6/8/11 - Flight of Fancy

Distance - 5.5 Miles
Walk inspired by - Julie Royal Walks in Worcestershire
Caches - Found 7 our of 9
First Cache

Tardebigge

I've bought a new walking book.  Nothing unusual in that, I hear Sonia cry.  This is a collection of 50 walks in Worcestershire by Julie Royal, from her weekly series in the Worcester Evening News.  She also writes for Country Walking magazine.  I'm keeping my eye on her for when she retires.

I am going to do this book in order and walk number 1 takes in the Tardebigge Flight of locks.  This is a stretch of 30 locks over 2.5 miles that take the boater all day to work their way through.  I was originally opposed to this activity as it is second in the boredom stakes to fishing but seeing Mr Barge gently navigating his vessel whilst Mrs Barge runs ahead, puffing with the spanner to open the next lock has a certain appeal.  Read all about this engineering feat at Interesting Canal Facts.

My favourite Tardebigge story was on Julia Bradbury's canal walks where she asked the lady lock keeper here if she had any funny stories from her 30 years working on the canal.  Her answer, delivered in Brummie Dead Pan, told the story of an experienced boater who fell in and drowned.  Not quite the story our top walking totty was looking for.

Anyway, Tardebigge is not my favourite strangely names village beginning with "T" in the bromsgrove area.  That honour belongs to Timberhonger - which when you say it a deep manly voice sounds like it should be Africa. 

Drop Ellie of at work and programme the sat nav to Bromsgrove train station.  It doesn't find it but drops me off close.  Park up on the street and head West on the Monarch Way.  A couple of quick caches to test out my new device which is holding up fine.  Sonia can even phone me up to ask if I have seen something she has mislaid.  Role reversal.

Not much to report on this leg of the walk.  Some cows.  Tardebigge Church Spire in the distance.  Pass a couple with three dogs that I see later on the walk and help me find a cache.  Their son is a cacher.  I asked if they knew his name and they kind of looked at me funny, until they realised I meant his cacher name.

Pick up the canal and then its all down hill - watching the boaters work their way slowly up and down the flight.  Last time I was here, a boater was going mental because someone had left all the locks open, or closed (not really sure how these things work).

After walking the flight of lock we head north through fields and meet some new friends.

Had to leave Molly in case she worried them

But she had worries of her own

Head back east through fields and then skirting around the grounds of a Cricket pitch before finding my way back to the car.

Nice easy walk.