The Lower Avon

The Lower Avon
September 2015

After the white knuckle ride down the upper Avon the Lower Avon was a bit tame, with the river broadening out and slowing to a sluggish meander over open meadows and periodically descending the odd lock or two such as Chadbury and Fladbury before its serpentine course brought us to the charmingly names Wyre Piddle, our home for the night.

Fladbury Mill

Wyre Piddle stands out in my memory as a night stop when exploring the lover Avon long before the Upper Avon was reinstated. I remember watching Around the World in 80 Days in a local school as part of a community cinema programme. This time round the entertainment came in the shape of Alice, our granddaughter who brought her mum and dad for a visit at the moorings of The Anchor Inn.

Moorings at Strensham

The next day it was off down the river, pausing at Pershore to re-supply in the local Morrisons before pressing on round the huge loops which take the river round Birlingham and Eckington, all the time overlooked by Bredon Hill.

Eckingham Bridge

We spent the night on a makeshift mooring just above Strensham lock which offered more sloes to add to our collection started at Nafford lock.

Kingfisher

The following morning saw us back out on the wide expanse of river, dodging sailing boats and sharing in a Reggae festival just outside Tewkesbury.

Tewkesbury marked the end of the Avon section after which we breasted up and ploughed in the relentless current of the River Severn.

The Upper Avon

The Upper Avon

September 2015

What a busy few days since my last post. We made an uneventful descent into Stratford and made a bee line for the Avon Navigation Trust's floating base in Bancroft Basin to but a one week river pass for both boats. They don't see a lot of buttys and were grateful I had reviewed the website and identified that the un powered craft fee of £10 in addition to the motor boat £50 would be the most appropriate. I know this is pricey for a few days on the Avon but it must cost a lot to maintain the navigation structures - and its a lovely river with echoes of the Thames in miniature.

We have opted to make a descent of the river because I am not convinced we could make a passage towing upstream due to the swift currents in the shallow reached below the locks.

We stayed in Stratford on Wednesday afternoon, entertaining several of Helen's thespian friends, including Miles Richardson who gave us a wave from his dressing room between performances.

We did complete a bit of new water on this trip - up above the bridge to the services at The Old Bathing Place. The guidebook warns that its a bit tricky for narrowboats but with a bit of fresh on there was plenty of depth but the narrow channel made dodging the trip boats a bit challenging. 

The Old Bathing Place Stratford on Avon

The elsan is fine but the tap is so far from the river our hose wouldn't reach! The journey back to town highlighted one of the perils of towing on this river - those pesky old bridges with their tiny arches, this time set on a left hand bend which is our Achilles Heel. We had the nightmare scenario of a trip boat close behind a a rowing boat which inexplicably came across in front of us and disrupted my approach. Wand'ring Bark came through cleanly but The Jam Butty slewed a bit and gave the bridge a bit of a bang.

Stratford Bridge

In Thursday it off down the dreamy river, with mile after mile of valley rolling by, punctuated with locks built as part of the Upper Avon restoration. 

The problem with these locks, as I remembered from our last upstream visit, was the "wild river" sections just below then there the channel is narrow, shallow and winding. We went down at a rate of knots, the boat at just over tick over to keep steerage but no faster because we were ferry gliding round the big corners, the bows close to one bank and the stern on Montgomery sweeping out to the other bank. We just played that there would be no one coming the other way at the crucial moments!

Robert Aickman Lock

We spent the night on the moorings above Barton Lock, far from roads and amazingly quiet.

Barton Lock mooring

If the lock approaches were not enough there were more of those bridges like the one at Bidford on Avon where the navigation arch is on the extreme left and the current twists around. Time for another power slide to miss both the cut waters and the following bank.

Bidford on Avon Bridge

Beyond that the Upper Avon slid serenely by with Evesham offering the only hiccup. They have installed a hydro power plant under the old lock house and this means that there is a massive current sweeping past the lock mouth. I could see the problem from the water flow and crept to the end of the lock moorings - applying power to dash into the jaws of the lock and rest against the downstream piles. Phase one went OK but then there was the 10 ton butty hanging outside and being grabbed bu the current so I powered in to the lock but had a good rattle in the process, putting a small tear in the new cratch cover for my pains. If they install hydro schemes they should but in some better navigation guide posts on my opinion.

Evesham Lock

Avon 2012 - Stratford

Avon trip 2012

Evesham to Stratford

August 2012

We slept moored to Workman Gardens with the old 14th century bell tower measuring out the night in its fifteen minute intervals. ever present but not intrusive, just there on the edge of your sleeping consciousness.

Evesham market place

We paid the town a quick visit on Sunday morning and were rewarded with an impressive array of Medieval half timbered houses clustering around the Abbey gate house. I was particularly taken with Nat West Bank with its pronounced lean, shored up with enormous props.

The Monastery grounds contain two fine old churches, but Henry 8th did hist worst on the Monastery itself and even 100 years after the dissolution there was just a huge pile of rubble between the bell tower and the river.

Half timbered buildings in Evesham

We took our leave at 11.00am passing the decaying remains of Evesham's iconic A framed lock keepers cottage which marks the boundatry between what was the Lower and upper Avon Navigation Trusts. Above Evesham we passed dozens of abandoned plum orchards, the trees gone wild and untended. Here and there an gnarled old tree hung over the river and it wasn't long before we had collected a bucket of Damsons for jam and another of sweet eaters.

But a difference a day makes. Yesterday the Avon was a sluggish stream with a barely discernible flow but today it was running high looking like chocolate coloured soup. Yup, the Avon had gone into flood on us and had risen high into the Amber. In the main this was OK, but where the river approached the locks and started to shoal the flow increased dramatically, as high as 3mph in places and made for very slow going. We opened the throttle and barreled on, water swirling from the bows and a deep trail of bubbles following behind as the crept from bend to bend. 

Bidford on Avon

The locks passed at regular intervals, all set against us. These were restored / rebuilt in about 1970 and they are not doing badly. Some are a bit crude in their construction and are fitted with recycled paddle gear from the Thames, and the cranked tubular lock gates are one of a kind, but it all works. Watch out for the strong water flows in the locks - no ground paddles here.

I had been re reading Charles Showell's Shakespeare's Avon and I found the arrangement of locks confusing. Whilst the mill locks are generally still in the same places, many of the others have been moved to permit the removal of the old water gates. As a result its difficult to reconcile the old maps with today's configuration. 

Stratford church at dusk

The flood waters were entering from the east and the high flows ceased as we passed the Stour south of Stratford, easing into the riverside moorings at 8.00pm, just as the sun was setting and about two hours behind schedule. 

The Avon is a fickle river.

Avon Trip 2012 - Evesham

River Avon 2012

Strensham to Evesham

25th August 2012

20 miles - 5 locks - 6 hours

The thunderstorms ratted on all night, dumping gallons of water on us but finally came to an end as we polished on our breakfast bacon butties, with the sun peeping out from a water washed sky.

Eckington Bridge

With a forecast for more of the same we set off on our long circumnavigation of Breedon Hill, its summit shrouded in brooding mist. At it's foot the River Avon is sublime, winding its serpentine route up the valley via en endless series of twists and loops. All along its path the banks are lined with pollarded crack willow and offering frames for a thousand photos.

Breedon Hill

The locks on the Avon are slow fillers, really slow, but demanding attention and offering a wide variety of design. But they are not the main attraction. That honour has to go the bridges, some of them hundreds of years old. The first bridge of the day was Eckington Bridge, narrow and achingly pretty in the early morning light. Note for next time - there is a great mooring just upstream from the bridge.

Getting our ducks in a row

I had wanted to climb up Breedon Hill to its 1000 ft summit, but the weather was poor and the visibility hopeless so we pressed on passing Tildesley Wood just south of Pershore, home of the Pershore Yellow Egg Plum. By the time we got here we had travelled eight water miles, but only achieved 2.5 miles as the crow flies. Then its the old and new bridges of Pershore immediately before the deepest lock on he river, gateway to the town.

Pershore Bridge

Now there was a reason we had pressed on to Pershore - the Pershore Plum Festival. 2012 has not been a good year for plums, first there was a late frost in May which destroyed most of the blossom, and then the endless days of cloud and rain meant that the fruit which survived refused to ripen. All this resulted a small, late crop which was in direct contrast to 2011 when there was bumper crop early in the season. 

Pershore

This left the plum festival high and dry without a crop to display, so it was all very low key, just a handful of stalls in Plum Alley. But to compensate, just about the whole town was decked out in purple. Even the local library has dressed its windows using books, you guessed it, with purple covers. No 50 Shades of Grey here! The most distinctive product in Plum Alley was the Pershore Tricolour Jam - Red, Amber and Green achieved by layering three types of plum jam.

Gathering Damsons at Wyre Piddle

But for all this Pershore left us cold, so we moved on from our mooring near the football ground, through Wyre Lock, to the exquisitely named Wyre Piddle. Wyre Piddle's crowning glory, has to be an island in the river called Tiddle Widdle Island. I am not joking - check the map! Actually Tiddle Widdle Island contains lots a Damson trees overhanging the river, so we pulled in and collected a big basin full.

Evesham rope ferry

All afternoon thunderstorms were bowling up the valley, each missing us but when we were collecting yellow egg plums below Chadbury Lock we were finally caught out and endured a short but torrential drenching. The rain killed of what little boat traffic there was and then we had the river to ourselves. We expected to see a line of boats on the Evesham visitor mooring. but no, there were only four boats moored below Evesham Bridge and we had out choice of spots, selecting one directly opposite Abbey Park and the site of the Evesham Angling Festival.

Avon Trip 2012 - Strensham Lock

Avon 2012

Gloucester to Strensham Lock

24th August 2012

21 miles - 4 locks - 5 hours

I discovered the delights of the Gloucester Quays shopping centre today. I guess it must have been here two years ago, but it passed me by. The shopping centre has not one according to plan, with a much slower take up rate and the section nearest the water virtually empty. But they have a plan... All the shops have been moved into one consolidated block and it has dropped the "Designer" tag which makes it more of a shopping  destination and the aim is to move the multiplex in as well thus creating a vibe all through the day. Good news for shoppers but possibly less good news for boaters who like their moorings quiet.

Tewkesbury from the River Severn

I made a bee line for Mountain Life and their supply of lightweight walking boots and trousers whilst Belle took a good look at Regatta. Our summer wardrobes have become a bit thin lately and this was a good opportunity to set this right.

We were on the move by noon, dropping down onto the Severn and were immediately hit by the 2.5mph current which sweeps down from Upper Parting. This adverse flow always comes as a surprise, slowing progress to  crawl, its not for nothing that this was called skippers reach and even today its tricky waters catch boaters out.

 Tewkesbury Abbey

We proceeded upstream with the diesel booming out under heavy clouds which produced intermittent showers if rain. Not enough to soak me, but heavy enough to have me reaching for my waterproof. 

It was a relief to enter Upper Lode Lock, its gates standing open and ready following an advance call on Channel 74. As I idled in the chamber waiting for another narrowboat to catch up I asked the lock keeper why the outer, newer section of the lock is so large. I was told that it was built large enough to accommodate two dumb barges so that when they were towed up in strings they could all find shelter in the lock at the same time. Thus was particularly important at times of flood - you learn something new ever day.

At last we were able to enter the Avon and it wasn't in flood. Our last two attempts have ended in failure so it was a relief to pass through the Tewkesbury Lock and pay our £50 fee to the Avon Navigation Trust. Having finally made it to Tewkesbury we moored up and spent a couple of hours exploring the old town and the Abbey. A nice place but on a Friday night it is absolute gridlock.

We decided to press on a bit as we want to visit the Pershore plum festival tomorrow, and we commenced what was to be a very long route round Breedon Hill which dominates the landscape. We have entered cruiser territory and suddenly the slow deep drafted narrowboat seemed out of place. Instead the local boats are small plastic cruisers with high speed and good maneuverability. These are not the towering gin palaces of the Severn, but much more modest craft, much loves and full of character. 

Cathedral Choir

For an hour or more rain clouds built up round Breedon Hill, bowling up the valley like skittles in an alley. We avoided most but eventually one hit us head on at Strencham Lock, so I worked through alone and gave up an unequal struggle, mooring on the water point immediately above the lock. We retire for the night with the drumming rain competing with the drone of the M5 a mile or so away.

Stratford 2011 - Stratford to Wilmcote

Stratford 2011 - Turning for Home
17th May 2011


4 miles - 16 locks - 4 hours


Sarah from the Book Barge insisted on supplying us with copious amounts of reading material - Belle with a copy of the Foragers Handbook by Miles Irwin (God of foraging) and me with a 1930 version of Shakespeare's Avon which I had been drooling over, plus a copy of Steve Haywood's latest offering "Too narrow to Swing a Cat".

With the BCN Challenge on my mind I was straight into Steve book, and I had made the fateful decision to dive right in at the middle where he recounts his adventures in the 2009 event. All this reading and discussion about the BCN had me dreaming about the race. In my dream I forgot to fill in the logbook - and in so doing we came last! Oh the humiliation and the ire of my crew - and Steve was there, taking it all in ready for his next canal book - then I woke up.

Stratford Gardens

By 10.00am I was ready to leave but Belle was nowhere to be found. She had disappeared about 30 mins before with a promise to "be back in a minute" carrying her foraging basket in search of those elusive Dandelions. So I was doomed - a foraging widower.

She did turn up, her bag bulging with her illicit pilferings and we were off at 11.00am, entering the lock into Bancroft Basin to another full house. There were way more then 200 this time, all milling around and taking photo's. We has all the usual questions: Do you live on it? why so narrow?, how long does it take to get to London?, how much does it cost? and of course - why don't you use both gates? Its best to humour them I find.

Mary Arden's Cottage

The forecast was for a wet afternoon session and for once the Met Office was spot on - drizzle, downpour, deluge and then back to drizzle. We made slow progress up the locks out of Stratford, hampered by an ABC hireboat so every lock had to be turned all sheathed in waterproofs. Its a good job I had the bike to dash up and down the towpath.

Services are few and far between hereabouts but Valley Cruisers have set up a second base a mile or so above Bancroft Basin who relieved our tank of its contents and my wallet of £15. Water was another issue, we handn't refilled for three days and passed the tap on the river as it was in use. We really couldn't wait any longer so pulled in at Bridge 46 missing an opportunity to leapfrog the ABC boat. Oh what a slow tap - the water just dribbled out and took an age to fill the tank.

Then it's really rural all the way up the 11 locks of the Wilmcote flight set out on a 3:5:3 formation. An iritating feature of these locks is their tendency to have their top gates swing open - so don't blame the boat in front for being lazy!

Wilmcote's wisteria clad post office stores.

By the time we reached the top I was soaked through and had little heart to press on. Instead we moved to the far end of the Wilmote village moorings, supped a beer or two ans finally, when the rain stopped, had a look at Mary Arden's cottage and paid the wisteria clad stores a visit. Not a spectacular village but worth a look if you have time.

Stratford 2011 - Mad Hatters Tea Party

Stratford 2011 - Mad Hatters Tea Party

16th May 2011

After a morning of bustle and activity we moved WB onto the river, all part of the spectacle to a couple of hundred tourists who ringed the lock and generally got in the way.

Gambian Drummer

Our favourite mooring is just downstream of the foot ferry, opposite the temporary theatre. No sooner has we moored up than a Gambian chap wandered up and asked if we minded him doing a spot of drumming on the adjacent seat. Of course we didn't mind and our preparations continued to the accompanied by the sounds of West Africa.

Wand'ring Bark at Statford Foot Ferry

Belle's academic friends rolled up through the afternoon, feasting on scones spread with  Plumb, Compost Heap and Dandelion Jam plus a varied selection of cake including Victoria Sponge with Lavender ans sponge drizzled with Spring Juices Sauce. There delectations were all washed down with Pimms, Gin and Tonic and a Cucumber and Mint concoction (which was surprisingly refreshing).

 Belle - the hostess extrordinaire

It was good to see all Belle's college friends, all busy discussing dissertation ideas and things Shakesperian. 

We spent the evening in Grants who offer another excellent meal from their a la carte menu and rounded of our visit to Stratford in some style. The Capt had Chicken Liver and Duck Froi Gras followed by Lamb and topped off with Pear Tart whilst Belle had Omlette with Seared Scallops and Lemon Creme Brulee for pudding. This is a quality restaurant with high standards, but not snobbish in the least. The bill came out at £40 per head including wine, so its a treat but well worth the money for a special occasion.