Rowkin Rovings Blog

It was a matter of turning onto the Droitwich Canal this morning and down three locks to the Droitwich Spa Marina which we have booked in for the next two nights. We have never booked into a marina like this before but we have a number of chores to do on the boat as well as a rendezvous with our friends Miles and Karen who are coming up from London.

The town of Droitwich is a 25-minute walk further down the canal from the marina. It has been an important centre for the production of salt, obtained from natural brine springs, since before Roman times. The Droitwich canal was one of the last canals to be built in the Canal Mania era.  It is 1.75 miles (2.82 km) long and includes six locks.

We were very fortunate when we did the three locks as they were all manned by volunteers. They explained to us that the pound between locks two and three have caused issues with flooding on the road that runs along the side of the canal and hence the locks are now manned. There is an important sequence when emptying the locks by using the side pounds first but many boaters do not know to do this. The water then builds up in the pound and runs over onto the road……oops.

They have only two visitor moorings in the marina so we were very fortunate to get one. We did and have fully utilised the resources available to us. We have hooked up to power so the washing machine is going full blast as is the vaccuum and any other electrical item we could possibly find to use. Also filled up the boat with water and will top up just before we leave on Saturday. Number 2 buckets all emptied and ready to go for our guests.

The mid trip oil change has been completed by Fraser the mechanic in an efficent manner.

The roof has been washed; the side of Ange has been washed and buffed and then the boat turned around and same done on the other side. Windows all cleaned and she looks a million pounds! Good enough to sell!