Up the Cut to Windmill End

Up the cut to Windmill End
September 2015

On our return to the canals we were immediately greeted by Smiffy who helped us up the locks into Stourport Basin and the much needed facilities.

From there it was a steady plod up the Staffs and Worcester, pausing at Kinver to have our new cratch cover repaired after an unfortunate altercation with Evesham Lock.

 Passing Morgana at Primrose hill

Scenes from Stourbridge Locks

Along the way the Centaflex coupling, which had been running on 3 bolts, started to show signs of terminal decline so we took it very easy as we entered the Stourbridge Canal, playing leapfrog with a couple of Roving Trader boats which were returning from Stourport Floating Market. 

The Stourbridge locks were very attractive and surprisingly productive from a foraging perspective and there is an interesting twist at the top lock where evidence of mining settlement become apparent in the lock walls.

Settlement repairs - mining subsidence!

An inspection at Merry Hill revealed we were down to just two studs and they were on borrowed time! We therefore made a very slow approach to the Windmill End site of the BCBF on Thursday evening followed by a "help" call to RCR!

 Delph Locks

Lodge Farm Reservoir

Carry on up the Severn

Upstream from Tewkesbury to Stourport

September 2015

After a week of going with the flow on the Avon it was payback time - two days of pushing the relentless flow of the River Severn.

Breasted up on the River Severn

To be fair, the river was well in the green zone so there was never a better time to have a go at this mighty waterway with the butty in tow. The first decision was to go breasted up or on straps? Progress line astern is certainly a bit faster but abreast is more maneuverable, better controlled in the locks and has the added benefit of being able to get in and out of the butty whilst on the move.

Plastic boat territory

Abreast it was then, so we sorted ourselves out as we waited for the Tewkesbury Lock Keeper to return from her lunch break, using both the front mooring rope from Wand'ring Bark, plus the butty's front rope to tie her nose in tight. We set it up so both rear bulkheads were about level and the end result is a surprisingly stable combo. Whilst progress is slowed to about 4.5 mph over the water and 3.5 mph against the land, there is no tendency to drag to one side as you might expect. 

 Birdlife abounds

Then it is just a case of exercising patience, accepting that other craft will pass you but sure in the knowledge that we will get there in the end. If Pearson says an hour for 4 miles expect to take an hour and a half.

After about three hours at the tiller Upton hove into view and as soon as I rounded the bend I had my telescopic lens out and I was looking to see in there was any mooring room on the pontoon. Moorings are scarce hereabouts and I was delighted to see just two narrowboats tied on, so plenty of room for us.

Upton on Severn

As we drew closer I was both amazed and delighted to realise that one of the boats was Briar Rose, with Adam and Adrian in attendance. This was one of those happy coincidences which happen from time to time and in a flash meal plans were altered so we could all spend the evening together. Lots of wine was consumed along with just about all their cheese (we provided the chutney and extra crackers because, strangely, we have plenty of both on board).

Briar Rose at Upton on Severn

Adam and Adrian slipped away at 8.30am the next day heading for Gloucester whilst we had a wander around Upton discovering that the quirky bookshop is no more. But as recompense we found a tree of amazing John Downey Crab Apples and its owner was more than happy to let us pick a bag.

The day was wall to wall sunshine which showed the Severn at its sparkling best. The wildlife was out in force but very few boats were on the move. 

Worcester

We were planning to aim  for Stourport but with the locks closing at 7.00pm it was clear this was not possible. Instead we kept going till we passed Holte Lock and moored on the upper lock landing for the night. There are few moorings on the part of the river and the lock keeper was happy to leave us there, so long as we were away by 9.00am the next morning. As we moored up we saw an amazing orchard on the lock island and after making suitable requests permission was given for us to pick cooking and eating apples plus damsons and plums. In one fell swoop we had made up for the thin pickings over the last few days.

Moody River Severn

Come 9.00am on Tuesday morning we were up and away through a mist so thick I couldn't see the end of the lock cut. We completed the trip up through the final lock in a little world of our own, dropping the butty astern as we approached Stourport and a return to the intimacy of the narrow canals.

A sad end for a BCN day boat

Whilst rivers are not as good as canals, at least this trip has given us confidence to tackle moving water with the butty in tow, and even to run the fast water outside Gloucester Docks at some point in the future.

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

Due south for Stratford

Due south for Stratford
September 2015

At last, a better day when the camera was pressed back into action.

The beautiful South Stratford Canal

The South Stratford was heaving as we set out south from Kingswood Junction, with everyone and their dog working through the lower locks of the Lapworth Flight. In fact there was one Anglo Welsh Crew who lost their Labrador overboard whilst exiting a lock and I watched the owner / steerer trying to decide if he should leave the moving boat to save the dog or what. In the end he hauled the dog out and jumped back on the boat whilst I rounded up the shaken mutt and made sure he was ok till his owner got back.

 Gormley's creation at Lowensford (I think the statue is peering down Mts T's cleavage ;-))

It was a day of sunshine and showers as we headed south, making for a mooring at Wilmcote before tackling the final descent into Stratford tomorrow morning and a meeting with Helen's thespian friends who will visit us between appearing in plays at the RSC.

 Hmm - that's a small boat....

We seemed to spend the day with Antipodean visitors not least the couple who met us at Lowsonford Lock. They stood there bemused by the Anthony Gormley statue, staring balefully into the swirling waters in the lock chamber below.

Edstone Aqueduct - South Stratford Canal

Pictures were taken and explanations offered before we set off again, making steady if slow progress through the Preston Bagot locks and over the three aqueducts which grow in splendor till the Edstone Aqueduct was reached, which saw us flying over a shallow valley to a grove of very productive damson trees beyond.