A thunderstorm with lightning crashing every few minutes heralded our retreat from Sharpness. We had left the 'pigeon box' flaps open in the roof in an attempt to try and get some cool air into the boat and at 3am torrential rain poured through the openings to give us a sharp wet awakening. I tried to shut the flaps from the inside but the hinges were stiff and I had to get dressed in a pair of shorts, climbing onto the boat roof to close them in a deluge of rain and lightning flashes that seemed to be a portent for judgment day. Forcing them closed from above seemed to do the trick, but by that time I was soaked but at least not fried by fork lightning as I knelt around the steel roof !!!!!!
Returning to Gloucester dock we moved the following morning onto the River Severn accessing the River Avon just past Upper Lode lock several miles north.
We had managed to judge moving from the dock in fairly slack water ( current can be strong here) but the slight current against us as we moved out of the lock slowed us a little. We had watched the current coming inwards towards Gloucester dock the previous day and illustrated that it can be strong enough to be a problem to any boat that was underpowered. Fibreglass boats have the added concern of occasional floating debris coming towards them in the shape of logs and tree branches.
Joining the River Avon just before lunch on another glorious day that has been characteristic of July, we met the delightfully friendly Avon lock keeper Bob Scarrott who locked us up into the Avon at Tewkesbury.
After mooring at the nearby Avon Navigation Trust moorings he completed the license paper-work for us
( Avon is not covered by Canal and River Trust license) and showed us photographs of a seal that was seen in the lock during June.
Apparently the seal is still happily living on the River Severn where perhaps he will be able to return to the sea one day - but perhaps he (or she?) is content with feeding along the banks of the river.
A sobering site near the entrance to the River Avon is a narrowboat that was washed over the wall by the 2012 floods that raised it some 12ft above normal levels where it now hangs precariously - perhaps until the next flood !!!!!!!
Mooring on the Avon Navigation trust visitor mooring for the night, we woke in the morning refreshed enough to take a walk along the River Bank to the centre of Tewkesbury and visit the Abbey .
Tewkesbury Abbey was purchased for the princely sum of £453 by the townspeople to avoid its demolition during the dissolution by King Henry VIII thus becoming the town's parish church. Money well spent as this magnificent Abbey is a real must for visitors to the River Avon.
Tewkesbury even without the Abbey is worth exploring in it's own right. Riverside walks and historic streets are a delight.
Plenty of shops in Tewkesbury for the boater to replenish supplies before exploring the River Avon.
Moving on after our visit to Tewkesbury we cruised up-river to Tewkesbury Marina where we could get fuel and the all-important toilet 'pump-out' Full to the brim with diesel and an empty toilet we were ready to explore the winding Avon.
This was brand new territory to us and really did not know what to expect. As the afternoon became older we decided that an early finish was called-for. We had a two week license to explore some 50 miles of river so there was no rush. After a few miles
we found the 'Fleet Inn' with what looked like moorings outside. No such luck, they were in a total state of disrepair and obviously dangerous. Very small 'finger' moorings looked a possible but there was only two visitor moorings with a sign asking for £15 per night.......we declined the offer as being totally unsuitable for narrowboats and very expensive, so we left them to look for another mug/occupant.....and I am sure they still do!!!!!! Never mind there are other pubs to spend money in.
Depression started to set in as we began to wonder if this was to set the precedent for the whole river........we were very happy to have consequently been proven wrong with plenty of excellent Avon Navigation Trust moorings to be found all free of charge as part of your Avon license fee.
As we rounded a bend worried about the seeming lack of moorings we found the beautiful warm stone arches of Eckington Bridge. A look at the Avon guide suggested a visitor mooring just beyond it........and there it was with more than sufficient space for 'San Serriffe'
Our faith restored in the Avon Navigation we spent the night in this tranquil setting
safe and sound on flood proof ( vertical mooring poles) well maintained moorings.
Almost reluctantly we left Eckington Bridge the following morning with a game-plan of a gentle cruise through a couple of locks to the next large river-side town of Pershore.
Pershore has 'free' Avon Navigation Trust moorings for 48 hours as part of your ANT license fee ( £60 for two weeks)
and is a perfect place to replenish groceries at the 'ASDA' store a few minutes walk away from the moorings.
Walking a little further through the Georgian Streets to the back of Pershore town centre is Pershore Abbey. This pre-10th century Abbey suffered badly during the dissolution and was partly destroyed. It is made of a beautiful warm coloured stone that seems to radiate in the sunshine and is worth spending some time to admire.
Continuing our upstream journey of the River Avon we came to the diamond shaped Pershore lock......not sure why it is diamond shape, but I am sure somebody will tell me!!
We managed to get three narrowboats in this strange shaped lock ( admittedly putting a smaller boat on the outside) so it all seems to work despite the diamond shape.
After a mile or so we came to a village with the attractive name of Wyre Piddle with an island charmingly called Tiddle Widdle Island.......all names that would fit easily into 'Wind in the Willows' or 'Swallows and Amazons' but these are not classic childhood fiction - these are the real thing.
Next stop was the more well-known town of Evesham with a long stretch of 24 hour moorings. They like to keep their water points a secret though - they are hidden in small brick structures about three-foot high without even the clue of a sign saying 'water' - tricky even when you are standing next to them and impossible to see from the River.
Oh, well mustn't grumble......apparently they are nothing to do with Avon Navigation Trust and the real culprit it seems is the Evesham local authority. Most boaters are philosophical and come to the obvious conclusion that anything is better than nothing
That being said they provide a waste disposal point at the end of the moorings and they have plenty of moorings by River Avon standards.....so this is the place to moor and spend your money hand-over-fist in the local shops, pubs, Laundrette, Restaurants.......apart from a sign on the water point, Evesham has it all :)
One thing it does have is a carved whale !!! It is in the Workman park ( named after a local worthy called - er well Workman) Walking Suzy the Pesty Westy a guy asked me
"Heh......what have they done with the whale bones?" he demanded
I looked blank and backed away
"The what?" I replied
" Oh sorry...thought you were a local" he stated
"Whale bones have been here two hundred years and now they are gone" he observed with dismay and a look of suspicion that suggested I had Whale bones secreted on my person.
It seems there WAS jaw bones of a Bow-Headed Whale that stood in the park for two hundred years, but are now in a pub somewhere. They have been recently replaced them with steel-rods to the same shape and a nicely carved whale.
I wish I had read the sign before he demanded to know of their whereabouts and I could have acted as local and explained chapter and verse of recent developments regarding aforementioned bones. Well you learn something every day.............as they say.
All the locks on the Avon are 'double' locks and the paddles on the upper Avon locks are well a little.....how can I describe......but 'aggressive' seems to fit. They need care and it is essential to rope the boat at both stern and bow especially when locking up ( as the sign says!!)
Keep the boat well back when going up, as a horizontal torrent comes from the opening paddles in front of the boat with a force that sends water some eight-foot horizontally into the lock. An un-roped boat will be thrown all over the place and getting the bow under such a torrent could be more than problematic.
Next stop was Bidford-on-Avon and we moored early afternoon just before the beautiful old 15th Century stone bridge that spans the Avon. Obviously not built for modern traffic it still copes with the help of new-fangled traffic lights for single file operation with stone 'triangles' for pedestrians to shelter from the traffic until they can make a dash for it when the traffic slackens. King Charles 1st needed to slow up the parliamentarian forces as he retreated, so his troops destroyed the bridge behind them. It was re-built in 1650. A more recent marker in the long history of this bridge is the filming of a 'Top Gear' program, where our heroes Clarkson and chums tested their revolutionary ford transit 'hover-van' that floated (just about) on a cushion of air and brought more chaos than both the armies of the English Civil War combined. A nearby waterside restaurant veranda was swept by a Tsunami of wind and water drowning the customers and their food. It has been suggested that the customers were actors ........... just as well they were soaked to the skin. I am only glad they did not try to get their hover-van through the narrow navigational arch because without a doubt the Ford would be still wedged there now !!
Bidford-on-Avon is certainly not the tourist-trap that Stratford-on-Avon is, but they have thought a little more about welcoming passing boat traffic. Good moorings are provided with a least two water-points and a waste-disposal skip in the corner of the adjacent park with signs that actually tell you where it is - now how about that for novelty!! Not to mention that the moorings ( 24 hour) are 'free' not like the £5 per night Avon moorings at Stratford.
Riverside moorings at Stratford are 'controlled' by Stratford-Upon-Avon local authority and they have decided to levy a charge per night with a maximum stay of two nights. What do you get for your money ? ......well you certainly get a mooring with a fantastic view over towards the town and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre with a single water-point near the 'mini-golf' hut.
You buy a ticket from the 'information barge' in the basin which must be displayed in the boat window. On the reverse of the ticket it gives sensible warnings not to use the parkland waste-bins but the skip provided in the 'Fisherman's car park' wherever that is because they neglect to tell you!!!!!!
I asked locals that had lived in Stratford for years......
"Never heard of it" was the reply
I searched every car park in the near vicinity as part of Pesty Westy Suzy's dog walk.........no skip.
I asked bin disposal men.....
"About a mile away" said one
"They do not use that one now, is it still printed on the ticket? said another
I asked the 'information barge' lady.......
"Oh dear, not sure really" was the reply
So Stratford local authority, charge if you must, but at least provide a boater dedicated skip and some directions to it if it really does exist !!!!!!
Canal and River Trust have a waste disposal skip near the canal basin in Stratford but neglect to put any signage on the anonymous high boarding that surrounds it's position unsighted from the basin. Obviously another cunning ploy to reduce the number of people actually using it.
A Stratford waste bin collection man saw me opening the padlock to the anonymous door and offered congratulations on using it !!!!
" Perhaps you can tell other boaters? They just use the bins around the basin " he said
" If there was a sign, nobody would have to tell anybody anything" I replied
" Yeh... right, that would be too easy " he accurately observed.
Enough talking rubbish - as important as it is. We stayed the maximum 48 hours allowed in the CRT basin right in the centre of Stratford-upon-Avon and enjoyed this superbly situated mooring to explore the touristic sights.
See our next post............ Stratford on -Avon canal.
Returning to Gloucester dock we moved the following morning onto the River Severn accessing the River Avon just past Upper Lode lock several miles north.
We had managed to judge moving from the dock in fairly slack water ( current can be strong here) but the slight current against us as we moved out of the lock slowed us a little. We had watched the current coming inwards towards Gloucester dock the previous day and illustrated that it can be strong enough to be a problem to any boat that was underpowered. Fibreglass boats have the added concern of occasional floating debris coming towards them in the shape of logs and tree branches.
Joining the River Avon just before lunch on another glorious day that has been characteristic of July, we met the delightfully friendly Avon lock keeper Bob Scarrott who locked us up into the Avon at Tewkesbury.
After mooring at the nearby Avon Navigation Trust moorings he completed the license paper-work for us
( Avon is not covered by Canal and River Trust license) and showed us photographs of a seal that was seen in the lock during June.
 |
| Seal in Avon Lock . River Avon Tewkesbury. |
Apparently the seal is still happily living on the River Severn where perhaps he will be able to return to the sea one day - but perhaps he (or she?) is content with feeding along the banks of the river.
A sobering site near the entrance to the River Avon is a narrowboat that was washed over the wall by the 2012 floods that raised it some 12ft above normal levels where it now hangs precariously - perhaps until the next flood !!!!!!!
 |
| A narrowboat hangs precariously over the River Avon wall where it was swept during the 2012 floods that lifted it to that level.........perhaps waiting for the next flood to rescue it ! |
Mooring on the Avon Navigation trust visitor mooring for the night, we woke in the morning refreshed enough to take a walk along the River Bank to the centre of Tewkesbury and visit the Abbey .
 |
| Walking the banks of the River Avon near Tewkesbury |
Tewkesbury Abbey was purchased for the princely sum of £453 by the townspeople to avoid its demolition during the dissolution by King Henry VIII thus becoming the town's parish church. Money well spent as this magnificent Abbey is a real must for visitors to the River Avon.
 |
| Tewkesbury Abbey. |
Tewkesbury even without the Abbey is worth exploring in it's own right. Riverside walks and historic streets are a delight.
 |
| Gone fishing.............on the banks of the River Avon against a background of Tewkesbury Abbey. |
Plenty of shops in Tewkesbury for the boater to replenish supplies before exploring the River Avon.
Moving on after our visit to Tewkesbury we cruised up-river to Tewkesbury Marina where we could get fuel and the all-important toilet 'pump-out' Full to the brim with diesel and an empty toilet we were ready to explore the winding Avon.
This was brand new territory to us and really did not know what to expect. As the afternoon became older we decided that an early finish was called-for. We had a two week license to explore some 50 miles of river so there was no rush. After a few miles
we found the 'Fleet Inn' with what looked like moorings outside. No such luck, they were in a total state of disrepair and obviously dangerous. Very small 'finger' moorings looked a possible but there was only two visitor moorings with a sign asking for £15 per night.......we declined the offer as being totally unsuitable for narrowboats and very expensive, so we left them to look for another mug/occupant.....and I am sure they still do!!!!!! Never mind there are other pubs to spend money in.
Depression started to set in as we began to wonder if this was to set the precedent for the whole river........we were very happy to have consequently been proven wrong with plenty of excellent Avon Navigation Trust moorings to be found all free of charge as part of your Avon license fee.
 |
| Eckington Bridge |
 |
| Eckington Bridge mooring, River Avon Copyright |
Our faith restored in the Avon Navigation we spent the night in this tranquil setting
safe and sound on flood proof ( vertical mooring poles) well maintained moorings.
 |
| Tranquil mooring of Eckington Bridge at sunset. River Avon Copyright |
Almost reluctantly we left Eckington Bridge the following morning with a game-plan of a gentle cruise through a couple of locks to the next large river-side town of Pershore.
Pershore has 'free' Avon Navigation Trust moorings for 48 hours as part of your ANT license fee ( £60 for two weeks)
and is a perfect place to replenish groceries at the 'ASDA' store a few minutes walk away from the moorings.
Walking a little further through the Georgian Streets to the back of Pershore town centre is Pershore Abbey. This pre-10th century Abbey suffered badly during the dissolution and was partly destroyed. It is made of a beautiful warm coloured stone that seems to radiate in the sunshine and is worth spending some time to admire.
 |
| Pershore Abbey |
We managed to get three narrowboats in this strange shaped lock ( admittedly putting a smaller boat on the outside) so it all seems to work despite the diamond shape.
 |
| Pershore lock - River Avon |
After a mile or so we came to a village with the attractive name of Wyre Piddle with an island charmingly called Tiddle Widdle Island.......all names that would fit easily into 'Wind in the Willows' or 'Swallows and Amazons' but these are not classic childhood fiction - these are the real thing.
Next stop was the more well-known town of Evesham with a long stretch of 24 hour moorings. They like to keep their water points a secret though - they are hidden in small brick structures about three-foot high without even the clue of a sign saying 'water' - tricky even when you are standing next to them and impossible to see from the River.
Oh, well mustn't grumble......apparently they are nothing to do with Avon Navigation Trust and the real culprit it seems is the Evesham local authority. Most boaters are philosophical and come to the obvious conclusion that anything is better than nothing
That being said they provide a waste disposal point at the end of the moorings and they have plenty of moorings by River Avon standards.....so this is the place to moor and spend your money hand-over-fist in the local shops, pubs, Laundrette, Restaurants.......apart from a sign on the water point, Evesham has it all :)
One thing it does have is a carved whale !!! It is in the Workman park ( named after a local worthy called - er well Workman) Walking Suzy the Pesty Westy a guy asked me
"Heh......what have they done with the whale bones?" he demanded
I looked blank and backed away
"The what?" I replied
" Oh sorry...thought you were a local" he stated
"Whale bones have been here two hundred years and now they are gone" he observed with dismay and a look of suspicion that suggested I had Whale bones secreted on my person.
It seems there WAS jaw bones of a Bow-Headed Whale that stood in the park for two hundred years, but are now in a pub somewhere. They have been recently replaced them with steel-rods to the same shape and a nicely carved whale.
I wish I had read the sign before he demanded to know of their whereabouts and I could have acted as local and explained chapter and verse of recent developments regarding aforementioned bones. Well you learn something every day.............as they say.
 |
| Evesham - River Avon |
All the locks on the Avon are 'double' locks and the paddles on the upper Avon locks are well a little.....how can I describe......but 'aggressive' seems to fit. They need care and it is essential to rope the boat at both stern and bow especially when locking up ( as the sign says!!)
Keep the boat well back when going up, as a horizontal torrent comes from the opening paddles in front of the boat with a force that sends water some eight-foot horizontally into the lock. An un-roped boat will be thrown all over the place and getting the bow under such a torrent could be more than problematic.
Next stop was Bidford-on-Avon and we moored early afternoon just before the beautiful old 15th Century stone bridge that spans the Avon. Obviously not built for modern traffic it still copes with the help of new-fangled traffic lights for single file operation with stone 'triangles' for pedestrians to shelter from the traffic until they can make a dash for it when the traffic slackens. King Charles 1st needed to slow up the parliamentarian forces as he retreated, so his troops destroyed the bridge behind them. It was re-built in 1650. A more recent marker in the long history of this bridge is the filming of a 'Top Gear' program, where our heroes Clarkson and chums tested their revolutionary ford transit 'hover-van' that floated (just about) on a cushion of air and brought more chaos than both the armies of the English Civil War combined. A nearby waterside restaurant veranda was swept by a Tsunami of wind and water drowning the customers and their food. It has been suggested that the customers were actors ........... just as well they were soaked to the skin. I am only glad they did not try to get their hover-van through the narrow navigational arch because without a doubt the Ford would be still wedged there now !!
 |
| Bidford-on-Avon's 15th Century Bridge |
 |
| Steady as you go - squeezing through the navigation arch at Bidford-on-Avon. |
 |
| A little like a scene from 'Miss Marple' ....... Bidford-on Avon |
Bidford-on-Avon is certainly not the tourist-trap that Stratford-on-Avon is, but they have thought a little more about welcoming passing boat traffic. Good moorings are provided with a least two water-points and a waste-disposal skip in the corner of the adjacent park with signs that actually tell you where it is - now how about that for novelty!! Not to mention that the moorings ( 24 hour) are 'free' not like the £5 per night Avon moorings at Stratford.
 |
| Mooring with a view - National Shakespeare Theatre. Stratford-Upon-Avon |
 |
| River Avon pleasure boats.Stratford Upon Avon |
 |
| A pleasure boat passes River Avon visitor moorings. Stratford Upon Avon |
Riverside moorings at Stratford are 'controlled' by Stratford-Upon-Avon local authority and they have decided to levy a charge per night with a maximum stay of two nights. What do you get for your money ? ......well you certainly get a mooring with a fantastic view over towards the town and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre with a single water-point near the 'mini-golf' hut.
You buy a ticket from the 'information barge' in the basin which must be displayed in the boat window. On the reverse of the ticket it gives sensible warnings not to use the parkland waste-bins but the skip provided in the 'Fisherman's car park' wherever that is because they neglect to tell you!!!!!!
I asked locals that had lived in Stratford for years......
"Never heard of it" was the reply
I searched every car park in the near vicinity as part of Pesty Westy Suzy's dog walk.........no skip.
I asked bin disposal men.....
"About a mile away" said one
"They do not use that one now, is it still printed on the ticket? said another
I asked the 'information barge' lady.......
"Oh dear, not sure really" was the reply
So Stratford local authority, charge if you must, but at least provide a boater dedicated skip and some directions to it if it really does exist !!!!!!
Canal and River Trust have a waste disposal skip near the canal basin in Stratford but neglect to put any signage on the anonymous high boarding that surrounds it's position unsighted from the basin. Obviously another cunning ploy to reduce the number of people actually using it.
A Stratford waste bin collection man saw me opening the padlock to the anonymous door and offered congratulations on using it !!!!
" Perhaps you can tell other boaters? They just use the bins around the basin " he said
" If there was a sign, nobody would have to tell anybody anything" I replied
" Yeh... right, that would be too easy " he accurately observed.
Enough talking rubbish - as important as it is. We stayed the maximum 48 hours allowed in the CRT basin right in the centre of Stratford-upon-Avon and enjoyed this superbly situated mooring to explore the touristic sights.
 |
| Gongoozlers grab a photo-opportunity as boats lock up onto the River Avon from Stratford-Upon-Avon canal basin . |
 |
| Stratford-Upon-Avon basin ............by night. |
 |
| ...........and by day. |
 |
| Ann Hathaway's Cottage.............Copyright |
 |
| Alms Houses - Stratford Upon Avon |
“Our future, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.”
― William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
― William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
See our next post............ Stratford on -Avon canal.
Thanks Chris, that was an excellent post. What did you think about the Stratford canal (southern and northern sections?)
ReplyDeleteRoger
Thanks for that Roger. Stratford canal is heavily locked coming out of Stratford-upon-Avon with some 35 locks before the Lapworth Link where we joined the the Grand Union. Lock volunteers are a great help though during the season.......first lock out of Stratford basin is VERY low so empty your roof of bikes,etc. Lock beams on this lock are hard up against the bridge wall making them difficult to operate. Nice canal with some interesting old lock houses, built when locks were manned. Watch out for the Lowsonford 'Fleur d'Lys' pub......nice place where we spent an Idyllic summer evening quaffing ale and watching Morris dancers.
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