Well, that was a hard day. We are now at the top of the Tardebigge (pron: TAD-dee-big) locks having spent most of a rainy day slogging up and up and up.

There are thirty locks in the flight, making it the longest in the country. It was raining heavily this morning, and when it lightened up to the soul-destroying drizzle that has done so much to shape the British character, we set out.

We were the first boat going up this morning, so many of the locks were empty from the last boat that came down last night. I did most of the work on the the lock gates and paddles while Paula drove the boat, though we did switch places for about eight locks in the middle of the flight so that I could have a rest and Paula could get warm. We kept the ‘pram cover’ up over the stern so the pilot got some shelter. Normally we take it down when moving the boat but the bridges on the Worcester canal are high enough to leave it up.

At the top of this flight there is a monument celebrating the 1946 meeting between two canal enthusiasts that led to the creation of the Inland Waterways Association, and the preservation of the canal system.

Lower down on the plinth is a PS plate that says, “Oops, we got the date wrong, it was actually 1945.”

I can’t help feeling that in some countries they would have just corrected the first plate and put the right year on there, but the British like to cling to their mistakes.