Stourport Circuit part 3

My walk finished back in Stourport. This is the lock which you drive past on the ring road. The lock gates are so close to the bridge that they have an extra angle in them - otherwise they couldn't be opened!

There's a lovely tearoom right by the lock, with tables inside and out

Looking through the tea room window

Carrying on towards Limekiln Chandlers

...there is a Victorian postbox set into the wall.

Interesting shop window (with a tiny crack in one pane)

The buildings here are all Georgian. Before the Staffs and Worcs canal came, Stourport did not even exist. (There was just a mill at Mitton). The buildings spang up around the canal basin.

The canal brought trade, and a route to the River Severn. Once it was built, pottery from Stoke on Trent, and glass, coal and metal from the Black Country could get to the Severn, and then on to Bristol and the sea.
Stourport is justly very famous among canal enthusiasts all over the country.

The basin is now used for leisure - private boats and hire boats crowd together here.

You can still see all the Georgian architecture round the edges of the basin.

Once an industrial building, this is now the headquarters of Stourport Yacht Club. The clock is reputedly older than Big Ben.

Stourport has its modern canalside developments too.

A walk round the two canal basins gives lots to look at

The Tontine Inn, built at the same time as the canal

The locks down to the River Severn, showing how high the canal is - well away from flooding.

There are some repairs to the narrow lock at the moment.

Conclusion: an excellent walk - full of interest. Recommended. 

The route: from the riverside car park, along the Severn to Lincombe Lock. Then through the woods to Lincombe Caravan park, and over the Worcester Road to Hartlebury Common. Down Mill Lane, to join the canal, and back to Stourport Marina. About 5 miles - with lots of options to make it a bit shorter.