Tibberton to Hanbury Wharf.

Hi Folks.

Phewwww was a hot, hot night?

The good old British weather goes from the sublime to the ridiculous it seems. It was a hot and humid night in bed, but I did manage to sleep for most of it.

We set off from our Tibberton mooring at 8.30am with the sun already shining and the heat rising.

Oddingley has three bridges and as we approached the second of them, across the field was this stunning cottage and a rather quaint little church, something you might see on postcards. Apparently the church is worth a visit. The present church is mainly 15th century, with 17th century additions. Some of the stain glass is also 15th century. Perhaps when we are this way again we will stop and go and have a look.

At Oddingley the railway hugs the canal, where I spotted this signal box. At first I thought maybe it was out of use, but then a gentleman wave to us as we passed by, so maybe it is still being used after all.

The one thing we did notice was wire caging around a couple of the bridges, I suspect this is to help hold the bridges together. It is a little unsightly, but if it helps save the bridges then it is worth it.

Before entering Dunhampstead Tunnel which tunnel which is 230 yards long we entered a wooded cutting giving us a little light relief from the sun.
Having exited Dunhampstead Tunnel into another wooded cutting, I spotted a Tawney Owl as it flow across the canal and into the trees never to be seen again. Like a lot of tunnels there is no towpath running through it, so when horses were used to pull the boats, the horses would have to go over the top, whilst the boatmen pulled the boats through using a handrail.
Another pretty cottage.

We arrived at Hanbury Wharf and moored outside the "Eagle & Sun". Having moored up a gentleman from another boat came and chatted to us about going down the Droitwich, he did in fact moan a lot about how bad it was and that we probably would not get down there, but I am of the opinion that do not knock it until you have tied it, so we will see what happens. Walking back past the "Eagle & Sun" I could smell the carvery and thought lunch out was a good idea. So we had lunch in the "Eagle & Sun" with John and Sheila on NB Solitaire, who we have got to know since they first moored next to us at Diglis. After lunch we said cheerio to them as they are continuing up the Worcs & Birm, we walked down the junction canal to find the local BW man Tom, but at the new staircase locks we met some BW workers doing some final touchs ready for tomorrow. According to them we should be able to come down tomorrow, so we are looking forward to this, I doubt we will sleep much tonight with anticipation. We never did find Tom, a man of mystery in these parts, well the parts we keep looking in.

We have a decent digital TV signal, so I can watch the tennis with a clear picture yippeeeee. because yesterday it was a matter of guess where the tennis ball was in the snowy picture (Not good for the eyes). So I am off now to watch more tennis.... yayyyy Murray is through yippee.

Chat soon xx