Harnser's Travels: The Queens Head Saturday 24 Auguste 2019

Saturday 24 August 2019

The Queens Head Saturday 24 Auguste 2019

Day : Saturday
Date : 14 August 2019
Start : 1030
Finish : 1700hrs Bottom of Tardebigge Flight

I have uploaded our proposed route to CanalPlanAC if anyone wants to see where we are likely to be. It gets updated with actual position each night.

Last night at sometime we had a visitor as we found there footprints on the front deck and down the gunwale.

Thanks to Saturday Live we were a bit late getting away and it had just turned 1030 when we set off. As Diana was driving I managed to get a better photo of the brickwork inside Dunhampstead tunnelwhere the brickwork joins.

As we approached Hanbury Wharf where we stopped for diesel we passed this shed, not only have they been collecting CRT signs they also have a CRT padlock, which according to the notices at Droitwich cost £80 each and I am helping to pay for this.

We had mixed fortunes on the locks and only one turned on us, which I don't understand. A straight section of canal and I watched a boat come out of the lock, he then sat in the lock mouth while his crew turned the lock. My first thought was he has a butty, but as I got closer his crew hurried along the lock and rejoined the boat, there was a boat a 100 yards above the lock to come down but between them they had only drawn 1 top paddle, Once the crew was back on board the boat set off as I was coming into the lock mooring, not a word was said. Eventually the other paddle was drawn and after a delay the boat set off from 100 yards back into the lock and came down. Strange.

We stopped for water above Astwood and a boat came by just as I was about to set off, chatting to him below Stoke bottom lock he said he was going through the lock, wind and then come down again, I wished him luck with Black Prince moving boats about on turn round day. Things weren't helped by CRT leaving a workboat on the lock moorings, below Black Prince hire base, over a Bank Holiday and on turn round day. Anyway things didn't go to plan for the boat ahead, he went up, a Black Prince came down, we went up and he was second in the queue to come back down. There were two Volockies on the next flight, a lady and a gent, in radio contact with each other to aid boat movements, one of the boats coming down had so many flowers I don't know how he could see to steer.

We continued up the flight to moor opposite The Queens Head. Just before we reached the pub I could see the sails of a windmill in the distance. it was Avoncroft Museum and we had attended an IWA AGM there a few years ago. I had tried to ring to book a table but they weren't answering the phone. When we arrived the place was heaving as usual and the normal story, if you can find a table in the bar area you can eat. We went over about 7pm and there were loads of places in the bar to sit so it wasn't a problem. The place is not cheep for a pub, but the food is better than some and for a place that is so busy the service was good.