months
on board my boat
have been tough in equal measure,
but there's a lot I've actually done
to upgrade my standard of living.
I spent a little bit of time
taking down a lot of the boards
to try and remove the polystyrene
insulation that just wasn't any good
and fill in it in with some
recycled glass-fibre material
that not only keeps it warm
in winter,
but hopefully cooler in the summer
as well.
I've got my boat here moored up,
right at the end
of the Shropshire Union Canal,
by Autherley Junction.
And this is where it leads
on to the next canal,
the Staffordshire
and Worcestershire.
I'm going to stay here tonight
and in the morning,
nip through this lock
and then head on towards
Stourport-on-Severn.
As idyllic as this lifestyle is,
it does make it quite hard to see
friends and family.
It's midsummer now and I haven't
seen my parents since Christmas.
Sorry, Mum and Dad!
I miss you!
I'm just south of Autherley Junction
on the Staffordshire and
Worcestershire,
and almost halfway into this leg
of the journey.
I've still got to navigate the
shortest canal tunnel
in the country, at Dunsley, before
calling into Kidderminster
and arriving in Stourport.
As a canal geek,
this lock is perhaps
one of the most significant ones
that I could ever travel through.
In Wolverhampton suburbs,
Compton Lock is very special indeed.
Dating from around 1770,
It's thought to be
the first-ever narrow canal lock.
So, historically,
this is where it all started.
The Staffordshire
and Worcestershire Canal,
with its first lock,
and a prototype for James Brindley,
who must have had a bit
of a heart-in-mouth moment
as they first tested it
by letting water in.
Locks are great places
to meet people.
And occasionally,
you bump into boating pals.
I last met you guys when you were
on your honeymoon
on the Huddersfield Broad Canal.
How did that go?
Brilliant.
Yeah, it was really good.
It was a nice trip. Lovely weather.
Best trip we've ever done.
Definitely.
What's the secret to keeping the
romance going on a narrow boat,
when you're living so
close together?
Buy a second boat!
Buy a second boat.
That's hilarious. Thank you!
There's no getting away from it -
narrow boat living can be a squeeze
for couples.
Some people I bump into
again and again,
in really strange, different corners
of the Inland Waterways Network.
And other people, I'll see them
just once and never see them again.
Yet, thanks to social media,
I can still track their whereabouts
and see where they are.
It's like a really
close-knit community,
but just spread out and connected
by literally just the water
that you're floating in.
One thing that I really,
really struggle with,
living on this narrow boat,
is that I don't have the space
or the power for a washing machine
and it means that I'm constantly
trying to find launderettes.
And my washing basket is
always overflowing.
Luckily, in the spot I'm in right
now, there's a launderette,
there's a post office, food shops,
pubs - everything I could need.
With my clothes all clean,
it's time to move on.
And it's not long before I reach
Bratch Locks.
When it originally opened in the
1770s, Bratch was a staircase,
meaning the middle lock
shared its gates
with the one above and below it.
Later, it was re-engineered
as three individual locks
and side pounds were added to store
and recycle water.
It can be complicated to get
your head around,
so there are a lock-keepers here
to help out.
I get a real kick out of seeing
new locations on the canal.
Bratch Lock's an absolute
hidden gem.
I especially like the fact that
every single lock is different.
ENGINE SLOWS TO A STOP
When it is a rainy, dark day,
you do struggle to get power
through the solar panels.
Someone recently convinced me
to get a new charging controller.
So, this is the thing that allows
the solar panels
to feed into the batteries,
essentially.
I don't understand
12-volt boat electrics,
I prefer to let someone else
take that responsibility.
But there are little tiny jobs
that I can do,
including this one, that shouldn't
be too much of a problem for me.
I chose this boat because
of the potential I saw in it.
It's been a good boat
to start out on.
And five years later, here I am.
I'm still on it.
So it can't have been
that bad a decision
to buy it in the first place.
But I've got a lot that I'd like
to do to improve it.
Let's see...
..if it doesn't explode.
Hopefully, I've wired it up right.
In two, here we go...
And we're getting in two amps.
That's not right.
Maybe I need to give it a minute.
After a bit of teething trouble,
my electrics are sorted
and I can stop worrying.
It's about half past six
this morning.
The reason why I'm up so early
is because I looked out my window
and I saw the mist on the water,
and it's just my favourite thing.
I've arrived at Stewponey Wharf.
Back in the day,
this was the epicentre
for all of this canal's operations.
This is where they took
all the tolls.
They had the stables here,
and even a pub as well.
So, yeah, it all happened,
once upon a time.
This is Dunsley Tunnel
I'm about to go through.
But it's not only the shortest,
it's also possibly the oldest
navigable tunnel
on the entire system.
I guess tunnels are dark,
dank holes through a hill,
but they are also portals
into the past.
When I travel through,
I often think about the workers
who sometimes spent years
digging them.
It's always nice to get back
into daylight.
Especially when there are views
like this.
According to the guidebooks,
this part of the canal
is one of the prettiest.
So it's a real privilege
just to cruise through it.
150 years ago,
this was an industrial landscape.
For generations,
the area produced wrought iron,
some of which was
used to manufacture nails.
Today, it's a popular spot
for boaters
and there are a few facilities
on-hand.
ENGINE STOPS
The reality of my journey is that
I do actually have to also do things
like throw the rubbish out,
do my recycling.
And it's at facilities like this,
at Kinver,
where I can sort that out.
And there are quite a few
bottles here.
If anything was to suggest
that boaters
like a few drinks now and then,
there's your evidence.
Surely not, eh?
In the early 1900s,
this part of Staffordshire
was known as the Switzerland
of the Midlands
and was popular for days out.
Thousands of families
flocked to Kinver,
attracted by the clean air
and beautiful setting.
I'm at Debdale Lock now.
And, like a lot of things
around here,
everything seems to be hewn
out of this sandstone.
And in this case, we've got a cave
that is right next to the lock.
And if I can just go inside...
Wow! So cool.
Oh!
I can't quite see much in here.
But this - according to the
guidebooks, anyway -
is where they would actually
shelter people on the boats,
and their horses as well.
But I'm not quite sure about that,
because the towpath for the horses
is on the other side,
so I'm not sure how they would have
got over here.
But I can imagine people sheltering
from the weather
in a cave like this, definitely.
You don't always get good neighbours
on a narrow boat.
But the best thing about being
a continuous cruiser
and being able to moor anywhere
is that I can just move on.
If I don't like who I'm moored
next to, I can just keep going.
With a spot to myself,
it's time to take a break and spend
some time exploring Kidderminster.
The opening of the Staffordshire
and Worcestershire Canal
gave this carpet-making town access
to worldwide exports.
And for a time, it became the
woven carpet capital of the world.
Something that is still
celebrated today.
SHOWER FLOWING
Oh, that's fresh!
Oh!
As I head south
out of Kidderminster,
the canal takes me under the
imposing Falling Sands Viaduct,
built by the Great Western Railway
in the 1870s.
Well, this is it,
the end of the Staffordshire
and Worcestershire Canal.
This lock me down into
Stourport-on-Severn's basins
and beyond that is the River Severn.
The Worcestershire town of Stourport
was once one of the busiest
inland ports in the country,
where sea, river
and canal traffic met.
Right, well, I'm in the basin now.
It does feel like the Naughty Lass
is coming home.
The difficulty when you are faced
with a dock is, where do you go?
Because the signs
can be quite small.
And through here should be
the company with which
the Naughty Lass
started out her life,
in service as a hire boat.
ENGINE STOPS
Hello. Hi, there.
Welcome to Starline Narrowboats.
Thanks for having me here.
It's really good to just bring
the Naughty Lass
back to where it started,
as a hire boat.
Originally, though, it was
Northern Star, I understand.
Yeah. Northern Star. Is that
what it was called originally?
That's what it was called
originally. Wow, amazing.
I've been given this brochure and
it's got old pictures in
of all the hire boats
that this company used to run.
And one of them, I'm hoping,
will be the Naughty Lass
with a previous name.
I'm not sure I can spot her.
Still, it's lovely to see all her
sister boats from back in the day.
I've had an absolutely
cracking journey, getting here
through 36 locks, covering 52 miles
of the canal system.
I've got a long, long list of things
I'd like to do to my boat
before I carry on my journey,
my meander through the Midlands
on the way to central Birmingham.
and this is my boat.
I gave up a busy life on land
for a supposedly quieter
existence afloat.
Oh, it's stuck in the mud.
Over spring and summer,
I'm making my way
to the heart of our canal network,
soaking up the scenery...
..and enjoying our industrial
heritage along the way.
While filming,
I'm aware life is on hold
and difficult for many people.
And I'm lucky to have this
chance to escape
through some quintessential
English landscapes.
Starting in Cheshire,
I'm heading south
to the River Severn and Worcester.
I'll take a detour to
Stratford-Upon-Avon
and then up into central Birmingham.
Around 200 miles in all.
DOGS BARK
I can't wait.
And I'm glad I can share
the experience
in my Canal Boat Diaries.
BIRDSONG
Waking up early on a narrow boat
is like finding
an extra little pocket within
this secret world
that you're already inhabiting.
I love looking out the window and
seeing the mist on the water.
Setting off on a journey before
anyone else
can be quite a challenge in the
height of summer,
when there are so many
other boats around.
You have to get up pretty early
in the morning
to be the first at the lock,
if it's a popular location.
ENGINE CHUGS
It's like you've got the canal
to yourself.
On this leg of my journey,
I'm setting off
from Market Drayton,
in Shropshire.
There'll be plenty to see,
like Compton Lock,
the prototype for narrow canal locks
and the town of Kidderminster,
in Worcestershire,
before arriving in
Stourport-on-Severn,
possibly the finest canal town
in the country.
It's 52 miles by water,
through 36 locks.
It's about 6:30am in the morning
and I'm creeping through
Market Drayton, in Shropshire.
It is nice to be up before
everyone else,
but I've still got to be considerate
and pass by these boats
at a tick-over speed, which is
something like two miles an hour,
just to make sure I'm not
waking anyone up
before they want to get up.
This is absolutely magical
canal cruising
because we're going through
what is essentially
a wooded cutting with stone.
It's incredible.
And we're deep in the forest now.
No road access, nothing.
We're in the middle of nowhere.
And it's just, yeah, it's magical.
I love it, absolutely love it.
At Tyrley Locks, the canal marks
the boundary between
Shropshire and Staffordshire.
For several miles, I'll crisscross
the two counties.
My destination is
Stourport-on-Severn,
and it's going to be a fascinating
place to visit, I think.
It's also where the Naughty Lass,
my narrow boat home,
was originally fitted out by a
hire boat company.
So, I might go and
check they're still operating.
It's funny to think of
the Naughty Lass as a holiday boat
back in the '80s.
She may well have cruised the
Shropshire Union many times before.
Civil engineer Thomas Telford was
responsible for this waterway.
These workers' cottages are
strikingly similar
to the toll houses on his
Holyhead Road,
the A5 in North Wales.
Recycling designs no doubt
saved time and money.
I've just reached the top of this
flight of locks and I want to
show you something, just while
we're here at Tyrley Wharf.
These lock gates, normally,
in other parts of the system,
they're black and white,
but on the Shropshire Union,
they chose grey.
The reason behind that is that,
after World War I,
there were quite a lot of stocks
of battleship grey paint,
so the Shropshire Union Railway
and Canal Company
bought up those stocks and used them
to paint their gates.
Well, that's how the story goes,
anyway.
A lot of people do think it's very
cheap or even free
to just live on a boat.
It's not at all -
it's quite expensive.
For example, each year,
I spend roughly £350 on diesel,
over £250 on coal,
£900 for my Canal and River
Trust licence.
And if you still think that's cheap,
a lot of the time that you need
living on our boat
is spent on moving it around
and that takes you away
from any work hours that
you're able to put in.
HE EXHALES HEAVILY
Yeah, I'm just run aground at the
worst moment possible.
So, I've got one boat coming from
this direction
and another one following up
behind me.
Right, let's try
and pull it over a bit more.
HE GROANS
Oh, it's stuck in the mud.
These narrow cuttings are so steep,
everything goes downhill.
Rocks, mud, trees, and it all ends
up in the canal.
There's a bit of a traffic jam.
There's at least...
..four boats waiting
to get past now.
Just one of those things.
As soon as the canal becomes
particularly narrow,
you just get tons of other boats
showing up at the same time.
I slowed down and then that was it.
Ugh!
Right, I'm just rolling.
I managed to get the boat back.
Sorry about that. It's all right!
I just got stuck in the mud.
Ah...!
It's just typical on these
narrow canals,
especially ones with steep sides.
Landslips and even small avalanches
in winter months
are an old and reoccurring problem
along this stretch.
Woodseaves is the longest canal
cutting in the country.
Dug by navvies,
working with picks and shovels.
RAIN PATTERS, THUNDER RUMBLES
This reminds me the first night
I spent on board my boat.
I'd just got it,
just got out on the water,
and then something went wrong with
the throttle, so I had to...
I had a spare one and I replaced
that one whilst it was
chucking down with rain and
there was a thunderstorm going on.
THUNDER RUMBLES
I love it. Who needs TV, eh?!
Just sit out and watch
thunderstorms.
Whenever I go back into a house,
things do seem to be
a lot more roomy.
There's a lot more space and it just
seems luxurious, straight away!
The fact that I don't have to
empty the toilet
or worry about using too much water.
But at the same time, when they are
complaining about parking issues
or their neighbours having parties
or something like that,
I do feel like I've made the right
decision, living on a boat.
ENGINE PUTTERS
The next 18 miles are lock-free
cruising,
which, for many people,
sounds great.
You just... You on your boat,
chugging along.
This is the most iconic structure
on the Shropshire Union Canal,
it's High Bridge.
It's got a second arch to take
the strain of the pressure
that's forced in by it
being so high.
That pylon was actually installed
for telegrams.
The wires then changed
for the telephone system.
And now there are no wires
going through it at all.
But I love the fact
it's just still kept there.
Norbury Junction is where
the abandoned Shrewsbury Canal
branches away
from the Shropshire Union.
A short section of this
lost waterway remains
and it's now used for moorings.
This is incredible.
It's all carved out of sandstone,
so it's completely unlined.
So you can see all the rocks.
Cowley Tunnel is the only tunnel
on the Shropshire Union main line.
At 81 yards, it was planned
to be much longer.
But during construction, they
discovered faults in the sandstone
and were forced to dig a deep
cutting instead.
Short but sweet, that one.
But no less magnificent.
The colder and warmer months
on board my boat
have been tough in equal measure,
but there's a lot I've actually done
to upgrade my standard of living.
I spent a little bit of time
taking down a lot of the boards
to try and remove the polystyrene
insulation that just wasn't any good
and fill in it in with some
recycled glass-fibre material
that not only keeps it warm
in winter,
but hopefully cooler in the summer
as well.
I've got my boat here moored up,
right at the end
of the Shropshire Union Canal,
by Autherley Junction.
And this is where it leads
on to the next canal,
the Staffordshire
and Worcestershire.
I'm going to stay here tonight
and in the morning,
nip through this lock
and then head on towards
Stourport-on-Severn.
As idyllic as this lifestyle is,
it does make it quite hard to see
friends and family.
It's midsummer now and I haven't
seen my parents since Christmas.
Sorry, Mum and Dad!
I miss you!
I'm just south of Autherley Junction
on the Staffordshire and
Worcestershire,
and almost halfway into this leg
of the journey.
I've still got to navigate the
shortest canal tunnel
in the country, at Dunsley, before
calling into Kidderminster
and arriving in Stourport.
As a canal geek,
this lock is perhaps
one of the most significant ones
that I could ever travel through.
In Wolverhampton suburbs,
Compton Lock is very special indeed.
Dating from around 1770,
It's thought to be
the first-ever narrow canal lock.
So, historically,
this is where it all started.
The Staffordshire
and Worcestershire Canal,
with its first lock,
and a prototype for James Brindley,
who must have had a bit
of a heart-in-mouth moment
as they first tested it
by letting water in.
Locks are great places
to meet people.
And occasionally,
you bump into boating pals.
I last met you guys when you were
on your honeymoon
on the Huddersfield Broad Canal.
How did that go?
Brilliant.
Yeah, it was really good.
It was a nice trip. Lovely weather.
Best trip we've ever done.
Definitely.
What's the secret to keeping the
romance going on a narrow boat,
when you're living so
close together?
Buy a second boat!
Buy a second boat.
That's hilarious. Thank you!
There's no getting away from it -
narrow boat living can be a squeeze
for couples.
Some people I bump into
again and again,
in really strange, different corners
of the Inland Waterways Network.
And other people, I'll see them
just once and never see them again.
Yet, thanks to social media,
I can still track their whereabouts
and see where they are.
It's like a really
close-knit community,
but just spread out and connected
by literally just the water
that you're floating in.
One thing that I really,
really struggle with,
living on this narrow boat,
is that I don't have the space
or the power for a washing machine
and it means that I'm constantly
trying to find launderettes.
And my washing basket is
always overflowing.
Luckily, in the spot I'm in right
now, there's a launderette,
there's a post office, food shops,
pubs - everything I could need.
With my clothes all clean,
it's time to move on.
And it's not long before I reach
Bratch Locks.
When it originally opened in the
1770s, Bratch was a staircase,
meaning the middle lock
shared its gates
with the one above and below it.
Later, it was re-engineered
as three individual locks
and side pounds were added to store
and recycle water.
It can be complicated to get
your head around,
so there are a lock-keepers here
to help out.
I get a real kick out of seeing
new locations on the canal.
Bratch Lock's an absolute
hidden gem.
I especially like the fact that
every single lock is different.
ENGINE SLOWS TO A STOP
When it is a rainy, dark day,
you do struggle to get power
through the solar panels.
Someone recently convinced me
to get a new charging controller.
So, this is the thing that allows
the solar panels
to feed into the batteries,
essentially.
I don't understand
12-volt boat electrics,
I prefer to let someone else
take that responsibility.
But there are little tiny jobs
that I can do,
including this one, that shouldn't
be too much of a problem for me.
I chose this boat because
of the potential I saw in it.
It's been a good boat
to start out on.
And five years later, here I am.
I'm still on it.
So it can't have been
that bad a decision
to buy it in the first place.
But I've got a lot that I'd like
to do to improve it.
Let's see...
..if it doesn't explode.
Hopefully, I've wired it up right.
In two, here we go...
And we're getting in two amps.
That's not right.
Maybe I need to give it a minute.
After a bit of teething trouble,
my electrics are sorted
and I can stop worrying.
It's about half past six
this morning.
The reason why I'm up so early
is because I looked out my window
and I saw the mist on the water,
and it's just my favourite thing.
I've arrived at Stewponey Wharf.
Back in the day,
this was the epicentre
for all of this canal's operations.
This is where they took
all the tolls.
They had the stables here,
and even a pub as well.
So, yeah, it all happened,
once upon a time.
This is Dunsley Tunnel
I'm about to go through.
But it's not only the shortest,
it's also possibly the oldest
navigable tunnel
on the entire system.
I guess tunnels are dark,
dank holes through a hill,
but they are also portals
into the past.
When I travel through,
I often think about the workers
who sometimes spent years
digging them.
It's always nice to get back
into daylight.
Especially when there are views
like this.
According to the guidebooks,
this part of the canal
is one of the prettiest.
So it's a real privilege
just to cruise through it.
150 years ago,
this was an industrial landscape.
For generations,
the area produced wrought iron,
some of which was
used to manufacture nails.
Today, it's a popular spot
for boaters
and there are a few facilities
on-hand.
ENGINE STOPS
The reality of my journey is that
I do actually have to also do things
like throw the rubbish out,
do my recycling.
And it's at facilities like this,
at Kinver,
where I can sort that out.
And there are quite a few
bottles here.
If anything was to suggest
that boaters
like a few drinks now and then,
there's your evidence.
Surely not, eh?
In the early 1900s,
this part of Staffordshire
was known as the Switzerland
of the Midlands
and was popular for days out.
Thousands of families
flocked to Kinver,
attracted by the clean air
and beautiful setting.
I'm at Debdale Lock now.
And, like a lot of things
around here,
everything seems to be hewn
out of this sandstone.
And in this case, we've got a cave
that is right next to the lock.
And if I can just go inside...
Wow! So cool.
Oh!
I can't quite see much in here.
But this - according to the
guidebooks, anyway -
is where they would actually
shelter people on the boats,
and their horses as well.
But I'm not quite sure about that,
because the towpath for the horses
is on the other side,
so I'm not sure how they would have
got over here.
But I can imagine people sheltering
from the weather
in a cave like this, definitely.
You don't always get good neighbours
on a narrow boat.
But the best thing about being
a continuous cruiser
and being able to moor anywhere
is that I can just move on.
If I don't like who I'm moored
next to, I can just keep going.
With a spot to myself,
it's time to take a break and spend
some time exploring Kidderminster.
The opening of the Staffordshire
and Worcestershire Canal
gave this carpet-making town access
to worldwide exports.
And for a time, it became the
woven carpet capital of the world.
Something that is still
celebrated today.
SHOWER FLOWING
Oh, that's fresh!
Oh!
As I head south
out of Kidderminster,
the canal takes me under the
imposing Falling Sands Viaduct,
built by the Great Western Railway
in the 1870s.
Well, this is it,
the end of the Staffordshire
and Worcestershire Canal.
This lock me down into
Stourport-on-Severn's basins
and beyond that is the River Severn.
The Worcestershire town of Stourport
was once one of the busiest
inland ports in the country,
where sea, river
and canal traffic met.
Right, well, I'm in the basin now.
It does feel like the Naughty Lass
is coming home.
The difficulty when you are faced
with a dock is, where do you go?
Because the signs
can be quite small.
And through here should be
the company with which
the Naughty Lass
started out her life,
in service as a hire boat.
ENGINE STOPS
Hello. Hi, there.
Welcome to Starline Narrowboats.
Thanks for having me here.
It's really good to just bring
the Naughty Lass
back to where it started,
as a hire boat.
Originally, though, it was
Northern Star, I understand.
Yeah. Northern Star. Is that
what it was called originally?
That's what it was called
originally. Wow, amazing.
I've been given this brochure and
it's got old pictures in
of all the hire boats
that this company used to run.
And one of them, I'm hoping,
will be the Naughty Lass
with a previous name.
I'm not sure I can spot her.
Still, it's lovely to see all her
sister boats from back in the day.
I've had an absolutely
cracking journey, getting here
through 36 locks, covering 52 miles
of the canal system.
I've got a long, long list of things
I'd like to do to my boat
before I carry on my journey,
my meander through the Midlands
on the way to central Birmingham.