Tardebigge

On Friday (11/06/2021) Steve cycled to the Co-op in Alvechurch. Yesterday street cleaners had made the square outside almost unbearable with noise and choking brown dust using a mechanical brick scrubbing device.

There were some historic old buildings in Alvechurch.

Many now housing businesses.

We then set off down to Alvechurch Marina to get diesel. It had been busy there this morning as all the week-long holiday boats were returning to base, and they had to be back by 9am to be turned-around for the next lot of holiday makers that afternoon.

We continued through the 613 yard Shortwood Tunnel and Steve took the tiller for the 580 yard Tardebigge Tunnel.

We moored up at New Wharf at Tardebigge where there were Canal and River Trust Services. The village is most famous for the Tardebigge Locks, a flight of 30 canal locks that raise the Worcester and Birmingham Canal over 220 feet (67 metres) over the Lickey Ridge. It lies in the county of Worcestershire.

Steve and Vera walked down to investigate The Tardebigge public house.

This was quite nice as keg beers go.

Apart from St Bartholomew’s church and the pub, there was very little around here and Steve had to cycle 4 miles to Bromsgrove on Saturday morning to get The Telegraph.

When the New Wharf was setup the landowner, the Earl of Plymouth, decided it needed a pub to provide hospitality for canal travellers. The wharf was the base for the four steam tugs that were used to haul unpowered narrowboats through the four tunnels on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal.

The old pub is currently being renovated, although no longer as a pub.

We went to The Tardebigge for lunch on Saturday and Steve ate sea bass while Hilary had her favourite chicken Caesar salad in the beer garden. Young ladies who lunch giggled and took selfie videos while knocking back Prosecco and comparing their tattoos. A group of young men who appeared to be prison wardens on a training course filled some of the other tables.

We sat in the sun on the stern in the afternoon, reading our books and in the evening we watched Midsomer Murders and Casualty on live TV.