Hulks and bridges

The weather was kinder to us today as we returned from Sharpness to Gloucester. There was only a little rain, but the wind - in our backs - was strong. Only a mile after setting off we stopped at Purton to look at the Purton Hulks, boats which were deliberately sunk last century to protect the bank of the canal from erosion by the Severn.

There are 20 or so in various states of decay, but which are now seen as an important collection of historic boats. Each one is named on individual plaques.

This is what remains of Edith ...

... with her plaque provided by the Friends of Purton.

What with it not raining so much - we even had some sunshine! - I managed to take a few picture of some of the moveable bridges we encountered. This is Splatt Bridge (lovely name).

And here is Llanthony Bridge fully raised for the two small hire boats in front and us.

That's all for now - tomorrow we'll find out how fast we can or cannot go against the current of the Severn as we aim for Tewkesbury and the Avon.

At a (watery) crossroads

We probably did too much today. We navigated the entire* length of the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, getting to Sharpness at about 1830, having coped with wind and rain for much of the journey. Yes, we could have stopped, but I now have a schedule to get us to Ilkeston for the IWA gathering at the end of this month.

We did stop half way at Saul Junction for lunch and a walk down part of the Stroudwater Canal, taking in the marina and the Cotswold Canal Trust visitor centre on the way. Here is the crossroads: G&S canal running left to right (Gloucester to the left; Sharpness to the right), Stroudwater Canal running from behind (from Framilode) to in front (to the Thames (eventually, when restored)).

I spotted a couple of the famous bridge keepers' cottages with their classical columns, but photographed only one as the weather was so bad.

There are several noteworthy things about this 16 mile canal. It's wide and deep, with a 6 mph speed limit. At our usual 1100 rpm we were doing about 4.0 - 4.2 mph into the wind. Also, there are swing bridges. Lots of them. They are all operated by bridge keepers who see you coming and give you a flashing red light, move the bridge (mostly electrically - one was manually wound open) and then give you a green light to proceed through. And you have the River Severn running alongside, once, at Purton, right next to you.

Approaching Sharpness we passed between the remains of the old railway bridge which crossed the river and canal. The portion over the canal was a swing bridge (naturally) - the circular stone support is on the right.

At Sharpness we winded in front of the high level swing bridge and tied up . After tea on board we walked via the old tidal basin to look at the docks. The photo shows how grey the weather was and is taken from the high level swing bridge.

We returned to the boat with a stop at the Dockers' club for some liquid refreshment. No dockers in the public bar, just truckers.

Tomorrow the plan is to stop at Purton to see the hulks, and I'd like to walk the other way along the Stroudwater Canal at Saul Junction.

*discounting Sharpness Dock. We weren't going to tackle the Severn Estuary.

National Waste of Time Museum

Until a couple of days ago the Llanthony Lift Bridge was just an occasional CRT Notice Alert, mentioned when it wasn't working for whatever reason. I had no real idea where it was, and certainly no idea what it looked like.

But now, having been moored in Gloucester Docks for 30 hours, I do know where it is (immediately south of the docks where the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal joins), how it lifts and what it carries (buses, taxis, cycles and pedestrians).

Here it is, just starting to close after allowing the trip boat Glevum through.

This morning we went round the National Waterways Museum. Now I had thought that this was the main one, but it isn't a patch on Ellesmere Port. The sign on the Llanthony Warehouse leads one to imagine that the museum occupies the whole warehouse - or, at least, a good part of it.

Er, no. It's on two floors with much of the ground floor taken up with gift shop and basic tea room - no, sorry, that's too grand - coffee bar. There's a five minute looped HD aerial film of the lower Severn which is mildly interesting, and talking head videos of former commercial boatmen who worked the Severn. There's a scattering of canal-related stuff, but there's far more and better at Ellesmere Port. Outside there are three or four boats including a Dutch dredger (in the foreground above) and a barge now converted to a modern classroom. On hardstanding, with no information board, is a Josher narrowboat whose name now escapes me and whose cabin is in poor condition.

Neither of us was impressed. On the plus side the ticket covers entry to Ellesmere Port for a year - but we went there last year and are unlikely to be back within 12 months.

There are some interesting old buildings in the city centre, but it's not as chocolate box pretty as Tewkesbury. We were outside Baker's (Practical Watchmaker, Jeweller & Optician) when the bells were chimed for 5 pm, each of the four outside characters sounding their bell with a hammer before Father Time hauled on his rope to strike the hour.

We went to Choral Evensong in the cathedral at 1730, which was sung very well by Wells Cathedral's "voluntary choir" (more Elgar - is it compulsory in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire? The anthem at Tewkesbury on Sunday was an excerpt from The Apostles; today we heard 'Give unto the Lord'.)

We ate at the Lord High Constable of England (Wetherspoon's) at an outside table on the dockside. Despite the sun having gone into a sulk behind clouds it was actually warmer there than in the over-air-conditioned interior. (photo taken in the sunshine yesterday)

Tomorrow we shall venture down the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, all sixteen miles and sixteen moveable bridges. Maybe only 14 bridges - I'm guessing we won't be going into Sharpness Dock.