Narrowboat Tacet

Silent Movement - Our gap year travelling the inland waterways



Monday 24 October 2011

Sailing the Severn

We arrived back in Stourport and on board Tacet last night, after a few days back in Sussex visiting family and to bring back  J with us for the half term holiday.
So this morning after returning the hire car and stocking up the cupboards we were ready to leave at 10.45.
Stourport has 5 basins and the one you enter from the Staffs and Worc canal is this one with the lovely clock tower on the warehouse.

There are wide locks and  narrow staircase locks leading down from the basins to the River Severn. 
Next to the basin there is a permanent fun fair, maybe this has fallen off one of the rides!
 On the other side is the grand Tontine building, now converted into flats, previously an hotel. I'm not sure if it once was a canal building.


 (Have had a bit of a search and found this from Andrew Denney "The Tontine Hotel was constructed as the Areley Inn in 1772 and gave accommodation to merchants and travellers. It was a grand place with a ballroom and several reception rooms."
How did the Tontine Hotel come to be called?  A Tontine Will is defined here- it's effectively when a group of men pool their inheritances and the last man standing gets the lot. 
Out onto the River and we first of all went up the the limit of the navigation before turning round and making our way down to Worcester.

 The locks on the Severn are all manned, at this time of year between 8am and 4pm.
A grand view of Worcester Cathedral from the river.




The River Severn from the top of the Cathedral tower.
Tonight we are moored on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal at Diglis Basin.
11 miles, 10 locks








1 comment:

  1. I think I would feel very small travelling down a significant river in a narrowboat!

    ReplyDelete