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.

Meeting Edward Elgar in a tight spot

This morning I cycled back to Worcester to collect the car while Jan toured Tewkesbury looking for OS map 150 (Worcester and the Malverns) for me. She found a not-too-old, good condition one in a second-hand bookshop, but it was too late. I had already set off on National Cycle Route 45 - big mistake. I should have just kept it simple and used the direct and ubiquitous A38 (it seems to go everywhere). As it was I tried using the directions from Google Maps on my phone, which led me at one point along an exceedingly muddy narrow track complete with horse droppings. I eventually reached the car and drove back to Tewkesbury where I found a side street with no parking restrictions. The car will stay there until we return by boat.

This was our peaceful mooring last night, with Healing's Mill in the background.

Nothing terribly exciting or noteworthy happened as we travelled down the Severn to Gloucester - until we met trip boat Edward Elgar. This was in the East Channel, a narrow section of the Severn, a mile above Gloucester Lock. The lockie had warned us it was on its way and mentioned that it might be a tight squeeze getting past. In the event we passed at a good point with plenty of room for both of us. If we'd been a minute ahead it would potentially have been awkward as there are some tight bends.

But our slowish pace (1100 rpm = 4.8 mph here) paid off as we arrived at the lock just as a boat was leaving. Having been warned about the stream pulling to the right across the entrance of the lock I aimed to the left. The flow obviously wasn't that great as I had to correct to the right myself before entering the lock.

The approach had given us a taste of the fine buildings to come; as we ascended the lock we found we were entering a cornucopia of large old warehouses.

We turned left immediately after exiting the lock and tied up on one of the floating pontoons. Jan spotted BCF stickers on a boat two away from us, so we invited ourselves round for a cup of tea on Pound Eater with Barry and Kate. It was good to chat to you, and thanks for the tea and biscuits!

We then went for a walk round Gloucester city centre and returned to the boat for tea. While Jan was preparing a chicken meal I walked round the docks and took this photo of our mooring. Jubilee is in the centre, the front bulkhead catching the light. That's the cathedral in the background.

After tea Jan joined me for another walk round the docks, and we witnessed a fine sunset over Sainsbury's car park.

As you do.

It looks like tomorrow we'll stay here and do the National Waterways Museum. And I have to cycle to Maplin to pick up a powerbank I've ordered.

Tewkesbury takes its toll

I'll start today's write-up with the photo which came out best. This is Abbey Mill from Severn Ham. Tewkesbury Abbey is in the background on the right.

Now back to the journey. It took a long time to get down the two locks from Diglis Basin onto the Severn. There were two hire boats and a narrowboat-style plastic cruiser in front of us. The hire boats were in the top lock and the cruiser had tied up to the lock landing leaving us hovering as there was nowhere else to go. The hire boats emptied the lock, but then found that the intermediate pound was too low, so they stayed in the lock and refilled it, then emptied it again before leaving. Meanwhile I had managed to get off the boat and walked down to the bottom lock to set it, which none of the numerous crew from the hire boats had thought of doing. Eventually we were able to enter the top lock and start down. These two locks take a very, very long time to empty and fill. They must be the slowest on the entire system - are they? Only one bottom paddle was working on the bottom lock, which didn't help.

In the top lock

The cruiser was also going to Tewkesbury, so we shared Diglis Lock with them.

leaving Diglis Lock

The Severn was placid, the weather was bright, dry and breezy, the scenery changed just sufficiently to prevent it getting too tedious.

typical Severn scene

We passed a couple of bulk loading sites with boats in situ.

It looked like gravel or sand was what was being transported.

After passing a mooring opportunity at Upton-on-Severn we made the left turn onto the River Avon and tied up beyond the lock entrance without going up the lock. Having paid the fee (the toll of the title) to the lockie we walked into Tewkesbury and marvelled at the abundance of old half-timbered buildings.

There are lots of narrow passages called 'courts' or 'alleys' - this one led to the old Baptist chapel of 1655.

We went to a service of Choral Evensong in the Abbey, then ate at the Bell (a very ordinary roast meal) (the beer was good though - North Cotswold 4.0%) before continuing our exploration of the town.

Here's another shot of Abbey Mill.

Tomorrow I shall cycle back to Worcester to get the car, then we have some decision making to do. I'd quite like to stay on in Tewkesbury for a sacred music festival in the Abbey, but that would interfere with our cruising plans. And do we continue to pay for mooring or do we carry on to Gloucester and drive back for the festival? Or do we get a two-week Avon licence or even a 30 day licence?

To be continued ...

Wet Worcester

I was having so much fun posting the pictures of the old BBC kit yesterday that I neglected to say much about our trip from Droitwich to Worcester. The first thing to say is that there is a huge amount of reed growth on the Droitwich Barge Canal.

It was not a problem, but it did get a little boring after a while. We met four or five boats, mostly at locks. One was coming up as we left this pretty scene. The balance beams are cranked as there is a bridge immediately below the lock.

The restored (newly built?) circular overspill weir is in the style of some on the Staffs and Worcs.

All too soon we were at the bottom of the Barge Canal and at the junction with the River Severn. We had very much enjoyed the Droitwich Canals, especially as they were new to us.

The Severn was wide but not very fast flowing. At my usual 1100 rpm, which propels the boat at about 3.0 to 3.2 mph on a canal, we made 4.5 - 4.8 mph.

Soon Worcester Cathedral appeared beyond the road bridge. Jan got a good shot of it framed by the arch but she hasn't sent it to me yet.

We turned in the river to come alongside the lock landing pontoon behind another narrowboat; we came up the two locks into Diglis Basin together and then tied up as soon as we could.

Today I cycled back to Droitwich to get the car (National Cycle Route 45 - very good and well signed); we had lunch and then walked into the city centre. Jan witnessed the official opening of the Cathedral Square shopping centre, meanwhile there had evidently been another unveiling in the Cathedral Close. The blue plaque remembers the composer Thomas Tomkins (1572 - 1656).

We had visitors this evening: my former big boss in Norwich, David, who is an even bigger boss now, came with his wife, Deborah.

It was great to see you again, David, and to meet you, Deborah.

The 'wet' of the title? It was raining when we arrived yesterday, and it started raining again just as our visitors were leaving on their bikes today. I hope your journey back wasn't too awful. At about 8 pm we walked to a Wetherspoon's for a meal and were very glad of our waterproofs.

Tomorrow we hit the river again and will aim for Tewkesbury.

Droitwich calling

We looked round the small museum in Droitwich this morning. I found the salt aspect of this disappointing - the Lion Salt Works museum on the Trent and Mersey Canal, with its large scale reconstruction of a working salt works, is much better.

But what Droitwich is really famous for - for me, anyway - is the BBC transmitting station which for many years radiated on 1500m long wave. (These days it's actually 1515m as the frequency was changed to 198kHz so that all AM broadcast transmissions were on frequencies a whole multiple of 9kHz (this happened in 1978, I believe)).

Down a corridor by the salty exhibits (mostly skulls and skeletons, by the way) is the more interesting part of the museum. An area dedicated to the old days of the BBC, when the BBC ran its own transmitters, studios and production. This being Droitwich, the exhibits were mainly connected with the transmitting station. On the left below is an early version of the main control desk.

There's an assortment of other paraphernalia, including an AXBT microphone (remember the tiller pin on Savoy Hill?)

This is an interesting former incarnation of the BBC logo. It looks like it's on a flower planter.

And here's some outside broadcast kit, the OBA 8 (outside broadcast amplifier 8). It's essentially a mixing desk for microphone inputs and was used inter alia to get regional stations set up as the second world war threatened.

All this equipment was obsolete by the time I joined the Corporation as an engineer in 1980 - but I do remember we had a Ferrograph tape deck in the videotape area. Not as old as this, probably.

Well, that's enough of that. We left Netherwich Basin at 1300 and continued down the Droitwich Barge Canal. This was bordered by vast reed banks for much of the way to the Severn, but a handful of locks added interest. Once on the Severn we passed through Bevere Lock and made our way downstream to Worcester, where we ascended the two locks into Diglis Basin and tied up on the canal just before the facilities. Photos tomorrow.

Route planning

Not long to go now until we're off on our summer cruise. Our son Andrew lives in Sheffield, and I thought it would be good to visit him and Bekka by boat. As we haven't "done" the Rochdale Canal (apart from the Nine) I thought we'd go the long way round, i.e. up to Manchester and then over the Pennines via Rochdale.

At Sowerby Bridge the waterway becomes the Calder and Hebble Navigation; at Cooper Bridge (Huddersfield) we'll be retracing the steps we took in 2005, but only as far as Castleford Junction where, instead of turning left towards Leeds, we'll carry on down the Aire and Calder Navigation to Southfield Junction. Here the plan is to turn left on the dead-straight New Junction Canal and continue up the South Yorkshire Navigations to Sheffield.

I'd be really grateful if any reader who has experience of this route could tell me if there's anything I should know beforehand. I'll consult the CRT website about booking Tuel Deep Lock - is there anything else which needs booking? (I have a feeling the Rochdale Summit needs to be booked too, is that the case?)

Having got to Sheffield, assuming we do, it would be a shame not to visit the Chesterfield Canal while we're in the area. This will involve a bit of tidal Trent. I guess the best thing here is to go with the flow from Keadby Junction to West Stockwith Junction.

*******************

Rather than leave this post without photos, here's David (of Kew) testing the Severn in Worcester for swimmability.

Half-way across, and it's all right: the weir is 500m away.

He made it to the other side, and back again.

Worcester

Wednesday 19th June 2013

I'm still having problems with Blogger displaying photos incorrectly. The html format for the photos appears to be the same as in previous photos, so I don't know what the problem is. When I next upload photos I'll specify the "small" style and see if that works. Meanwhile you can still click on the photos to see them properly.

Back to the recent trip on Kew, then, and here's Worcester Cathedral coming into view.


The weather was seriously hotting up, and I needed some sunglasses, so, after turning onto the Worcester and Birmingham Canal I walked into town in search of a Poundland.

Mission accomplished, I returned to the boat via The Shambles.


Has anyone else had this difficulty with uploaded photos?

*Update* Adam has suggested a fix, which seems to have worked. Thanks Adam!

Dislocated rudder bad start for boat move

Tuesday 18th June 2013

After a bit of a wait for diesel at Stourport Basin it was time, at last, to set off down the two staircase pairs and onto the Severn.


In the first staircase disaster struck.

The rudder had got caught on the edge of the cill, lifting it out of its mounting holes.


The skipper recalled that the last time this had happened, about 20 years ago, it had been at this very spot. Oops. A large wooden rudder is unbelievably heavy, as I discovered when trying to lift it, with fellow crew member Richard's help, standing on the tail footbridge using a rope.

When this proved too difficult David fetched the winch. We attached this to the footbridge and lifted and lowered on instructions from David, who was trying to locate the pins in the holes.

In this photo Richard is on the winch while David adjusts the rope.


About an hour after the incident the rudder finally popped into place and we were able to continue our journey.


We were just too late to pass through Lincomb Lock on the Severn so we tied up and ate on board. Rather more excitement than we were expecting on the first day!

I don't know why the photos are too big - and cut off on the right - or is it just me? photo sizes now correct...

Cruising on Kew

Just a quick update - blogging silence has been for reasons of extreme busyness and relative inaccessibility of computer ...

I'm crewing on nb Kew cruising from Stourport to Braunston. I arrived in Stourport on Tuesday at about 4 pm by bike and train. All connections worked well.

After an interesting experience at the staircase locks down from the basin to the river we tied up just above Lincomb Lock.

On Wednesday we zipped down the Severn to Worcester, where we stopped for lunch. I walked into the city centre searching for sunglasses - yes, summer had arrived! From there we made steady progress up the locks to Tibberton where we had an excellent meal in the Bridge Inn.

Have to go now - more locks coming up!

Photos to follow.

Where the working boats went - Life and Times

At the bar of the Boat Inn - "Unspoilt by Progress" - by the Severn at Jackfield is a poster. It advertises a performance of "Where the Working Boats Went", being given as part of the Shrewsbury Folk Festival on Sunday 28th August 2011. It's being given by "Life and Times", which, as far as I can gather, is duo Graeme Meek and Barry Goodman. They promise "the story of Britain's industrial waterways in drama and song".


According to the Shrewsbury Folk Festival website all festival tickets are sold, but I don't know if that includes this event.


On the outside of the pub is a record of flood levels. It seems to have been flooded every year recently. The landlady told me that they don't bother sandbagging the doors as the water comes up through the floor anyway!

A week's cruise from Worcester: day 2

Saturday 23rd August 2008

Astley Burf to Wightwick


After taking a few photos of our mooring in the mist outside the pub we set off at 0730 and arrived at Lincomb Lock a few minutes before it opened. Barely enough time to get the hose connected to the water point.

Now we were on a mission to get as far as we could, despite the enforced "late" start. So, unfortunately, there was no time for stopping en route, that would have to wait for another time. It was rather a relief to get off the fast-flowing Severn and into the first of the staircase locks of the Staffs and Worcs Canal at Stourport. Now we could keep the revs and the temperature down.


It felt slightly strange going through places which, until now, had just been names of other OwnerShips boats: Wolverley, Debdale, Cookley and Kinver. It was fascinating going through the sandstone cuttings. The countryside and the regular locks make this a lovely canal to cruise.


I keep seeing Elk on the system


Kidderminster


cutting through sandstone


David at Debdale Lock

Botterham Staircase pair was good: the intermediate gates towering above you as you enter the lower lock.


And then the Bratch. We just made it before the "closing time" of 1940 (is it possible to go through when the lockie has gone off duty, or are the locks padlocked?)

We finally tied up as it was getting dark in Wightwick: we wouldn't have to start too early the next morning to make it to Aldersley Junction, where we intended to moor for the IWA National Festival.