Monthly Archives: April 2018

Stripy Crew. 28th April

Frampton to Splatt Swing Bridge

P1290252smP1290256smWith very full tummies we all slept well last night. Once the dinette was swapped back from being a bed Mick started on cooking us breakfast. This had been requested by Duncan with some unsubtle hints before they arrived, so we’d shopped accordingly. A bigger and better spread than normal was brought out from the galley, we even had hash browns! This set us all up for the day especially Duncan.

P1290259smOnce the plates were empty we had one last Stripy Crew photo before they stepped ashore and we waved them goodbye. It was nice to have met you both, from my position high up in a tree I waved goodbye too, before dashing back to get warm again.

P1290262smWith Tilly home we could head off in search of our Saturday newspaper. In the village of Frampton there is a shop that we hoped would oblige so we set off, leaving it any later would risk them having run out.

P1290265smP1290268smCrossing over the swing bridge we passed an industrial area. Cadburys built a factory making chocolate crumb here in 1917 which remained open until 1982. Some of this is now a flour mill and other units have smaller businesses, one of which I’d like to visit on our way back End Of Line Fabrics. There’s a fairly standard approach to the village along the road, nothing out of the ordinary. But then as you come round the side of The Bell Inn you are faced with a huge village green, carrying on almost as far as the eye can see. Across on the other side are large grand houses surrounded by trees. Wow what a village.

P1290269smP1290270smThe Green Shop looks a bit like a small cricket pavillion. A little dig through the newspapers and we found what we were looking for. They stock some veg and local produce, a bit like a farm shop, just not quite the stock. There has been a Post Office here, but the service has been suspended.

P1290273smP1290294smWe decided to see what the rest of the village looked like along the green. A selection of large houses ranging in dates fills the village, all very pleasing to the eye.

P1290276smOne jumped out to me and said buy me! Even though it wasn’t for sale. With a large garden, fruit trees and a house which looked like it was seeping character it had to be mine. I’ll just have to start saving now!

P1290284smP1290287smThe green carries on with not one but several ponds, swans sitting on nests, another pub boasting it’s Camera credentials. On a notice board I spotted a poster for a show by theatre company Bad Apple, run by an old colleague of mine, Kate Bramley from my early Hull Truck days. Amy Johnson will be on at the Village Hall on the 9th May. Very sadly we’ll need to be up river by then and we’ll miss it, but if you happen to be nearby I’m sure it will be worth a visit.

P1290306smP1290308smA small cottage is up for sale, 2 bedrooms and a modern kitchen could be yours for £350,000. It looks nice but I’m going to save up for the other one in the village .

P1290315smA gateway opens out to a field with an avenue of Chestnut trees, this drew us along and back towards the canal away from the village. We’d seen enough to make us want to return to see more, a circular walk taking in all the highlights will be on the agenda when we return.

P1290324smP1290328smBack at the canal we waited for a boat to go through a bridge before we could cross to the towpath to walk back to Oleanna. Along the next stretch there was plenty of mooring possibilities with views over towards the Severn, so we decided to move up. Here would have been a perfect spot for a barbeque should the weather have been 15 degrees higher! We pushed off, came through one bridge , winded and then moored up right next to a big gap in the trees.

P1290340smA mooring with a view, well if you had a double decker boat! Even after trimming the nettles down the bank was so high we could only just see the tops of the hills on the far bank of the Severn when stood on tippy toes.

DSCF7114sm0 locks, 1.19 miles, 1 bridge swung, 1 wind, 1 not so tall tall ship, 1 guided tour, 3 full English breakfasts, 1 bowl cereal, 6 hash browns, 0.5 of a bag in the freezer, 1 blog reader reading the blog on board in bed, 1 newspaper, 0 Post Office, 1 beautiful village, 1 house, 1 mooring for two storey boats, 1 trampoline needed, 2 outsides, 0 bunnies today.

Severn River level at 9am today (at Bewdley a mile upstream from Stourport) 0.931m,
level at Diglis, Worcester at 9am today N/A,
level at Gloucester Docks at 9am today 0.908m (the tides will start to affect the level again).

https://goo.gl/maps/kGBEqQp9P6k

Extra Crew For A Night. 27th April

Frampton On Severn
P1290202smWhat a shame it rained for most of the day. We had guests coming and if the weather had been like last week we’d have planned a barbeque, but instead we lit the stove!
Much of the day I spent preparing some food  whilst Mick had a tidy around, refreshed the bucket in the toilet and Tilly had another hunt round for Bunnies.
P1290237smJaye and Duncan are old friends from Scarborough and had been visiting family in Monmouth, just 15 miles away as the crow flies, only another 25 miles by road to get over the Severn. Duncan has been reading our blog from the day it started back in June 2014 when we left Crick Marina on Lillian, so it’s only taken them four years to actually come and visit us!
We’d sent them details of where they might park. There’s a Pay and Display by the cafe at Saul Junction or what looked like a very handy layby on a bend up near the next bridge, they of course chose the free option. Many hours of conversation were to be had and it was an opportunity for them to meet Tilly for the first time, although she was a little bit reluctant. Well there were bunnies to make friends with!
By mid afternoon the rain seemed to have stopped so we decided to have a bit of a walk back towards the junction and then see where the mood took us. Two C&RT chaps were testing Saul Junction Swing Bridge and it’s warning sirens, but sadly they didn’t swing it.
P1290211smFirst we walked down one side of the disused canal and then after one slightly boggy field realised that we were on the wrong side of it so had to retrace our squelching steps. Back on the correct path we had the canal on our left and the River Frome on the other for much of the way to the Severn.
P1290218smThe Stroudwater Canal had a long winded start. First thought of in the late 17th Century to transport coal to Stroud where woollen goods were made in the mills. The finished cloth would then be transported back along the canal to the Severn and on to market. An act of Parliament was passed in 1730 although there was a lot of opposition from mill owners worried that the water used to power their mills would be stolen for use in the locks. 5 miles of river improvements were done by 1761, but the works were proving to be too costly so the scheme was abandoned. A new act of Parliament was passed in 1776 for a plan that avoided much of the river and therefore the mills. Works were finally completed and the canal opened in 1779.
P1290231smAt Framilode there was a tidal lock, with differing gates to accommodate different tides. By 1794 a basin was built above the lock so that boats could wait for a suitable tide before entering the Severn. A horse drawn towpath was finally added in 1827 boats had been bow hauled prior to this. As ever it was the railways that brought about the decline of the canal and by 1922 any dividends from the canal had ceased along with the canal getting blocked at Framilode which severed the link to the Severn, leaving this end of the canal unused.
P1290219smMuch of the canal now is still full of water, but over grown creating more of a linear pond. The Ship Inn stands looking very attractive with it’s outdoor seating canal side. They are closed during the afternoon, open for lunch and in the evenings, so sadly we couldn’t sample their ales. Past the line of cottages we joined the road meeting the Severn more or less where the tidal lock once was.
P1290224smThe views down the river were wonderful, just a shame some people got in the way!
P1290234smTo help our feet dry out we returned to Oleanna via the road seeing some rather interesting houses on the way.

P1290238smP1290244smIn the evening we enjoyed a very large Salmon en Croute (there are left overs thank goodness) followed by a Bakewell Tart all washed down with some bubbles, more wine and lots of conversation.

P1290241sm0 locks, 0 miles, 1 pooh bucket, 0 guided tour! 2 balls of wool delivered, 1 dead canal, 8 soggy feet, 1 pub not open, 2 bowls of nibbles, 1 en croute big enough to feed the 5000! 1 bakewell, 1 bottle (yes I did say bottle) of white, 1 bottle of red, 1 bottle of bubbles, 1st overnight visitors to a fully finished Oleanna, Duncan had to be a first visitor of somesort!

Severn River level at 9am today (at Bewdley a mile upstream from Stourport) 1.08m,
level at Diglis, Worcester at 9am today 0.83m,
level at Gloucester Docks at 9am today 0.953m (the tides will start to affect the level again).

**Duncan, did this arrive at a different time? Also can you try replying to the email, we’ve changed some settings on the emailed blog.**

Bungalows With Aspirations, 26th April

Llanthony Bridge to Frampton On Severn
P1290031smThe wind seems to like Gloucester! It doesn’t seem to have stopped since we got here.
Not letting it put us off we pushed over to the services this morning to top up with water, dispose of rubbish and empty the yellow water tank as the out let would be on the right side making it easy to do. As always when Mick is holding onto the hose a lady stopped to chat to him. Luckily she was at a distance so most probably had no idea what he was doing, we were pumping out our urine from the tank under our composting toilet into another container to take to the elsan. We can be in the middle of nowhere and still someone comes by and stands to have a chat!
Then we pushed off again, reversing a distance before we winded, Mick remembered we had a bow thruster which made the manoeuvre much easier in the wind. On to Sainsburys to do a big shop. Having studied the map for the canal there seem to be few shops down towards Sharpness, so we wanted to make sure we’d not go hungry.
By the time we’d filled a trolley and stowed everything on board we needed some lunch before setting off proper.
P1290036smBoats came by and as we made our way to Hempsted Bridge we felt sorry for the Keeper. I wonder if this is the busiest bridge on the canal, it is all manual including the barriers which have a rope hanging from them so you can pull them down. The chap appeared and closed the barriers maybe only just having opened them, then a jump onto the handle to get the bridge turning. Apparently when it’s windy it is a right pain to close. We thanked him and carried on our way only to spot another boat coming towards us just as the bridge closed.
P1290042smP1290047smWe carried on under the next two bridges, Sim’s Bridge having a new coat of paint applied. About a mile further on we pulled in to a mooring shortly before Sellars Swing Bridge.
P1290070smWe were looking for somewhere with some parking and bins. Here on google earth looked like it would fit the bill, but a closer look revealed that work was being carried out on the bridge so the bins are suspended for the next couple of weeks. Also any parking spaces were very full. We decided to carry on and see what we’d find further on.
P1290076smFrom here on all the swing bridges are low and have to be swung. Bridge Keepers cottages sit along side, not much more than bungalows, but with aspirations with their pillars and pediments. The views now opened out, hills to our right and left, fields of yellowing rape seed jollying the world along.
P1290112smNearing Saul Junction the moored boats increased in number. On the off side a collection of sheds seemed tacked together by windows, with more waiting for the next extension to be created.
P1290140smP1290149smAt the junction there is a lock which leads to just a short pool of water where the Stroudwater Canal used to head off to connect with the Severn at Frimilode. Heading south east from the junction is a short arm all that remains currently of the Stroudwater which, once it connected to the Thames and Severn Canal, used to head all the way to the Thames. Parts of the canal are still in water but when the M5 and A38 were built this severed the canal.
P1290137smP1290164smSaul Junction and Sandfield Swing Bridges opened up for us as we approached, not a bridge keeper in sight. Certainly one of these is operated remotely, high above the bridges are cameras. We’ve been wondering why these bridges have to have Keepers. The ones with lower headroom may be wider than those on the Leeds Liverpool Canal, but there they are all boater operated, either with a key of power or just manual pushing. Is it because the bigger boats and ships would have difficulty in setting someone ashore to operate the bridges? A couple of years ago there was a trial of an app at Saul. Once downloaded this could be used to operate the bridge as you approached, thus no one having to be set ashore and disposed of the need for a bridge keeper. However this was shelved as there was the potential for people to sit in the cafe by the bridge and play with the app, opening and closing the bridge as they fancied, watching what chaos followed.
P1290179smHere we were surrounded by rubbish bins (not literally, but bins at every bridge) and checking on google earth we spotted several parking possibilities for visitors, so we pulled up on the end of a Visitor Mooring before the next bridge. This would do us. It certainly would! Tasty shaggy grass, side ways trees, trees and bunny holes. Paul this M needs a bunny hole symbol.
paw print map
DSCF7114smblack paw0 locks, 8.12 miles, 1 wind, 4 moorings, 1 box wine, 1 bottle bubbles, 2 huge pieces of salmon, 1 dog in a cat flap, 1 galleon, 5 ducked bridges, 4 swung bridges, 1 Tilly bunny hole stamp of approval.

Severn River level at 9am today (at Bewdley a mile upstream from Stourport) 1.234m,
level at Diglis, Worcester at 9am today 0.825m,
level at Gloucester Docks at 9am today 0.886m.

Eyes And Etsy. 25th April

Gloucester

When will these early mornings stop! Today Mick needed to be on his first train at 7:46am, this would take him to Birmingham. Second train to Crewe, Third to Chester, Fourth to Bache from where he had a 5 minute walk to the Countess Of Chester Hospital where he had an appointment at midday.

Way back when we had our eyes tested in Chester, Mick mentioned to the optician that sometimes his eyes feel bruised. His father had glaucoma which can be hereditary so Mick gets a free eye test each year. He had the usual pressure test, but because of his comment the optician wanted him to have further tests which Boots couldn’t do, so he was referred to the hospital. They hoped he’d be able to be seen within a couple of weeks, therefore we’d still be around. Eventually he got a call saying that as it wasn’t an emergency his appointment was likely to be in 16 weeks. Well we weren’t going to be hanging around Chester for that long! In the end his appointment came through with an 11 week wait. Already having left Chester we decided to carry on with our plans for the beginning of the year.

Tilly and I stirred ourselves to wave him goodbye and wish him luck, hoping that the tests he was going to have wouldn’t pop his eyes or anything like that. It being a sunny morning we got on with things.

red lock smToday I was finally going to open my Etsy shop to see if I can sell a few of the things I’ve been making of late. I’d already got the process going a few weeks ago, but had wanted to take some good photos which I did last week. So with Mick out of the way for the day I sat down and concentrated, in between Tilly twanging the bolts on the back door wanting to go out! It took a long time to get things listed and I think I still need to do a bit of tweaking but the majority of it was done by mid afternoon. RedLockMakes

The weather outside had changed from sunny to very strong wind and sideways rain at times, so I lit the stove. Boats had been moving this morning and by the time the sun came out again the pontoon was full, NB Henry Thomas moored up behind us.

As the sun was out and I’d got bored of trying to promote my shop on social media, I decided to head out for a bit of an explore before Mick returned home.

P1290006smI headed over towards the Cathedral walking through the dock buildings. The National Waterways Museum is here. Our entrance tickets to the museum at Ellesmere Port will give us free access, but it is currently closed. Hopefully it will reopen at the beginning of May so that we can visit before we need to head back up to Droitwich.

P1290009smNarrow streets open up onto Westgate a shopping street and then behind here stands the Cathedral. With hardly a cloud in the sky it looked very magisterial the pale sandstone shining out. Details around the windows looked like intricate icing on a wedding cake. When we return this way we’ll be going to have a look inside. I found an interesting wool shop which sadly had just closed before I got there and around the corner was The Tailor Of Gloucester shop.

P1290026smgloucester smBack in 1998 when I was assisting Roger Glossop, designer for the premier stage production of Brassed Off, he was also in the process of working on refurbishing the shop that Beatrix Potter had used in her illustrations for The Tailor of Gloucester. In his workshop stood large models of mice all painstakingly created for the tailors shop. In 2001 the shop opened which was owned by Frederick Warne and Co, publishers of Beatrix Potter. So I was interested to have a look. When I reached the outside it was fairly obvious that things had changed, a plastic model in the window was not of the same calibre of the mice i’d seen being made. They were about to close, so a look around inside will have to wait, but I suspect it’s nowhere  near as magical as it had been.

P1290019smI wondered up to meet Mick from his eighth train of the day to hear how his day had gone. He’d had a periphery vision test done amongst other things. When he got to see the consultant, he had a very very close look in his eyes and suggested that some photos were needed for which Mick needed to have some eye drops. Whilst these were taking effect, stinging all the time, he waited. Then he was called back in to be told that they wouldn’t be able to take the photos and the main chap didn’t now think that they were necessary as he couldn’t see anything wrong. All that stinging for nothing. If his eyes hurt again in future he is being sent a letter to show an optician to enable him to have a pressure test done.

It was a long way to go to find out nothing was wrong, but worth it. He’d also retraced much of our journey over this year as the trains followed the canals. He went over the Wolverhampton 21, saw Venetian Marina, Beeston Iron Lock and Castle, Bournville, Edgbaston Tunnel, Astwood Locks and got to wave at NB Blackbird.

0 locks, 0 miles, 7:46am, 8 trains, 1 etsy shop, 8 pairs socks, 13 items, 3 nearly 4 tests, 0 photos, 1 clockwork orange moment, 2 eye balls still intact.

Severn River level at 9am today (at Bewdley a mile upstream from Stourport) 0.802m,

level at Diglis, Worcester at 9am today 0.735m,

level at Gloucester Docks at 9am today 0.814m.

Two Big Boxes And A Red Dot! 24th April

Sim’s Bridge to Stonebench Turn to Llanthony Bridge Visitor Moorings

P1280901smThere were men on my boat! They were in the big box at the back, that I’m not allowed in! And one leaned into a box I didn’t even know about at the front, I must investigate this one it looked interesting. I’d been allowed shore leave this morning and hadn’t been given a time limit, which always concerns me, it usually means that they  are upto something. I kept an eye on all that was happening, well whilst checking for friends in some interesting holes I could get my arms into.

Tom kept an eye on the two men at the back. They took some things out, Tom didn’t seem too worried about this. He actually seemed quite happy especially when they put more things back. She stayed inside with another man. She said it was a good job I’d gone out as the outside was trying to come inside for a while.

They all stood around chatting, then one of the men walked down my cat walk and started playing with a red dot. What a waste! There were a couple of woofers going by at the time so I couldn’t chase it and all they did was think about it. What were they doing?! It needed chasing!!!!

After our leisurely breakfast we decided to head back in towards Gloucester with a need to be near a train station in the morning. Tilly had obliged by coming home as soon as the Finesse chaps had gone, think she needed to check that all was as it should be.

P1280925smP1280930smThe Gloucester Sharpness is quite wide everywhere, so far, so we possibly could have just winded from our mooring. But there was a very strong breeze and a tree down on the off side. We decided that we wanted some more room between us and the bridge as well. So once a boat had come past we followed it up to the next bridge. They got a green light to go through, which then turned red as another boat was waiting to come from the other side. This bridge has 7ft 7” headroom, so we could fit under it quite easily, but the narrowboat facing us had it’s pram cover up. The bridge keeper jumped on the handle of the bridge and got it moving winding it open. Once they were through he waved us on changing our light to green.

P1280942smAt the next bend we winded and headed back the way we’d just come. Mick had to be reminded that we now have a working bow thruster, so he gave it a quick blast just to finish the turn.

Approaching the bridge Mick assumed the Keeper would see us coming so we sat waiting for a green light. We should have told him we were only going to wind as in the end I bipped the horn and he came rushing out to change the lights to green for us. No need for him to swing the bridge as we very very rarely travel with our pram hood up. Hempsted Swing bridge however did have to swing it having only 4ft 7” headroom. Once through we made our way to the 48hr mooring just in front of Llanthony Bridge.

P1280964smAfter lunch we considered going for an explore, we soon dropped the idea as the rain set in properly and the wind got up buffeting us against the pontoon. Only one thing for it, light the fire and watch the next episode of Breaking Bad and hopefully no need to run the engine before 8pm.

DSCF7114sm0 locks, 3.6 miles, 2 swung, 2 not, 1 wind, 1 wasted red dot, 2 many woofers, 1 great bank of friendly cover, 9 arm sized holes, 1 wet miserable day, 1 squeaking pontoon, 2 sprays of grease, 0 squeaking pontoon.

Severn River level at 9am today Bewdley 0.759m,
level at Diglis, Worcester at 9am today 0.722m,
level at Gloucester Docks at 9am today 0.81.

All Amped Up. 24th April

Sims Bridge

The alarm went off very early for us and we both got up more or less straight away, none of this sitting in bed with our first cuppa this morning! Last time Finesse came out to meet us they arrived just as we’d put the kettle on, I was still getting dressed. But as it turned out we could have had a bit longer with our eyes shut today.

Sims’s bridge isn’t the busiest and it makes a rumbling noise as a car passes over it. A car came over and then soon reversed, that had to be them looking for somewhere to park.

P1280894smAs last time, as soon as they reached us Kris was straight to work inside as Ricky and Chris/Kev were lifting the engine board.

P1280889smSeveral months ago we’d noticed a darkening of the oak surround under one of the windows, this had gradually grown into a bigger patch. We’d been instructed to see if we could see anywhere where water might just be getting in around the window, but there was nothing that we could spot. I’ve been cleaning the gutters (for want of a better word) around the window as often as I could hoping that that might help. If it was condensation that was causing it then we’d have had similar happen in the bedroom, but this was the only one.

P1280886smNothing for it but to see what was happening underneath all the trim. Kris removed the curtains and then drilled out the wooden plugs that covered the screws on the wood surround. With these undone he lifted the surround away from the window revealing the insulation and structure around the window. Straight away he could see that water was getting in somehow, not lots, just enough to have caused the damage. With no obvious gap or anything to be seen, he cleared away the spray foam around the bottom of the window, still nothing. All the fixings holding the window in were given a turn with an allen key. He then went round the window with some silicon sealant followed by some spray foam to replace the insulation he’d removed. The bottom of this window will now be better insulated than before. Once the foam had expanded he then started to refit the window surround.

P1280919smWhat to do about the stain? I have some crystals that when mixed with warm water would bleach the stain, I’ve not tried it, but apparently it works amazingly. Kris had a different idea, he had come prepared with a length of oak precut to fit over the affected wood. This he cut to fit round the Houdini shelf and then stuck it over the top. All staining removed. We decided to do the other end of the same panel so that it looked the same. Job done.

P1280904smHe then moved on to reseal some of the shower and check that all the pipes both in and out weren’t leaking as when we’d had a look behind the pull out shelves we’d noticed a bit of water.

P1280909smMeanwhile, outside Ricky and Chris/Kev were busy. They removed the temporary batteries that have kept us going for the last year. These were never going to survive our needs for long, but we think that our training on battery management with our shareboat meant that we never ran out of power, we just had to run the engine twice a day.

P1280897smP1280972smThe new batteries were slotted into the trays that had been made for them so many moons ago and were secured into position. They then made up new cables (bus bars) to connect them, soldering connectors to the ends. The inverter needed some reprogramming now that the type of batteries had changed. Then everything was tested to check it was doing what it should. It was. Hooray!!!! The display panel read 100% charge.

P1280982smP1280986smChris/Kev now moved onto the bow thruster. On our way up to the Ribble last year we had blown a fuse when some weed got caught around the propeller. Mick had hunted round on the internet for replacement fuses. The Vetus ones were around £12 each, but Mick found 200 amp slow blow fuses much cheaper. He ordered several. When they arrived he replaced the fuse, the bow thruster worked for a couple of seconds and then blew the fuse again. Maybe what had caused the problem in the first place was still there. Buying some waders he then got into the water removed the grill and tried to unblock it. There didn’t seem to be anything there. Then in January we hired the dry dock in Chester for a day to see what the problem could be, the tube and prop were clear of any obstruction. Continue reading

Sims. 23rd April

Gloucester Docks to Sims Bridge
Over the last two and a half years we’ve been getting our internet through EE. We’d come across a Black Friday deal that gave us 50GB a month for £25 which we jumped at. 3 who we’d been with before couldn’t compete with the deal. Gradually EE has increased the tariff, now £29.03. So when Mick came across a deal with Virgin it was worth looking into.
For a limited time (ending today!) Virgin were offering a Sim only deal for £20 which would give us 100GB. It looked like it was only available on line and the sim card would have to be sent to our billing address, in London. Not ideal, but we will be seeing my brother in a few weeks and the saving we’d be making would pay for having two sims within a couple of months. So we decided to see if it was possible to get the deal in store , luckily there is a branch here in Gloucester.
P1280880smThe very nice chap said there was no problem with doing it all in store and sorted it all out very quickly for us. Credit checked and sim card handed over we now have an abundance of data available. It took a little bit to get our EE contract cancelled, which actually involves 30 days notice. So for the next month we will have what ever data is left on our EE contract and a full 100GB on the Virgin sim. Anything that hasn’t recorded perfectly on our PVR will be down loaded instead, just because we can.
P1280822smWith that all done it was time to visit the services. For this you need to pass through one of the 16 moveable bridges on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. Many of the bridges are high enough to just cruise straight through, but others are far too low to limbo under. Before we pushed off Mick called the Bridge Keeper at Llanthony Bridge to ask to pass through. We were told to approach and wait for the green light before passing through.
P1280835smP1280840sm
It being quite a busy bridge both with traffic and pedestrians a suitable gap was waited for, then the barriers came down and the bridge started to lift. I often wonder when using  a lift bridge whether it’s better to lift it all the way of just enough to pass through. Here they automatically open the bridge right up, so high that it looks like it is about to fall over backwards. We got the green light and we were soon through. Oleanna was winded almost straight away and brought in to moor at the services.
P1280841smWhilst the water filled, we emptied the yellow water tank and disposed of our rubbish. Mick found an Elsan in the little hut up the ramp next to the bins, so no bushes were going to get a treat from us today.
Next we winded again and pootled up to Sainsburys. Here there is a 4 hour shopping mooring which we made use of to stock up a bit for the next few days, only two boxes of wine!
Over the last few days we’ve been trying to find a suitable mooring for Finesse to visit us. Ideally we wanted somewhere close to a road, somewhere to park a car or van and some friendly cover for Tilly to play in. With the assistance of Google Earth, Street View (of which much of the towpath has been covered) and Waterways Routes maps we had short listed a few places. The closest we could get to a parking place the towpath would have been level with the roof of the boat. Other moorings were by bridges, they had parking places on the off side and a bit of a distance to where we could tie up. So we set off to see which would be best.
P1280846smThe new housing estate had plenty of parking, but the towpath was as it looked on Google too high, also Tilly wouldn’t have felt comfortable there. So we carried on.
P1280860smP1280862smA call to Hempsted Bridge was made. We could see the Keeper rapidly doing various things on the bridge, then run over to lower the barriers of the off side. Here there are few buttons to press, much of it is done by hand. Once the barriers were down and locked in position he could then wind the bridge open. It took a bit to get going, but once he’d got the momentum up he easily turned the handle. Reaching into a box he turned the lights to green for us to pass. When we were through he did the whole process in reverse to close it, only for a trip boat to want to come through a couple of minutes later. It looks like quite a work out being on Hempsted Bridge.
P1280868smP1280873smNo such problems at Netherbridge Swing Bridge as there is 14ft 9’’ clearance. This and other high bridges are not manned fulltime as they only need to open when tall ships pass through. Round a couple of bends and the next bridge, Sims Swing Bridge. The light was flashing red and then it turned to green for us to pass even though there was masses of clearance. Just on the other side there was what looked like a gap nearest the bridge for us to pull into. We checked with the keeper that we were allowed to moor there, as long as we were past the bridge lights it was fine. There was sufficient space for us.
Mick walked up to check on the parking situation by the bins. There was enough space for a couple of vans, first come first parks. Our coordinates were emailed off to Finesse and we waited to hear back. A couple of hours later we heard from Chris/Kev, they would be on their way at 5am.
P1280876sm
0 locks, 2.28 miles, 1 lift bridge, 1 swing bridge, 3 ducks, 2 winds, 100GB of data, 150GB this month! 1 full water tank, 1 empty wee tank, 0 rubbish, 4 hour shopping mooring, 2 boxes wine, 2 lamb steaks, 1 Oleanna sized gap, 1 M worth exploring, 4 hours of freedom at last! followed by 4 quiet cat sleeping hours, 1 early night, 1 alarm clock set.

Severn River level at 9am today Bewdley 0.835m,
level at Diglis, Worcester at 9am today 0.739m,
level at Gloucester Docks at 9am today 0.8755.

Going To The Docks. 22nd April

Diglis Lock to Gloucester Docks Pontoon

Plenty of miles to cover today, so no Sunday cooked breakfast for us today.

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Our push off was a little bit later than planned, but we still had plenty of time to make it down the Severn to Gloucester in one go. We reversed out from our space and backed up past NB Chrysalis, we’ll most probably see them in the week as they are heading all the way to Sharpness and then have a pilot booked to get them to Bristol! One day we might just be brave enough to do this journey.

P1280496smWe winded nearer the lock, avoiding being anywhere near to the weir and called the Lock Keeper. All the locks on the Severn are manned and a phone call or vhf radio call stirs them into action. We had a short wait for him to set the lock for us with the red flashing light, then once the gates were opening a green arrow pointed us towards the small lock. There are two locks here one small, which we could have shared and a large one, which looks like we’d have fitted in eight times. The large lock is currently closed, but I suspect we’d have been directed to the small one anyway.

As we pulled in, I first of all couldn’t see the dreaded wire risers. But they were just metal wire, not covered in a blue sleeve like they are on the Trent. Mick slowed Oleanna down and I passed my bow line round it as calmly as I could. Even though my rope had been coiled well it decided to tie itself into a knot just as Mick was wanting to pull the back in to get his line round a riser too. Fortunately the knot gave way and we pulled Oleanna into the side. Phew! I don’t like risers (only click on the link if you are not squeamish).

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Speeding along

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Malvern Hills Ahead

Dropping only a couple of feet we were now on our way, fast along the river. Boats like being able to go faster than most canals allow, Oleanna slipped along with ease doubling our normal cruising speed. At first we were reminded of the Ouse with trees down to the water line and not much view. Then the Malvern Hills came into sight as the channel opened out a bit.

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Not as speedy as others

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Grass cutting

There was a bit more traffic than we’ve been used to of late, but not too much to start with. A small cruiser passed us slowing as he did so, then cranking it up leaving us to rise and fall with his wake.

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Upton on Severn

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Interesting looking place

Should we have wanted to stop there was nowhere until we reached Upton On Severn. A 48hr mooring and another for partons of the many river side pubs and hotels. Here we spied NB Henry Thomas whom we’d met in Llangollen. With what looked like an interesting church tower topped with a copper cupola Upton looks like a place we may stop at on our return.

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Hello!

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Not as big as Exol Pride

It being the weekend we weren’t going to meet any gravel barges, they were all moored up at a wharf side by side waiting for Monday.

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Mythe Bridge

Mythe Bridge spans the Severn shortly before the turning onto the River Avon and Tewkesbury, I do like a good Tewkesbury! Designed by Thomas Telford it was built in 1826, one large elegant iron span with a criss crossed structure. In 1992 the bridge was strengthened so that it could withstand modern traffic weighing up to 17 tonnes.

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“I do like a good Tewksbury!”

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Next section on falling amber

We continued round to the right on the Severn towards Upper Lode Lock. When it came into sight Mick called the Lockie, but only got the answer phone. Up along the side of the lock we could see him being busy cutting grass, no chance he’d hear the phone. So we trod water as there wasn’t really anywhere to tie up to until he spotted us. The light flashed red and then turned to green and we were in. We started to sort our ropes out, but the Lockie said we needn’t as we were on our own. The lock is an unusual shape as it widens out towards the bottom gates. The Lockie had set the lock for a boat coming up stream, but it hadn’t shown, most probably stopped somewhere enroute, so he’d had to refill the huge lock for us. The river level board was showing green above the lock, and amber falling water levels below.

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No bucket with instructions today, just a chat

upper lode lock

Upper Lode Lock

Verbal instructions were given to us about our approach to Gloucester Lock. You need to call the Lockie as you approach Upper Parting, where the river splits three miles out, take the channel to the left. Then as the lock comes into sight slow down. If the red light is flashing hang back, pass a stern rope around the chains on the wall and wait for the light to go green. This is because in this lock you go up and the paddles that empty it can cause quite a bit of turbulence. Then on the green follow the profile of the wall, don’t pull outwards, into the lock with a bit of umph so as not to get pulled to the right and down the channel that leads to the weir. Instructions received and understood we were allowed on our way.

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Looks interesting

There were plenty more possible moorings along this stretch, numerous pubs with their own pontoons looked enticing. Should we stop for lunch, we decided not to.

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Dinghies

When I bobbed below to make sandwiches I could hear the engine tone change from ahead to reverse, what was happening? There was a dinghy tacking it’s way along the river, so Mick hung back until it had passed our course and then full steam ahead to get through before they’d turned and headed straight for us again. Collision avoided. But up ahead there were even more dinghies. Mick did his best and the boats did their best. I looked out of the window to see one chap let go of the pontoon as the sail filled, his face suddenly struck with panic as he realised he was on collision course with us! Then the strain dropped from his face as he realised he would actually just miss us. Phew all round!

P1280702smThe phone call was made at Upper Parting and we were asked how long we thought we’d be. ‘No idea, we’ve never been this way before!’ We were now in a cutting rather than a river, a whole different feel to it. A dart of blue shot across the water top. This is only our second sighting of a Kingfisher since the canals froze, I suspect the lack of water to fish in had an effect on numbers.

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Lock ahead

Monitoring the VHF radio we started to hear crackles of conversation. One audible extract was ‘It’s half empty’. Would the lock be ready for us? After several bridges the wall with chains came into view, soon followed by the lock entrance. The light was red flashing, but the gates were open and the lock empty. The light turned green, we wouldn’t have to cling onto the wall.

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Reflection in the lock mirror

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Happy to have got to the docks

Once in the lock, we passed our ropes around the risers slowly and with care. Looking back towards Mick signalling that I was ready I could see that over the lock there was a road bridge. The Lockie came out from his booth and crossed the road. All three of us gave a thumbs up, we were ready to go up. It took forever for anything to happen, I wondered if he was going to have to open the bridge before we rose in the lock, but still nothing happened. Bigger boats would necessitate the bridge being opened, but we’d miss it. After a few minutes I could at last see that water was being let in, very gently holding us against the wall. It was one of the most gentle river locks we’ve been in, we hardly needed the ropes.

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Tall Ship

We had a choice of where to moor. Either on the wall where we could hook up to electric or round on the pontoons. Opting for the pontoons we winded assisted by the wind and pulled up. We’d made it, an easier cruise than we’d thought, narrowly avoiding dinghies and having done a load of washing and a dishwasher load full too, bonus. What a place to moor, surrounded by refurbished warehouses, tall ships with rigging, quite a sight.

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Diddy boat, big dry dock

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Big boat, big dry dock

DSCF7121sm3 locks, 28.67 miles, 1 reverse, 2 winds, 2 rights, 2 lefts, 5 hours cruise, 1 flymo, 1 length of string, 2 many places to stop on the way back, 1 pot bellied lock, 0 bucket, 7 rowing boats, 3 cruisers, 2 at really bad times, 6 dinghies, 1 panic stricken face, 1 topiary motorbike, 1 Kingfisher, 9.75 digits still, 2 dry docks, 1 full, 1 not so full, 1 more day without shore leave!

Severn River level at 9am today (at Bewdley a mile upstream from Stourport) 0.895m,

level at Diglis, Worcester at 9am today 0.763m,

level at Gloucester Docks at 9am today 0.872m.

Almost Green. 21st April

Offerton Bottom Lock to Diglis Visitor Moorings, wait for it…. The River Severn!
P1280341smBreakfast done and no faffing this morning as we wanted to be away before the blue hire boat. No offence to them, but we didn’t want to be waiting or for them to feel pressured at locks. As we pushed off there was no sign of life from them.
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All the sport fields were full, parents shouting encouragement to their youngsters on the football fields and gentle applause for runs on the cricket pitches.

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Narrow, but not for long

P1280377smOur run into Worcester was easy, a Viking Afloat boat yesterday had set most of the locks for us, only one had drained overnight. The last two locks down into town were both empty and as I was just starting to fill the top one a chap with a BWML shirt on came and asked if I’d seen a boat. A moving boat, no we’d not seen anyone else moving. He was relieved as I’d saved him quite a walk to try and find it, they must have gone down onto the river.

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Sidbury Lock, By the Comandery

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Our last narrow lock for a while

The last two locks are deep and Mick could only just reach to close a bottom gate and then only just enough for me to step over. Sidbury Lock was to be our last narrow lock for sometime.

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Not a mooring! Looked like one to us!

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Pikes and helmets

Just under Mill Street Bridge we pulled in and tied up on the rings. Two boats were moored there, one very antisocially on the water points. We made sure we pulled backwards, sorted out our boat covers, poppering them back into place, the kettle put on, time for lunch. From here we’d walk down to have a look at the river level and the moorings, then stock upon a few items and fill with water. But just as the kettle was about to boil a C&RT chap stopped to talk to Mick. He informed us that where we were moored wasn’t a mooring and that we’d get a ticket if we stayed there. Yes there were signs at the waterpoints, Max stay 30 mins, but nothing that we’d seen nearer the bridge. We’re not sure if this was official or something that has come about locally over time after complaints by locals, who knows, we just couldn’t stay there.

The kettle was taken off the gas, hose hooked up to fill the tank and Mick walked down to check on the mooring situation on the river. With the tank full we pushed off again towards the last two locks down onto the Severn.
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Locks one and two on the Worcester & Birmingham

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The nice lockie letting us down onto the river

These are big brutes! Wide and heavy. I went ahead to open the lock below whilst Oleanna dropped to the level of the intermediate pound. A very nice chatty Volunteer Lockie appeared from nowhere and helped with paddles and gates. We were having difficulty opening the bottom gate when she noticed water still bubbling up from one of the ground paddles. She tried dropping the paddle but still it bubbled, possibly something stuck in it. So we pushed extra hard and eventually managed to get the gate open, she’d see if she could fix it once we were out on the river.

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A days cruise to Stourport!

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Green just visable

Insisting I jumped on board to go down the bottom lock whilst she did the paddles I did as I was told. The bottom gate opened and there at last after 25 days we were actually on the river. Instead of 13 miles and 3 locks we’d come the long way round, 68 miles and 98 locks! As we exited the lock the board was just level with where green met amber, almost green. Then it started to rain!

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Worcester & the River Severn

Turning left, we headed down stream to where the floating pontoon moorings were. An hour ago there had been space for us, but in the mean time two cruisers had filled the gap. So we slowly turned to face up stream and came in very slowly along side a narrowboat moored at the end of the pontoon. ‘Hello, anyone on board?’ A lady popped her head out, yes we could breast up. She took our bow rope and passed it around her T stud. NB Chrysalis had just come up from the Avon and would next week be heading back down stream on the Severn.

After lunch the rain had stopped so we walked along the river, crossing at Worcester Bridge and headed up to Sainsburys to pick up a few bits to keep us going and a newspaper. However where our paper should be there was an empty space! We should have come out before eating. Shopping done I checked google maps, there was a newsagent across the way who, thankfully fulfilled our weekly paper requirements.
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Worcester Chilled Medication

To celebrate getting onto the river we stopped off on our way back and enjoyed some chilled medication, Blackcurrant Sorbet and Salted Caramel. Very nice they were too.

The two cruisers had moved off so as soon as things were in the fridge we untied and moved up the pontoon giving Liz on NB Chrysalis her day light back. Tomorrow we’ll head down to Gloucester before anything can possibly happen to the river.
DSCF7114sm10 locks, 4.73 miles, 1 left, 1 wind, 1 missing boat, 48hr moorings no more? 1 lovely Lockie, 3 cruiser git gaps, 1 more day without shore leave! 1 woofer next door, 2nd time lucky, 2 chilled medications, 1 river verging on the green, 2 tbsp of Lee and Perrins in our dinner,  1 NB Oleanna on the Severn at last!
Severn River level at 9am today (at Bewdley a mile upstream from Stourport) 0.984m,
level at Diglis, Worcester at 9am today 0.791m,
level at Gloucester Docks at 9am today 0.930m.

Lock Wheeling For Two Boats. 20th April

Astwood Bottom Lock to Offerton Bottom Lock 11
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Last night’s sunset

The blue hire boat came past as we were having breakfast nice and slowly and holding a straight course. We took our time in getting going pushing off at around 10am. The mist that we’d woken to was very quickly burnt off so t-shirts and sun cream were needed from the off. We’ll come back to this mooring at some point as just by the bottom lock is a footpath which leads to Hanbury Hall, another place well worth a visit if you are here (Link).

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A yellow carpet

After just a mile we continued straight on at Hanbury Junction. Here you can turn off to the Droitwich Junction Canal dropping down locks and limboing under the motorway to Droitwich. Our planned route next month will mean that we possibly won’t do this stretch as we’ll approach Droitwich from the Severn (levels permitting!) and then return to head back south again. The primroses at the junction were spectacular, almost a carpet of yellow.

We pulled in at the wharf to top up the diesel tank and get a couple of bags of coal. Yes we know it’s very warm outside right now, but our stocks are really quite low now and next week we may be back to wearing padded trousers!
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Fat boats on a thin canal

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We’re trying

A boat had come to wind at the arm so we held off, but followed on behind as a C&RT boat was waiting to pull in to receive a delivery from Jewsons for the repairs they were doing at the junction. Down the arm were a couple of fat boats, these seem strange on a narrow canal, but they are for sale at New and Used boats. They also look like they are selling wooden pods to put in your garden.

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A reeded avenue

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Mistletoe, birds nests and blackthorne

With over four miles on the flat before the next lock we watched the sunny world go by as we drifted along between the reeds. Last years growth twitches as you pass, the new shoots just starting to show above the water. The last few days have woken spring up, the trees are showing their leafy potential and the Black Thorn is coming out into full bloom. Mick wondered what bird made all the large nests high up in the trees. I suggested the Mistletoe Bird!

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Another Chocolate Box scene

Passing under the M5 we were at Offerton Top Lock. I filled the lock and then walked down to the one below to fill that one. A chap  here said I’d need to empty the one above to bring the level up as the pound was quite low. This is one of those times you just want to say ‘Really! I’d never thought of that’. To get Oleanna into the lock we had to empty the one she was in anyway. The chap made up for it though by helping with the gates. At the next lock down I could see the blue hire boat. We knew that the lady couldn’t lift the ground paddles and wouldn’t drive the boat into the locks, so they were working each lock in turn. They had picked up some tips from us and he was managing to push a bottom gate closed to save his wife from walking round too many times.

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Caught up

We caught them up very quickly, I walked down and offered to set the next lock. So leapfrogging them I walked down and lifted the paddles and got back in time to help open gates for them. They planned to stop for the day below the bottom lock in the sunshine and we were considering stopping too.

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I’ll just have to sunbathe inside instead

Once moored up we had a bit of a tidy up and settled down for the day. For some reason despite being at what looked like a very good M mooring with plenty of trees, I wasn’t allowed out! They said it was for my own safety. This didn’t make sense I am far more capable of climbing trees than either of them! Over the last couple of months there have been reports of tasty parcels of luncheon meat having been left around Diglis Basin and out of town along the canal. Inside these parcels someone has put rat poison, their intentions not clear, but obviously harmful. So we weren’t willing to find out if all the parcels had been found, Tilly will be kept in for the next couple of days, no matter what she says.

We’ve been trying to meet up with a couple of friends who live in Malvern for a while, Easter weekend didn’t happen due to the river coming up and our paths whilst on the boat haven’t quite married with theirs over the last year. So after a bit of texting about our plans for the next couple of days I got a phone call saying that they were on their way over! A quick wash to get rid of the sun cream, put a clean top on and there they were on the towpath.
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Ali & Christine

Ali and Christine were welcomed on board, especially as they had brought a bottle of bubbles with them and some chocolates. A guided tour and a glass of fizz each whilst we caught up on the last few months. Then we decided that it would be wise to get some food and headed off in the car to find a pub. Our journey took us back to Tibberton, to The Bridge. By canal this was just over a mile away, but in the car at least three! We had an average pub meal and a bottle of wine as we chatted away the evening. It was very good to see them both and hopefully we’ll get another chance  whilst we’re in the area over the next month.

DSCF7114sm6 locks, 5.9 miles, 1 straight on, 50.6 litres diesel, 0 excel, 50kg taybright, 1 blue boat caught up, 2 locks ahead, 2 joints chicken still in the fridge, 1 bottle Prosecco, 1 box chocolates, 2 lovely ladies, 0 cake, 2 shorter notice to bake, 1 grounded cat.
Severn River level at 9am today (at Bewdley a mile upstream from Stourport) 1.156m. It’s going down again.