Worcester.

Hi,

This week we are moored about 3 Miles North of Worcester on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal at Blackpole as we make our way to the Droitwich canal,before heading back to the Severn and up to Stourport.We left the River Severn this morning and made our way through 4 Locks to Bridge 5A where we moored for an hour or so to do some shopping in Asda’s.Bridge 5A is a footbridge that takes you up to a Wickes DIY Store or over the canal from where it’s just a short walk to Asda’s.

 

In the Avon Lock at the end of the River Avon in Tewkesbury last Tuesday,this lock takes us down to the River Severn.Bob the Lockie helped us through and warned us of the shoal as we enter the Severn,that’s shallow water if you want to know.Before we left,Bob showed us some pictures of the flooding in July 2007.The water would have been above his knees where he is standing by the side of the lock and his cottage was cut off from anything but a boat for 60 days.NB Morgana exits the lock behind us,another quarter of a mile and we’ll be on the River Severn.

 

Looking back at the junction of the Severn and the Avon,it’s very shallow on the side nearest the bank.when exiting the Avon you have to wait till Mythe Bridge,that’s bridge we are just approaching,is visible for it’s entire span before turning upstream.It’s not difficult because,as you can see,the river has plenty of width.

 

Heading towards the M50 Bridge that takes motorists from the M5 to South Wales,it’s been many years since I drove across that bridge.Notice we’re all ready with the Tea Cups,Lisa always keeps me well supplied on our voyages.One of the Boats that travel up and down the Severn carrying sand and gravel,operated by TR Transport.There are four of them,all named after a type of fish,this one’s Perch,they cruise the two miles back and forth from Ripple Wharf to Ryall Wharf,just a bit below Upton on Severn.

 

Two more of the Sand Boats,notice how low in the water Elver sits with approximately 350 tonnes of sand on board.Upton Bridge that carries the A4104 over the Severn and into the town of Upton on Severn,a town that I’ve wanted to visit since we first got Chyandour.It’s a great little place with plenty of amenities and a host of pubs,I lost count of just how many there were when we stopped on Tuesday night.

 

The “Pepperpot Tower” on the old Church in Upton,it’s an Ancient Monument now,having ceased to be a church when the nave was dismantled in 1937.There we are moored at the bottom of “The Steps”,second boat from the right,mooring breasted up like this is just about the only way to get a mooring on the river.That’s a different NB Morgana from the one we shared Avon Lock with,by the way.There are at least four pubs in this picture and the one we used,The Plough,is just out of shot on the right.We left Upton on Wednesday morning to make our way the 10 Miles to Worcester where we moored on the pontoon above Diglis Lock on the Severn.

 

The approach to Diglis Lock below Worcester,we had to go into the one on the left of the picture,not the little one on the right that I expected.Inside the lock,a bit lonely but not bad,there’s not a lot of turbulence when it’s being filled,we did put our fore and aft lines through the wires on the lock walls though.

 

The view upriver from our pontoon mooring,it’s a bit of a walk into Worcester but I felt it was the best of the moorings available,being out of the town.The towpath moorings on the Worcester & Birmingham canal were shaded and I do like to give my Solar Panels an airing.You can walk into town either along the canal towpath or on the riverside,the riverside being nicer.There’s Chyandour,as you can see it’s open and people only walk by on the embankment,not on the pontoon.We were moored with some people that we first met as we were approaching the Stratford River Festival and we had quite an enjoyable time with them again.Thankyou NB Tambourine (yes,it’s green) and NB Water Mist,enjoy your travels.We also got a surprise phone call from Val and Pete,the crew of NB Tadpole 2,who we haven’t seen since last August.They’re heading our way and it would be lovely to meet up with them again.

 

Diglis Bottom Lock this morning when we left the river,there’s another like this and they’re heavy to work but Lisa made short work of them both,though she admits to getting a bit of a hand on the next one.An unusual designed railway bridge,it carries the Cotswold Line,between Worcester and Birmingham,over the Worcester and Birmingham Canal.The little arch on the left is the entrance to Lowesmoor Basin,where there’s a hire boat base.

Well that’s the lot again for this week folks.Since last week we have done 10 Locks and 20 Miles,giving us a Grand Total of 875 Locks and 1464 Miles since we set off on our travels in October 2012.Take care everyone.

Tewkesbury,the end of the Avon.

Hi,

Well,here we are at the end of the River Avon in Tewkesbury and it feels like we have been on the river for ages.We’ve done loads of things since last week when we left Stratford and we’ve also cruised almost every day,which itself is unusual.

 

In our first lock on the river,Stratford Trinity Lock or Colin P Witter Lock,we were in here with NB Gecko and her crew,who had been our neighbours while at Stratford River Festival,and who shared the first few locks with us.Following Gecko under the bridge with the Avon Trust Workboat coming upstream towards us.

 

A couple of weirs on the river that are bypassed by the locks.The first is at Luddington or Stan Glover Lock,the second at Welford or W A Cadbury Lock where we moored on Tuesday night enjoying some of Ian and Jen’s,from NB Gecko,Sloe Gin and Blackberry Brandy.

 

Sharing Barton or Elsie & Hiram Billington Lock with NB Gecko.Approaching Bidford Bridge at Bidford on Avon.You only use the arch we were heading for and not the others.A few hours after us a boater tried one of the others and got well and truly stuck for about three hours.They had to get a Widebeam boat to pull him backwards off the mud and he wasn’t a hire boater.We left our friends on NB Gecko here after lunch in The Frog.

 

Three in a lock.This was Harvington or Robert Aickman New Lock and we shared with NB Water Music and NB Tambourine,two other boats that we had met at the festival.We stayed the night just below the lock,that’s the beauty of most of the locks on the Avon,there are overnight moorings both above and below them.Harvington Mill,a Grade Two listed building near the lock that sadly needs a lot of TLC.

 

The remains of the main waterwheel at the mill and some of the gearing on the inside of the building.Sad to see something neglected like this.

 

 

Just a small selection of pic’s as Lisa and I travelled,on our own,from Harvington,down to Evesham last Thursday.

 

Evesham Lock,a bit tricky this one,there’s a weir to the left with a landing stage that isn’t quite designed for narrowboats,the metal landing is above the rubbing strake and gunwale so it will make a mess of the paintwork if you aren’t very very careful.To the right there’s a sluice that takes water for a hydro electric plant and the flow can be stronger than you expect at times.The Bell Tower in Evesham,part of the old Abbey.Evesham itself is well worth the visit.

 

 

We didn’t stay long in Evesham,just long enough to sample the Old Hooky in The Trumpet as well as browse around the town.We left on Friday and cruised down to Pershore,then came back on the bus from there on Saturday,to have a quick look at the River Festival.There’s the BBMF Dakota on a flypast,some of the decorated boats by Workman Gardens and then two of the entrants in the parade.HMS Belfast and SS Great Britain.A lot of effort went into the River Festival in Evesham and it was very busy.

 

Pershore Abbey and a tree sculpture in the Abbey Grounds.The moorings by the recreation ground  were where we stayed on Friday and Saturday nights,leaving on Sunday morning with NB Ryland to make our way here to Tewkesbury.Pershore is a nice place to visit and there’s an Asda just across the recreation ground from the moorings.

 

 

Another Abbey,this one’s Tewkesbury and again the town is well worth a visit.Chyandour moored before the lock where you pay the Lockie £3 per night,it’s worth it ‘cos it’s about as close to Tewkesbury as you can get on the river.The Lock Landing with the Lock at 90 degrees,the Lockie helps to position you when you’re ready to go down.There’s the old Tewkesbury Brewery in the background and just to the right is the old Flour Mill,both looking sad and neglected.

That’s all again for this week folks.Since last Monday we have covered the massive distance of 42 Miles and 16 Locks,that’s almost the whole of the navigable River Avon.It’s been a fabulous journey,we’ve met an awful lot of new friends and had a whale of a time,just time now for a swift one in the nearby Bear Inn.Our Grand Total,since we set of in October 2012,is now 869 Locks and 1440 Miles.Take care everyone. 

Stratford River Festival.

Hi,

This week we are moored on the Upper River Avon about half a mile to the South of the town of Stratford on Avon and we’ve been here since last Wednesday.On Tuesday morning we moved down the South Stratford canal,travelling about a mile and a half and sailing through five locks,helped by the volunteers from CRT who were there to assist boats heading to the festival.Our mooring on Tuesday was just short of Bancroft Basin ‘cos I’d guessed that the moorings in there would be busy and I was right,so we moored right outside the Red Lion where they serve quite a drinkable Old Hooky.The next day we were called to go down onto the river,travelling through the one lock, turning downstream to wind before Colin P Witter Lock,then from there we were shepherded into our mooring on the East bank of the river.

We’ve had an exceptional weekend,making lots more friends as well as enjoying the company of some old ones.Our old friend Janice came for the weekend and stayed over and the three of us had a great time.The Festival was very busy both Saturday and Sunday with all the stalls and exhibits attracting a lot of interest and the weather was kind to us when it mattered.We managed to visit one or two of the local hostelries as well so all in all we wouldn’t complain at all.

 

The River Avon at Stratford with Tramway Bridge in the middle of the picture,the exit from Bancroft Basin is behind the hut on the left.River lock that takes you down from the basin and onto the river.That’s not us,we went to have a look round when we first arrived and this is one of the trip boats that take tourists for a short cruise.

 

On the river,that’s the old Chain Ferry that carries foot passengers from one side to the other for 50p each.Heading towards our mooring with the spire of Holy Trinity Church in the distance,that’s where William Shakespeare is buried.

 

The entrance to Colin P.Witter lock,our mooring was to be just behind the bows of the boat on the left and there we are,almost ready, with most of our bunting out for the Festival.A lot of our bunting has been made by Lisa using the old hand operated Singer sewing machine we bought at the auction last year while on the Shroppie.

 

Our “Raft” as this way of mooring is called.We were told that over 200 boats would be attending and it seemed like they were right.There’s Chyandour from the front.

 

More boats decorated ready for the weekend.Sadly,non of the pictures that I took of the illuminated boat parade or the fireworks display are very good so I can’t include them.Both the parade and the fireworks were very good though,a lot of effort went into the illuminated boats resulting in an excellent spectacle.Indeed an awful lot of effort has gone into the whole festival to give everyone who attended an entertaining weekend so thank you to everyone concerned.

Well that’s all for this week folks.Since last week we have done 6 Locks and 2 Miles,giving us a Grand Total of 853 Locks and 1398 Miles since we set off in October 2012,Take care everyone.