Lock shuffle with large hotel boat

We are now back in Tewkesbury after a mostly uneventful run up the Severn from Gloucester. I'll start with one of my favourite photos of the day, houses on the Mill Avon in the evening sun.

The Severn upstream of Gloucester is rather featureless. This view did present itself at one point, though.

I said the trip was mostly uneventful, the one piece of excitement was when we encountered the hotel boat Edward Elgar wanting to leave Upper Lode Lock as we waited to enter.

The skipper of the hotel boat considered that our position on the piling below the lock wouldn't have given him sufficient room to swing round after exiting the lock. He therefore asked us to come alongside him before he left.

This all worked well. I steered in (to a compliment on my skippering from the hotel boat - he doesn't know how many narrow locks I've done, and there was more space here!) We hung on to the lockside cables, I waved to the passengers having their lunch, the Edward Elgar went and the lock was filled for us.

I was expecting the flow on the river to considerably reduce our speed, but this was not the case. At 1200 rpm we made 3.6 - 3.8 mph, with very little difference at 1100 rpm. Maybe 0.1 mph slower. The weather was much better than of late, with hardly any rain, much less wind and even some sunshine. We arrived at Avon Lock during the lockie's lunch break; at 1400 he appeared and got us up the lock. After paying our fee - £60 for two weeks - we took on water and tied up just below King John Bridge.

After tea on board we went to a Requiem Mass in Tewkesbury Abbey where Mozart's Requiem was sung in the context of a communion service.

Then we walked down to the river and I took the top photo and this one, of the weir control building (?) at sunset.

We intend to stay in Tewkesbury for another couple of days to take in some more of the festival of sacred music at the abbey.