Interlude at Stourport

I've enjoyed a couple of days in Stourport. Without the canal, Stourport would be a fairly unremarkable town, except that without the canal it wouldn't exist at all. The town came into existence solely as a result of the building of the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal in 1771, being situated where that waterway met the River Severn. The renaissance of the canals and the associated tourist trade greatly benefited the town and unlike many small towns, the High Street retains an air of purpose, with butchers, bakers, greengrocers and a hardware store all apparently flourishing despite the existence of two or three large supermarkets nearby.
Centrepiece of the town is undoubtedly the complex of locks and basins that connect the canal to the river.

 The Clock Warehouse

But the town has another role: as a sort of surrogate seaside resort for the inhabitants of Birmingham and the Black Country with riverside promenades and an amusement park situated somewhat incongruously alongside the Lower Basin.

Not exactly a peaceful mooring.

I've no idea who these characters are, but I wouldn't want to meet them on a dark night!

Needless to say I also had to investigate the town's pubs and am pleased to report that I found them (well nearly all of them) excellent.

The riverside Anchor Angel at Stourport.