Stourport Ring

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Description of the Route

We'll describe a journey clockwise around the ring, starting at Stourport Basin.

Staffs & Worcester Canal
from Stourport Basin to Stourton Junction

From Stourport Basin the canal climbs all the way to Stourton Junction and beyond.  The locks are well spaced out along the twisting and turning route of the contour canal.

It's not far to Kidderminster, then into open countryside, some of the most picturesque of all canals as we cruise along a lovely green corridor to Stourton Junction where there's a choice of routes.

Stourbridge & Dudley Canals
from Stourton Junction to Dudley Port Junction

The shorter route starts with the four locks at Stourton, then a short cruise to Wordsley Junction where the Stourbridge Town Arm provide an opportunity for a detour into the town and overnight moorings.

The Stourbridge Sixteen locks lead upwards from Wordsley Junction, including two locks so close together they are often mistaken for a staircase.  Leys Junction at the top gives the opportunities to explore the Fens Branch and the Stourbridge Extension Canal.

The Stourbridge Canal meets the Dudley Canals end on just below the 8 Delph Locks and one further locks at Blowers Green complete our climb to the Birmingham Level of the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN).  Passing Windmill End we enter Netherton Tunnel to reach Dudley Port Junction where we meet the longer alternative route.

Staffs & Worcester Canal
from Stourton Junction to Aldersley Junction

The longer alternative route continues along the Staffs and Worcester Canal, reaching the summit level and Aldersley Junction.

There's a staircase of 2 locks at Botterham and the unique group of three locks at Bratch.  Once again the Staffs and Worcester is considered by many to include some of the most picturesque sections of canals in the country.

If you choose this longer alternative route, please make sure your schedule and crew's abilities allow for the extra time and work involved.

Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) Main Lines
from Autherley Junction to Dudley Port Junction

We join the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) at Autherley Junction with an immediate climb through 21 locks in the Wolverhampton Flight.  These take around four hours - a little less with a good crew and the locks in your favour, rather more with slow boats in front of you.

Our route follows James Brindley's Old Main Line with its twists and turns to Deepfields Junction, then Thomas Telford's New Main Line to Birmingham.  Alternative routes are available through the BCN and covered in the BCN route information page.

The 3 Factory Locks lower us from the Wolverhampton Level to the Birmingham Level of the BCN with a short cruise to meet the shorter alternative route at Dudley Port Junction.

Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) Main Lines
from Dudley Port Junction to Worcester Bar

Its a lock free cruise along one of the longest lock free pounds in the country to reach Birmingham.  Keeping straight on at each junction will lead us to Old Turn Junction then through Brindley Place and Broad Street Tunnel to reach Gas Street Basin which was once split into two by the bar which runs across the centre of the basin.

Goods were transhipped across the bar for the first twenty years until Parliament permitted a connection through a stop lock, now removed, through the narrows at Worcester Bar.

Worcester & Birmingham Canal
from Worcester Bar to Hanbury Junction

The Worcester and Birmingham canal takes us out of Birmingham, continuing along the long pound to Tardebigge.  We'll pass the Stratford upon Avon Canal at Kings Norton Junction.

The descent to the River Severn at Worcester starts with the 30 locks in the Tardebigge flight, the longest in the country.  The locks work easily - just allow 4-5 hours and remember there are no stopping places within the flight, although you might be able to pause for a few minutes for a quick sandwich.

Several more locks lower us to Hanbury Junction where there will soon be another choice of routes.

Droitwich Canals
from Hanbury Junction to Hawford Junction

The Droitwich Canals are under restoration and not navigable.  When the work is finished they will provide an alternative route to Hawford Junction but, for now, they can still be explored on foot.

The Droitwich Junction Canal is a narrow canal which takes us into Droitwich and onto the River Salwarpe which is used for a short distance.  Leaving the river through the Droitwich Barge Lock onto the Droitwich Barge Canal we continue the descent, now through broad locks, to reach the River Severn at Hawford Junction.

Restoration work is expected to open the canal in stages from the Hanbury Junction end.

Worcester & Birmingham Canal
from Hawford Junction to Diglis (Worcester) Basin

Continuing along the Worcester and Birmingham Canal there are still more locks, 58 in total along this canal, which lead us into Worcester - a great place for shopping and all the amenities of a large town.

River Severn
from Diglis (Worcester) Basin to Hawford Junction

Two large locks lower us from Diglis (Worcester) Basin to the River Severn where the crew who operated the locks have to be picked up from pontoons which are immediately downstream of the lock, leading to some interesting manoeuvres to reach them, while facing upstream.

The large locks of the River Severn are power operated by lock keepers so there's no work to do.  Red traffic lights mean wait, flashing red mean the lock keeper has seen you and will prepare the lock as soon as they can (so keep waiting) while green means enter the lock, watching for signals from the lock keeper about which side of the lock to use.

A few moments after the lock we reach Hawford Junction with the Droitwich Barge Canal.

River Severn
from Hawford Junction to Stourport Basin

Continuing upstream there are few bridges over the river and few landmarks to identify where you are.  We pass through two large locks on the way to Stourport.

Two parallel sets of lock lead up to Stourport Basin.  The first we reach are broad locks and reserved for those boats too wide for the narrow locks.

The narrow locks form two staircases and are the route for most boats between the river and the basins.

Links

Canal Societies

• Birmingham Canal Navigations Society
• Droitwich Canal Trust
• Dudley Canal Trust
• Staffs & Worcester Canal Society
• Stourbridge Navigation Trust
• Worcester & Birmingham Canal Society

Dimensions

Canal	Max Length	Max Beam	Max Height	Max Speed
Stourport Ring  (via Delph)	70' 0" 31.34m	7' 0" 2.13m	6' 0" 1.82m	4 mph 6.4 kph
Stourport Ring  (via Aldersley Junction)	70' 0" 31.34m	7' 0" 2.13m	6' 0" 1.82m	4 mph 6.4 kph

Features

Canal	Locks	Miles	Moving Bridges	Hours
Stourport Ring  (via Delph)	104	81	0	47
Stourport Ring  (via Aldersley Junction)	117	92	0	54

Operator

British Waterways
	All canals in the Stourport Ring
Address:	West Midlands Peel's Wharf Fazeley Tamworth B78 3QZ		Phone: Fax: Email:	01827 252 000 01827 288 071 enquiries. westmidlands@ britishwaterways.co.uk
	General
BW Emergency:	0800 47 999 47