Big Locks to Gloucester

Moored at Tewkesbury was a boat with more flowers than enough!

We had decided on a reasonably early start to use the water point before anyone else, but we were beaten to it.    Not only that but they appeared to have gone off and left the boat!!  So we about turned and went alongside them.   Whereupon they came back and said they were just leaving.  No problem I just backed off a little and let them slide out.  

Afterwards we took a short trip up the Avon to Tewkesbury marina to refuel.   70p a litre and declare your own split.

Lots of shiny boats in this area.

The marina is well kept and spotlessly clean and looks to be very pleasant place to keep ones 

boat......at a price.   Overnight moorings are £15.

Back down to Tewkesbury and the low arch bridge

We bade farewell to the lock keeper and said we would be returning in a couple of weeks

Soon after turning onto the Severn we reached Upper Lode lock.  The Avon lock keeper had told us hat we would meet a small boat who was just in Upper Lode lock and sure enough we passed him just before the lock.  We thought this would mean that the lock was in our favour but no such luck. The light was on red and the gates firmly shut.  We had nearly 1/2 hour to wait and eventually the gates opened and one cruiser appeared.  We could not believe that the lock keeper had not waited.  He must have been told by the Avon lock keeper.

When we entered the lock we could see why it had taken so long as the lock is vast

A bit further on we could see the tower of St Mary;s church which Geoff had visited yesterday.

The sun was shining today and it could even have been said to be warm.....I wonder how long it will last.  It made for a pleasant run down the river, although not a lot to see/

Eventually we reached Gloucester Lock which was ready and waiting for us as we had phoned ahead as recommended.

Another big one.  Quite a fierce water flow too. 

At one stage I lost my aft line and had to manoeuvre myself back to catch it!

Once up into the docks we had to wait for them to open the lifting bridge and then we looked for a mooring by Sainsburys.   Last time we were here they had almost completed the building of it and we were looking forward to mooring alongside and doing our shopping.  However by the time we reached there we were somewhat tired and also there was very little room.   We managed to squeeze in just beyond the Sainsbury moorings which turned out to be a good thing as there is no time limit on these.  Outside Sainsbury it is 4 hours.  Mind you there is not much room for more than 2 boats.  they may have spent a large amount on the building of the shop but they didn't expend very much on the moorings.

Still after a a late lunch as a bit of a rest we did manage a biggish shop.

Total distance:14.18 miles 

Elapsed time:4h43m50s 

Locks:3

Bridges:10 
Average speed:3.00 mph (3.84 lock/mph) 

A busy day in Tewkesbury

Our Pearsons Guide Book tells us how sad it is that access to Deerhurst village and it's Anglo Saxon churches are not accessible from the river.   This is not true...if you moor in Tewkesbury and are prepared for a 6 mile+ round trip along the Severn Way.    This was Geoff' and Barneys morning walk which he said was well worth while.  (Too far for me)

There is very little in the village apart from some houses and these two exceedingly old churches

The larger church that is still used as a Parish Church is St Marys and the smaller is Odda's Chapel

For years Odda's chapel was used as a farmers barn and St Marys was once a monastery.  The link above tells more.  St Mary's is regarded as one of the most complete Anglo Saxon churches in the country

Odda's Chapel

inside Odda's chapel

St Mary's Church

Inside St Mary's Church

9th Century Font

meanwhile back at the ranch...........................................

I visited the Abbey.   This is not only a fantastic building but it has such a wonderful aura within it.  It reeks of tender loving care and is so bright and alive.

One of the several side chapels

Looking towards Tewkesbury with moorings on the right
followed by the entrance to the lock

In the afternoon whilst Geoff & Barney were siestering after their morning exertions I managed to get my hair cut.   This is always a hit and miss affair whilst we are away.  This time I went on the recommendation of a friend of Gill Smith!!  So far it seems like a good recommendation.

Later whilst Geoff took Barney for his tea time perambulation (he is a glutton for punishment today) he witnessed one of those wonderful happenings on a narrow boat that make you so glad it is someone else in trouble.   It involved a hire boat and a lady being left on the boat whilst husband was on the shore whilst she drifted across the river, rope over the side, chewed up by the propeller........etc.  Geoff said harsh words were spoken and they were last seen going down the lock, goodness knows where they would end up tonight...Geoff though the divorce court was likely!

Geoff did not escape unscathed from his walk this morning....I gather there was a field full of hundreds of cows( could that be an exaggeration?) and in trying to skirt the field he came into contact with some barbed wire.

he had to tend to it himself as I do react well to blood.
 I did however see to the trousers which were splattered in the stuff!

Cold ride to Tewkesbury

A grey start to the day but the bonus was that the wind was not blowing
The previous two days wind was strong enough to almost produce white horses on the river!

It is August for goodness sake!

It was not a particularly early start (8.30am) but there was very little traffic on the river.

More traffic on the M50 though

However as we neared the entrance to Tewkesbury there was a little flurry of activity

3 boats all at once, one out of Tewkesbury and 2 from the Gloucester direction
Notice the clouds are still lowering

and they wend their way up river under Mythe Bridge

We had called ahead to the lockeeper who said the lock was set in our direction and there was plenty of room to moor.   In fact when we rose up the lock we had our choice of several places.  We chose to go to the right of the lock as there is a nice big patch of green for Barney.  It would also have been nice for me to sit out on if the weather was half way decent!  The downside we discovered was that he was not at all keen on the narrow metal walkway that he has to negotiate to reach the grass!!  He is a bit of a wimp!  

Geoff then took him for a good walk all around the Severn Ham.   His reward for being confined to Petroc for the river run.   This is a field walk along the banks of both the Severn and the Avon

Later after his tea I decided to do the same walk and discovered I had bitten off more than I should.....it was a bit further all the way around than I had anticipated.......it nearly finished me off at the end of the day.   

Total distance:6.50 miles 

Elapsed time:1h49m42s

 Locks:1

Bridges:4 
Average speed:3.56 mph (4.10 lock/mph)

Layover in Upton

Since we had been lucky enough to find a space here it seemed necessary
 to take advantage of the 48 hours
We do wonder who polices it and how the £25 would be collected!

This is quite a bizarre notice as the tap in question is right up the top above the pontoons.
We certainly don't have a hose pipe long enough to reach and you cannot use one anyway.
Even if you could it doesn't fit on the end!

This is an interesting  and rather old fashioned small town.   A very pleasant waterfront with a plethora of pubs.   In fact the whole town had a large number of eating places, some very strange and quaint shops although not really very upmarket which we had expected.  Beyond the pubs is the Upton Ham which is a large field area, great for dog walking.  A small Co-op and Spar for Groceries.

The wind is still blowing strongly today so quite glad we are staying over.   We are nicely tucked up on the inside of the pontoons, but it would be fun reversing out in this wind!

After a gentle day exploring what Upton had to offer Geoff & Gill (Smith in this case!) came to supper on board.  We had a good time catching up & generally putting the world to rights.

The Pepper Pot on of the major landmarks at Upton

The tower of St Peter & St Paul Upton

Above the nave altar is the Corona
It is made up of a circle of eight winged 'Spirit Figures'

All those buildings along the front are pubs with one exception...and that is a tapas bar!

Upton upon Severn

We left Worcester not knowing if our destination would be Upton or Tewkesbury.  There is not a lot of mooring space at Upton and it is very popular.  Luck was on our side as there seemed to be one space albeit on the inside of the pontoon and I had gone past before we realised that was the only hope.  Trying to reverse back upstream to make the approach, which had to be downstream just to make life a bit more difficult was not easy, and since we spied another boat approaching looking for a mooring, time was of the essence!!!    However it was achieved!!

Barney spent most of the 2 hour trip sulking at the back, despite the fact that he had had a good walk before we left.

There are long stretches with nothing much to see except the green hedges
and then the occasional little enclave
These pontoons have seen better days

This has to be the ugliest house extension we have seen!

If one wanted to eat out there are about 6 or 7 pubs all close to the boat, however we are trying to stick to our 5/2 diet and today is one of our 2 light eating days.   I say 'trying to' as Geoff's heart does not seem to be established in it very well!!

Total distance:9.59 miles 

Elapsed time:2h14m28s 

Locks:1 (a very Big one)

Bridges:2 
Average speed:4.52 mph (5.00 lock/mph) (Wow.....)

Weekend in Worcester

Petroc on the Diglis River Moorings

A delightful weekend spot.  Initially I was sad not to have the lovely walk around the racecourse for Barney but we soon discovered good walks at this end of town as well.  There were plenty of people around but down on the pontoon we were well away and very unlikely to have a repetition of our episode last week when were were set adrift.

St Andrews Spire dominating the river scene

St Andrew's church has been demolished but the spire remains as a local landmark. It's colloquially known as the 'Glover's Needle', due to its shape, and because of Worcester's former prominence within the glove making industry. 

This is the sign on the rubbish bins in Diglis basin.....wonder how many dead bodies they have had?

We went to the Cathedral for Sung Eucharist this morning but decided against eating out.   We had contemplated going to the Anchor pub in Diglis Basin but the prices were not what we consider pub prices.  Sunday roast was £12 and all starters and puddings £5/6.  Even the Diglis Hotel only charges £9.95 for their roast and they do a 2/3 course option.  We contented ourselves with a drink in the Diglis Hotel.  Getting a table there was like stepping into dead men's shoes.  It has such a good position on the river that it is hardly surprising.   This was after a walk around town where there was a 'Foodie Festival'.  Lots of stalls with mouth watering temptations!  

A hop skip and a jump that took most of the morning

For the last couple of nights the dragon boat has been out practising
The certainly give it wellie....with a young boy beating the rhythm on the drum

Our sojourn on the moorings had been extremely pleasant despite being set adrift at 2am on Wednesday morning.  (Thankfully no repetition last night)  The walk around the perimeter of the racecourse is lovely and from late afternoon into the evening the rowers would appear.

All was not sunshine as we had a few heavy down pours on Wednesday

On this mornings quite early walk they were blowing this hot air balloon up

and at that early hour the mist was gently rising on the river....quite nippy as well!

However the plan was to move up into Diglis Basin to use the sani station and moor up there for the weekend.

So down the river we went past the Cathedral

and a bevy of swans  (I had to look up what a group of swans were called)

About turn, drop Geoff & Barney off at the pontoon and up the two big locks into Diglis Basin

With all the necessary filling and emptying done I went to survey the visitors moorings and was not impressed.  Most of the length was opposite a very noisy, dusty building site and there was not much grass for Barney,,,,,,so onto plan B.   We decided to descend the locks again and try for a space on the Diglis River Pontoons......if that didn't work we would go back to the racecourse.

By this time the gonggozlers were out in force

Left was our direction

We were lucky.  There was space on the pontoon, the sun was shining so we were forced to have a really pleasant relaxing afternoon....... (well some people had their normal siesta!)