Sunday 31st July 2016

Ruby Wedding anniversary day!

After breakfast we started the journey back to Gloucester.

I think that this boat has been here for a while.

There are numerous swing bridges on this canal but they all have a bridge keeper who just presses a switch  and they open for you. As you approach Gloucester docks there is one which is a lift bridge. Here we are as it raises to let us through.

Vicky and Doug were making a cross country journey back home to Wales and detoured to see us in Gloucester. Just realised that they were also with us to celebrate our Silver Wedding in Houston! Great to catch up and we all enjoyed a meal together before Fiona and Nigel caught their respective trains to Bristol and London.

Thank you for all the lovely congratulation messages on Facebook, Whatsapp and Messenger. We have had a lovely weekend and are looking forward to the next 40 years.😀

Saturday 30th July 2016

Fiona and Nigel joined us at 11.30 and we set off for Sharpness about 16 miles away. You always see interesting sights as you cruise along. Firstly we had an acrobatic swan.

And then two fishermen/women who were overcome with the excitement of the sport.

We were quite amazed that so many boats were on this stretch of water, we thought that it would be quiet. We managed to moor next to the remains of a railway bridge near Sharpness which was hit by two tankers in the fog in 1960 and was subsequently demolished. 

As we are celebrating our Ruby wedding anniversary tomorrow Fiona handmade us a fabulous Pimms cake which we just had to try.

We went for a long walk around Sharpness which is probably a shadow of its former self but is still a working dock. There were some very strange buildings which could have been in a James Bond movie as they had no windows.

We also had a good view down the estuary with the 2 Severn crossing bridges in the distance.

Returning to the boat and walking in the opposite direction we went down onto the dunes to see the 'Purton Hulks' which are the remains of ships sunk from about 1930 onwards to try to stop the erosion of the canal bank by the river Severn.

We had been told about a unique Pub called 'The Pub' at Purton which only opens when the landlady feels like it. It is part of her house. We found it open and Nigel was amazed at the good value of the drinks. As it was a lovely evening we could sit outside but I thought that the inside room warranted a photo especially the enormous settle.

Friday 29th July 2016

Off we went down through Avon lock and onto the Severn. This flour mill stopped working a few years ago. It would be good if they develop it in some way before it decays too much.

We thought that we were travelling at a reasonable speed down The Severn but 3 narrow boats over took us. We discovered later that there is not a great deal of mooring space in the main basin at Gloucester docks and everyone was going "hell for leather" to get there first!

We were held for about 30mins on the quay wall and then entered the lock and secured ropes on the vertical metal rods. It seemed to take an age to fill. This shows the leakage though the front gates.

We went for a walk around the area which we had visited last Autumn when we came to see a Rugby World Cup match. This dry dock is a tremendous size.

Quite a bit of work left to do on this boat. Looking forward to Fiona and Nigel visiting tomorrow.

Thursday 28th July 2016

Laundrette visit this morning and then off to look around the Abbey.

I loved this modern stained glass window but there was very little information about the artist. I shall have to look it up when we return home.

Another eye catching sculpture of 'Lost Souls' in the Abbey grounds.

The Heritage exhibition centre had excellent rooms showing the restoration of this house. Unfortunately they closed at 4pm and were turning people away.

A walk back to our boat along the canal revealed this interesting craft

We also watched a boat coming up onto the Avon through the lock which we will use tomorrow to enter onto the Severn. Luckily the lock has a lock keeper and is fully automated.

Wednesday 27th July 2016

Tewkesbury was the destination today and the weather was still kind to us - apart from a very sudden heavy downpour when I had just refused Graham's offer to get me a waterproof!

This is the main Coventry water pipe crossing the Avon.

Every time we drive up to the boat along the M5 we can see the boats moored at Breedon and here we are passing underneath it.

Tewkesbury offers boating trips for visitors and this is one of the more unusual ones on the water.

After an unsuccessful attempt at getting a pump out at Tewkesbury marina (the guy broke the attachment as he was connecting it to the boat), we passed under the King John Bridge and moored on the right. Graham brought his parallel parking skills to bear when he manoeuvred In the Mood into this space with inches to spare! 

Tomorrow we have a laundrette visit and then off to explore the town.

Tuesday 26th July 2016

Didn't travel very far today - just 1mile to Pershore. We had moored for the night above this diamond shaped lock. We have encountered them before on the Oxford Canal and, if my memory serves me right, they were just as awkward then. The lock instructions say that both bow and stern ropes should be used but with one person on the boat and one on land it is impossible to hold a rope and work a lock.

Still we survived and cruised down to Pershore. We looked around the town and the Abbey. There was a good explanation of how workmen built the magnificent curved roofs. Basically they built a wooden arch and then the shaped stones were put on top - not cemented together. The wooden arch was then removed and, fingers crossed, the stone arch remained.

The whole town looked very attractive with hanging baskets and this is just a small example.

Monday 25th July 2016

Had another look around Evesham and then set off about noon. I meant to post this sign yesterday but forgot to do so. Many of the locks on the Stratford canal and upper river Avon were renovated with help from the army and prisoners or boys from Borstal schools. They did a fine job.

We continued down the Avon passing under a modern river crossing at the west end of Evesham

And then about a mile downstream we saw a rope ferry in action. The operator has to drop the rope as you approach and then winch it up again above river height. They take passengers across by pulling on the rope.

 The Avon has flooded quite a lot over the years and many locks had a notice showing the water height. I'm sure that we shall see more of these in Tewkesbury as it often suffers from flooding.

We have decided that although the Avon is quite attractive we prefer canals as you are closer to the banks and can see distant views. Rivers tend to be tree lined and in deeper valleys. However this was one attractive scene today as we left Fladbury lock where old mills have been turned into residences.

Sunday 24th July 2016

Sunny but cooler today with even a few spots of rain but nothing too bad. When Graham was doing the maintenance before we set off I took a picture looking down into the hatch. You can clearly see the propeller as the water is so clear.

The Romans originally forded the river at Bidford. Later, the monks of Alcester built the current bridge in 1482 and none of the 7 arches are alike in size or shape.

The locks on rivers are much wider and longer than those on canals but often they are not as deep. 

The next photo shows Graham mooring the boat to one of the moveable rings which allow for periods of high rainfall.

Going in the opposite direction was this enormous barge. Probably 14' across. The owners were on their maiden journey and had just gone through their first lock and the boat now had a scrape! Apparently they are taking it to Stratford for a while and then to Bristol.

Evesham, which is our stop for the night, is the centre of the British soft fruit industry and some of the glasshouses can be seen from the canal. There are many Polish and Eastern European workers here and the food shops in Evesham reflect this influx whilst many different accents can be heard as you walk around.

However a typical English scene was present in the park with a town band concert taking place and everyone sitting around in the sunshine.

Saturday 23rd July 2016

Time to leave Stratford upon Avon but the first photo shows Graham in discussion with Hamlet before we went out to eat last night.

We headed off down the river Avon towards Tewkesbury. The first part of the river had quite a few rowers practising their skills. This chain ferry costs 50p for a short crossing. The muscle power exerted by the ferryman will mean that he doesn't have to pay for a gym membership!

The locks on the river are double width and all the paddles hydraulic. Luckily they are not too hard to operate, just time consuming. Whilst one was filling I decided to do a Titanic impression.

The height of the river Avon is obviously affected by rainfall so when you moor a boat it could go up or down overnight. Obviously this could have a disastrous effect on the boat if you tied it too tight. Therefore the mooring posts are tall with rings which are able to slide up and down with the river level. This photo show the posts for each boat at one of the Avon's boatyards.

We are moored for the night at Bidford on Avon - just managing to squeeze onto the end of the recreation ground moorings.

Friday 22nd July 2016

Another lovely sunny day. We took the Hop on - Hop off bus tour and learnt a great deal about Stratford Upon Avon and of course Shakespeare. 

The home of his birth:-

At his mother's family home lunch was being prepared and then we had a very entertaining talk as the farm workers ate the prepared meal and regaled us with tales of life in Tudor times.

Anne Hathaway's cottage was also in a lovely setting.

Thursday 21st July 2016

No movement with the boat today as we are in Stratford upon Avon. It was a day of housework, sorting out various emails that needed responses and just relaxing. We did walk along the River Avon for a while to see the church where Shakespeare is buried. The route passed the first lock on the Avon which we will pass through - it is always good to check for potential problems especially with river locks. This is the view of the Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre from the river.

It looks quite cloudy in the photo and certainly the temperature was lower than in the last few days but still warm and pleasant.

Our boat is moored just below Shakespeare's statue.

Highlight of the day was tonight when we went to see the RSC production of Hamlet. We managed to get tickets this morning and the performance was excellent. So glad that we managed to see it. 

It started to rain just before the show started and was still raining when we came out. Luckily it was not too heavy so we are hopeful for a good day tomorrow.

Wednesday 20th July 2016

Woke to another gloriously sunny day and set off from Wootton Wawen for Stratford upon Avon with 17 locks on the way and the promise of another sweltering day.

We crossed the Edstone Aquaduct over a small road, the tributary of the river Alne and twin tracks of the Birmingham and North Warwickshire railway.

 It is the longest on the canal network at 475' but only 28' high so no match for the Pontcysyllte Aquaduct which we crossed last year.  The tow path is below the level of the iron trough which is supported by 13 brick piers.

Being one way traffic we had to wait for 3 boats to cross before we could proceed.

Many of the bridges were very narrow so again we had to slow down to prevent Timothy West's contact sport!

Towards the end of the locks into Stratford they became very heavy and even Graham struggled with this one which had an angled lock beam as they hadn't given much thought to the canal when the adjacent road was built.

Finally at 4pm we arrived at Bancroft basin and waving us in were our friends Jill and Jon who were visiting friends in Stratford and just happened to be passing! We felt like Tim and Prue when they arrived in the TV series - although I'm sure Jill and Jon were the only ones who knew us.

So, we had made it 49 locks in two days. Time for some housework, a visit to the nearby laundrette (luckily a flat walk away) and time to explore Stratford.