Thursday 17th March 

We’ve had a lovely stay on the Stourbridge Arm a place well worth a visit.

The Arm terminates at the foot of Stourbridge High Street, next to a restored Bonded Warehouse where there are secure moorings for both permanent residential and pleasure moorings. If space allows, overnight stays can be available within this area by prior arrangement. Visitor moorings are located just outside the secure moorings, which is where we moored, next to a lovely recently laid grassy area.  

The bonded Warehouse was once a H.M. Customs & Excise Warehouse (secured area) in which dutiable goods were stored. The doors would be secured with two padlocks, a revenue lock and the keeper’s lock so that an Excise Officer and the Warehouse Keeper both needed to be present before gaining entry. Items like Sherry from Spain, Wine from Portugal and France and Rum from Jamaica were stored in the warehouse. Any empty casks were in great demand, Sherry wood by Whisky distillers in Scotland and Rum casks by Worcestershire farmers for Cider.

Steph had been back to see family 🥰

On Steph’s return we visited a brilliant little pub called the Dog House and we only went in as it was raining !!! Honestly 😂 We had such a good time - the locals were so friendly (if you could understand the very broad local accent) and the beer was excellent!!... Refreshed again 😋 for our next cruise tomorrow, we walked back to the boat (as it had stopped raining), and bedded down for the night as we had 7 locks and a 4 hour cruise. 

After filling with water (great water pressure), winding at the end of the arm and clearing some rubbish from the prop of NB Sefton, we set off back along the arm and took a left at Wordsley Junction towards Stourton Junction - where we will join a new to us canal - the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal!.   

What a beautiful stretch of canal!  It’s just so lovely to be back in the countryside and on such a sunny day - perfect!

As we approached the 4 Stourton locks that take us down on to the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal, it was great to see the beautiful gardens which reflected the many hours of hard work.  The locks were a dream, clean, well maintained and in a lovely setting.  At Stourton Junction we turned right heading towards Greensforge. The only slight disappointment, we never had time to turn left and explore some of the delights we had read about. However the immediate peacefulness & serenity which engulfed our senses, plus the fact that hopefully we can explore all this canal next year, soon elevated our spirits. Very exciting to be on more new waters - and we were loving it, living the moment, yet, optimistic about tomorrow 🤗.

The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal was opened in 1772, linking Stourport-on-Severn with the Trent and Mersey canal at Great Haywood and the engineer was James Brindley - it was one of the few canals he lived to see complete.  It was an early contour canal, winding across the landscape, following the valleys of the Stour.  It carried its last significant commercial cargo of coal from pits near Cannock down to Stourport in 1949.

After crossing an aqueduct over the River Stour we cruised past a cave cut out of the rocks, known as Devil’s Den and thought to have been used as a boathouse by the Foley family of Prestwood Hall.  The Foley’s were a family of Black Country iron masters and the hall is now a hospital.

We cruise northwards through a quiet and remote stretch of the canal with three more single locks and we go past one of the most beautiful gardens we have ever seen - it belongs to the owner of the adjoining Ashwood Nurseries and although it’s private, it does open to the public on certain dates.  

We moored up at Hinksford opposite the pumping station

Initially powered by steam engines (but then removed in 1948), the Hinksford pumping station was built by Henry Lovatt in 1898. Considered unique as it was the only pumping station on the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal. The land was purchased from John Dutton, owner of The Bush Inn (which we frequented),  for one hundred pounds plus a good supply of free water, provided the amount did not exceeding 100 gallons per day.

The Hinksford Arms was spitting distance from the pumphouse and we stumbled across it while attempting to research the history of the pumphouse 😊 (if you believe that you’ll believe anything). Exhausted from the locks, cruise and research we needed some liquid refreshment, so in we went, only to be surrounded by men dressed in green, wearing odd shaped hats 🤓. Maybe, just maybe it was St Patrick’s Day…. Only polite to join in the celebrations!!    

Pubs Visited
The Hinksford Arms

The Dog House

Click here to see a video reel of our journey.