Small Bears on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal

Following the excitement of our journey to Sonning-on-Thames, it was time to return to Uppie and complete the journey back to North Staffordshire.  

We set off on a very warm day and, with five bears in the Bear Bag, our journey by train and taxi back to Stourport wasn't the most comfortable we have made!

Polar and Grizzly collected Uppie from the chandlery moorings and we had a nice afternoon and evening cruising north along the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal through Kidderminster, mooring in a country park just north of the town. 

The sky was clear that night and we were very excited small bears, because Polar and Grizzly let us stay up late to watch the International Space Station and a Russian satellite fly overhead.

The following day's boating took us through some fascinating canal landscapes, as much of the channel had been carved out of red sandstone rock.  At one lock, there was a cave which had been used as a stable for boat horses, while further on, a tunnel went right under a row of houses!

The day was very warm, so we stopped at lunchtime under some trees and, while Grizzly had a nap, Polar watched over us while we played and climbed in the nearby woods.

We travelled on through Kinver when the weather cooled down a little, where another boater advised us that there was a very pretty mooring just before Stourbridge Junction.

Every evening when we are on Uppie, Grizzly writes up what has happened and where we have been in his log, often with help from Hanley or another of us bears, as we need to tell him if anything interesting has happened during his naps.

Our own naps were a little more comfortable once we started using my old bunk as extra sleeping space, as five bears in the Bear Basket is really too many.  We had something else to look forward to the following day, as I had arranged to meet our friends Milly the Mammoth and Blueberry Bear at the little town of Womborne, as long as our humans could get Uppie there in good time.

We had planned to see them when we were at Mad O'Rouke's Pie Factory, but their humans had tested positive for the nasty virus and, as it is very hard for a small bear and mini mammoth to make their way across Birmingham without humans to help, they had to drop out.

We made our way along more sandstone-sided cuttings and rocky locks - including one called "Rocky Lock" and arrived at Womborne in good time, so Polar went to explore the locks further along, called "Bumblehole Lock" and "The Bratch".

Bumblehole is a normal lock, although it has a funny little bridge and an old cottage alongside it, but The Bratch Locks are very special.  They look like a three-chamber staircase but are actually three separate locks, with very short pounds between the top and bottom gates and large side-pounds that some of the water is saved into.  Because it is hard for people who haven't used it before to remember which paddles have to be opened and closed first, and because very bad floods can happen if they get it wrong, there is a lockkeeper on duty to help.

Polar watched a family working their boat down the locks and took lots of photographs.  We were quite anxious bears when she showed us, as we knew we would have to go up the flight the next morning, and we couldn't work out whether she or Grizzly needed to open the red or blue paddles first.

We were still trying to work it out when Milly and Blueberry arrived, with their humans, and came through the Bumblehole Lock with us.  After that, it was time for fish and chips!

When it was time to go through the locks the next morning, we were very good bears and stayed in the cratch, so we didn't distract Polar or Grizzly, but we did find the very deep bottom lock rather scary.  Grizzly followed the lockkeeper's instructions and we got up the whole staircase with no trouble at all.

We thought that was a very good start to the day and we were looking forward to making good progress up the canal but, at the next lock, Uppie got stuck!  It must have been very slightly narrower than usual, as Grizzly got about half way in and found he couldn't move our boat forward or back - the little rubber fenders near the bow were wedged tight!

Polar and Grizzly tried very hard to get the boat free but couldn't move it.  They were just going to call River Canal Rescue when a Canal and River Trust man came along, checking the overflows or spillways from the locks and, with his help, they managed to get one of the fenders free, and Grizzly reversed out, lifted the other fender, then came all the way into the lock and through.  

We all needed Elevenses after that!

Polar and Grizzly decided to stop at Wightwick that night, so they could visit a National Trust house and gardens the following day.  

Looking at the map, we realised that we were quite close to Tour Guide Ted's house again, so we sent a message telling him where we were going to be and suggesting we get together for a cream tea.

We loved the gardens at Wightwick!  There were some beautiful trees, ideal for climbing, and lovely flowers everywhere and lots of acanthus plants; the common name for these is "Bear's Breaches".

Hanley Bear found the sundial fascinating, seeing how the shadow falling on the dial told the time, although his shadow wasn't in the right place at all.  

Then he and Endon found a grassy bank and had a lot of fun running up and tumbling down it.  Polar had to help them pick stalks of grass out of their fur afterwards.  

We bears found plenty of places to play hide-and-seek too, before having a look at the kitchen garden and cut flower beds.  We had to stay in the Bear Bag to visit the house, but that was super too, with very elegant rooms full of original William Morris wallpaper and furnishings (Polar loves these).

There was even a geology area, which Hanley enjoyed exploring and climbing on, and where Waverley found some rocks from Scotland.

Then it was time for afternoon tea!  Ted, Frank and Theo had arrived with "Assistant D" and "Ancient Assistant", so Grizzly organised scones, cream and jam for us all.

Tea was delicious and it was fun to see our bear friends again.  When it was time for them to go home, we all had a big group hug, then Ted invited us to a Christmas Party - in August!

Uppie was poorly the next morning.  Just as Grizzly approached a lock, a warning light came on to say there was no charge to the batteries, but a clever engineer from RCR came and fitted a new fan belt, and then Uppie was better again.

Once Uppie was better we made our way up to the junction with the canal to Wolverhampton, then under some amazing railway arches to the junction with the Shropshire Union Canal.  We were back on waterways we had travelled on before.

We started to have some rainy weather, so we bears stayed inside Uppie.  Hanley organised us into a football team and we found that Huddlesford was a very good goalkeeper, because he is a tall bear with quick reflexes.  Hanley says he is "the Gordon Banks of bears!"

Some days were very stormy, with very big clouds and very heavy showers, so we couldn't sit out on the roof.  Polar and Grizzly timed our journeys to avoid the heaviest rain, but still got wet at times.  We bears had enjoyed our holiday, but we were looking forward to being home.

When we reached Tixall Wide, we knew we were almost at the Trent and Mersey Canal.  

"We'll be back in Stoke soon!" cheered Hanley.

And, a couple of days later, we were!  We stopped at the Middleport Pottery and had lunch at the cafe, where Huddlesford had oatcakes for the first time, with chips!

Hanley Bear found a skip full of faulty china.  Some of it was very badly broken or cracked, but other pieces just had bad faults in the patterns.  

"Why don't they give these away to poor people setting up home for the first time, who can't afford any plates or cups?" Hanley said to Polar.  

"Perhaps we ought to write to them and suggest they save some things they can't sell for charities, so we can give them away," Polar replied, but she hasn't got around to doing that yet.  Hopefully this will remind her!

After that, it was time to go through the Harecastle Tunnel.  As we had a long time to wait, while some boats came south, Polar said we could run around and explore.  Hanley decided to cross over to the other side of the canal.  Soon afterwards, we heard a big cheer.  

"Look everybear!" he cheered.  "There's one of those special Transport Trust signs here, for our tunnel!"

Actually, it's for both of the tunnels - the Telford Tunnel, that we still use, and the original Brindley Tunnel that has partially collapsed.  We all came over to see the sign and to get a photograph of us all together near the little cafe and information centre.

Then it was time for Uppie and the other northbound boats to go through the tunnel.  Polar collected us all into the Bear Bag and then settled us into the cratch, and soon we were in the tunnel.  Huddlesford hadn't been through before, but he is a brave bear and he wasn't scared.

"We'll be back at Uppie's mooring soon," I told him.  "And then we'll go to Grizzly and Polar's house and have more adventures."

And we did!