After our trip up the Stourbridge Arm to sample a pint at the Royal Exchange we continued on our way down the down the Stourbridge Canal to it's junction with the Staffs. and Worcester Canal at Stourton.
It is a nice flight of locks that drops you down to the Staffs. and Worcester Canal, especially in the spring when the leaves are nice and green and the blossom is still out. You can see the sign post at the junction here from the last lock.
Once on the new canal you are quickly up to Stewponey Lock. It has a lovely little toll house still by the lock and I love these circular weirs that are a feature of the Staffs and Worcester Canal.
We stopped for a day at Kinver and had a lovely walk to the Holy Austin Rock Houses and a hike up to Kinver Edge and around the plateau there before descending to the village once more. We did stop for a pint at the Vine that is just by the Kinver Lock and enjoyed my pint of Enville Bitter brewed not very far away at all at Enville at the Enville Brewery (funny name for a bear then!). If you wanted to reduce your beer miles even further I also had a pint of 'Under the Edge' from Kinver Brewery brewed in Kinver!! We were also offered home made samosas which, all in all could qualify the pub for this blogs boozer but we are still moving on. Well worth a visit though and saves you the walk into town too.
The Staffs. and Worcester must be one of the most picturesque canals on the system and it certainly has it's moments as it cuts through sandstone ridges giving dramatic photo opportunities. One of the best must be here ate Debdale Lock. It is a long way from Debdale Wharf on the Leicester Arm near Foxton.
Not far from Debdale Lock we moored up again and explored the little village of Wolverley. It is hard to miss the church of St. John that is built on the ridge overlooking the village. The village has been there since before the Norman Conquest and has been quite a place in it's day. There are still some beautiful buildings. Wolverley was the birth place of one William Sebright who went to London and made his fortune. We bought lots of land in Bethnal Green and when he died he left it in his will to be sold and use the money to establish a Grammar school in the village The original school from the 1620's is still there but another school was built in the 1920. It is now a state run secondary school. The River Stour at the foot of the ridge powered an early tin plate mill in 1670. The village is also the birth place of John Baskerville who was the printer who invented the Baskerville font and whose works were in Birmingham just near the New Library with a posh building bearing his name there. There are some houses that have their back wall built into the sandstone cliff and others that have garages carved out of the rock.
We continued on our way and ended up at Kidderminster. Helen had to go home so it was handy for the station and Tesco's and I was left to get on with the painting of the back end of the boat and the newly acquired short plank. This view of the church of St. Mary and All saints is taken from the aqueduct over the River Stour which is just before the lock.
I very rarely go drinking on my own but as I had a week on my own I had a look round the town when ever I went shopping or to buy bits and pieces for the boat. I did find the Penny Black, a Weatherspoon's, in the middle of the town but ventured further up the hill to find the King and Castle. The pub name has nothing to do with royalty or fortifications but refers to two iconic classes of steam trains. Here follows two gratutious photos of steam trains from Wikipedia.
King Edward II built in 1930's
Drysllwyn Castle (Earl Bathurst) built in 1936.
The King and Castle pub is in part of the Kidderminster Station of the Severn valley Steam railway and hence the association with the steam trains. The bar is actually part of the refreshment rooms and is decorated appropriately. Mind you my main reason for seeking it out was to check that the Bathams they served was just as nice as that I'd tasted at the Royal Exchange and it wasn't a fluke. As well as Bathams on regular they have Hobson's bitter and mild. I'm afraid to say that I stuck to the Bathams as a proper taste test. (Strictly for research purposes you understand).
The King and Castle pub is found just near to the first ornate lamp before the entrance to the station proper. The modern working station is found just behind the camera.
I must say that although it was still a magnificent drink it was just not quite as good as that from the Royal Exchange so must have been a day or two older or something. I did give it 4.5* rather than the 5* previously , partly as it was £2-80 instead of £2-60 at the Royal Exchange, so still worth walking up the hill for, I also managed to force down a a cob sandwich with it to that was beautiful with the beer. It is funny how a bread bun attracts different names all over the place isn't it. It would be a bread cake her, a bap, roll, barm cake and tea cake to name a few. The natives were friendly and after a couple and a cob I wandered back to the boat contented. The presence of the steam trains and the access to the platform make this a must for those of us addicted to beer and steam engines so is my blog recommendation.
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