Lock Steps

Me and a couple of daughters had a lovely couple of hours in Stourport on Severn, where the Staffs and Worcestershire canal joins the mighty Severn, and rolls on down to the sea. It's an odd little place, and one of the first industrial new towns. Telford had hoped to bring his canal to Bewdley, an important place of commerce and navigation, but the hills between Kidderminster and Bewdley were too big for him, so he took the canal on to a little place called Gilgal, and then to the Severn. Around Gilgal grew the new-town of Stourport. The canal basin has been rejuvenated, and now quite grand. A couple of different locks join the basin to the river, one for big boats and one for narrow boats. This pic shows some steps on the little lock. Next door is a big amusement park, and over the road a river-side park, greatly frequented by day trippers. Bewdley gets the booted hiking brigade and the quiet strollers, and Stourport gets the inland sea-side trade.