36 Locks in 4 Miles

On Sunday (13/06/2021) we had a family walk to the shower block and took it in turns to watch the shower room door, which had no way of locking or indicating that it was engaged from the inside. You did need a British Waterways key to get in.

Steve and Vera walked through the field (which was a sheep poo banquet for Vera) to the ‘commanding position’ where St Bartholomew’s church now stands, and may have been a sacred site for a thousand years or more.

There were some impressive windows and the sounds of a service came from within.

Vera was intrigued by the grave of the Earl of Plymouth.

And was keen to read the inscription on it.

Hilary’s brother Martin arrived at 08:30 on his bicycle, which we put in the cratch, our boat bike shed in the front of the boat. We then set off through the locks.

Tardebigge Locks or the Tardebigge Flight is the longest flight of locks in the UK, comprising 30 narrow locks on a two-and-a-quarter-mile (3.6 km) stretch of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal at Tardebigge, Worcestershire.

It raises the waterway 220 feet (67 metres), and lies between the Tardebigge tunnel (580 yards or 530 metres long) to the North and the Stoke Prior flight of six narrow locks to the South.

The hot sun blazed down and we stopped for lunch at the busy Queen’s Head after the 30th lock. We had to download their Lovely Pub App (https://www.lovelypubs.co.uk/) to order food and drinks.

We were now 14 miles from Worcester and 16 miles from Birmingham.

We continued through six more locks and moored up at Stoke Works in Stoke Prior after making use of the C&RT Services at Stoke Wharf. Steve got out the folding bike and cycled to Costcutter to get some chilled Pinot Grigio and some Marston’s Eagle Brewery Banana Bread beer (Fresh bananas pack a whole bunch of aromas, while rich, malty hops deliver a seriously fruity flavour. All perfectly balanced by a masterful blend and 5.2% ABV).

The Butcheress next door looked interesting.

Steve and Vera walked back along the tow path, fending off an aggressive swan who was protecting his family, and found The Navigation pub. Guinness was the best option and Vera enjoyed water at the Dog Station in the garden.

We read our books for a bit and in the evening we watched the harrowing film “Believe Me. The Abduction of Lisa McVey” on Netflix. Believe Me is based on the real-life case of Lisa McVey, a 17-year-old girl (played by Katie Douglas) in Tampa Bay, Florida, who was abducted and raped by serial killer Bobby Joe Long (Rossif Sutherland) in the Eighties.

At his trial in 1985, Bobby Joe Long pleaded guilty to all charges, including eight murders as well as the kidnapping and assault of McVey. He was executed on 23 May 2019.

Now 54 years old, McVey works as a member of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, specialising in sex crimes and working to protect children.