Gloucester Docks

There seemed to be less noise last night from drinkers at the bar, maybe our new mooring helped, or maybe the clientele were just different and quieter.

With no rush to go anywhere we had a leisurely cuppa in bed with our Saturday newspaper followed by a cooked breakfast, well there was some bacon that needed eating up and it would save us from having lunch! This was followed with a few chores, our yellow water tank fills up quicker than normal on moorings like this. We also spent some time getting summer out from under the bed. With the rising temperatures Mick was wanting a pair of shorts and I wanted more t-shirts. All my long sleeved tops and thick heavy jumpers are now all ready for the excess air to be sucked out of the vacuum bag before going back under the bed. We just need to do a big wash of all our padded trousers and re-waterproof them all before they get put away too.

Now we had the rest of day to explore Gloucester. There was a vague list of places to visit, but nothing concrete other than the Cathedral, which turned out to be just as well.

First we headed to Blackfriars. They are only open on Sundays and Mondays, but due to circumstances beyond their control it was closed today! Apparently it is one of the most complete surviving friaries of Dominican ‘black friars’ in England, later converted into a Tudor house and then a cloth factory. It has a fine scissor braced roof, apparently. Oh well there’d still be plenty more to see.

St Mary de Crypt church is currently closed, so we walked down to see if we could get to look round Greyfriars behind. We could, but mainly because Greyfriars has no doors. It was founded around 1231 for Franciscan Friars by Thomas of Berkeley, his family continued to support the monastery through the centuries helping to fund a major rebuild of the church in 1519. Henry VIIIs dissolution of the monasteries brought about it’s closure  in 1538 and it was converted into workshops and housing. The shell is all that remains now, butting up to far more modern buildings.

Next Gloucester Museum was very closed. Were we foolish thinking we’d be able to be tourists on a Sunday? Maybe we were. At least we managed to look down through the glass at the Roman remains of the East Gate and Horse Pool that were left when Boots was built in the late 1970’s.

So we decided to just have a wander around knowing that the Cathedral would be open as it should be their busiest day of the week.

The Regal Cinema is now a Wetherspoons, the exterior having a 1930’s feel, but looking in through the door it looked pretty much like any other pub. The New Inn on the other hand was far from New. It was originally built as a pilgrims inn for visitors to the shrine of King Edward II. Rebuilt in 1455 it was a popular holiday inn and in the 16th C plays were performed in the courtyard and in Tudor times it had the city’s first tennis court. It was in 1553 that Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed Queen from the balcony at the New Inn, she was only Queen for nine days before she was deposed by Mary. It claims to be the finest example of a Medieval Galleried Inn in Britain. We had a look at the courtyard but it was too early for a drink.

Walking down Westgate Street I noticed mosaics on the floor every now and then, they seemed to mark the entrance to snickets. The first one was fairly dark, there was a blue plaque on the wall so we ventured in. The narrow alleyway was dark mostly because a 16th C Merchants House steps out with each of it’s four floors above your head. It is the largest urban timber framed building in Britain. My photos don’t do it justice, but as you’ll understand it wasn’t very easy to get a photo at a good angle, no stepping back.

A quick look around The Tailor of Gloucester shop, it’s more of a gift shop than anything else. I do wonder what happened to the large models of the cat and mice I saw being made years ago.

The bells of Gloucester Cathedral were ringing out, calling us in, so we obliged.

Construction started in 1089 with the foundation stone being laid, its huge Romanesque piers dominate as you enter. The South Transept is the earliest surviving example of English Perpendicular architecture making the building reach for the sky. The fine fan vaulted ceiling in the cloisters dates from 1351 and is beautiful.

Many more modern features have been added, Pre-Raphaelite windows, an elaborately painted chapel (which I now can’t find any information about), a new stained glass window in the South Ambulatory Chapel by Thomas Denny which depicts the story of Thomas the whole window is of blue and floods the chapel accordingly.

During our visit the organ started up followed by the choir. Wonderful sounds resonating through the building, so atmospheric. Outside the bells still peeled. We sat in the secret garden of the cloisters for a rest and to listen to the bells which soon ended perfectly. There seemed to be a major photo opportunity going on in front of the tower, just about everybody who came into the garden got their camera out. Yes it’s a good view, but this seemed to be more than that. Reading the nearby sign it all became obvious. The cloisters and garden were used in the Harry Potter films as parts of Hogwarts. We have all the films on DVD so maybe we’ll now have to watch them all to spot the Cathedral.

As we left the bells called people in to evensong and bang on 3pm as we stepped outside music struck up. Not quite the style we were expecting, less hymn, more Rolling Stones. It turned out that a band were playing in the beer garden of The Dick Whittington pub a short distance away.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 quieter night, 2 hash browns! 1 bag of summer, 1 of 2 winter, 1 wee tank empty, 1 big fat lie, 0 museums, 1 church, 1 friarage with 0 doors, 3 pubs, 1 woodgrained storage heater, 1 cathedral, 12 bells, 1 choir, 1 film location, 1 new hat completed, 1 cat so so bored, will they ever move the outside again?!

Severn River level at 9am today (at Bewdley a mile upstream from Stourport) 0.739m,
level at Diglis, Worcester at 9am today 0.72m,
level at Gloucester Docks at 9am today 0.783m.

Gloucester Pontoon to Gloucester Pontoon with a better view.

With the first sale from my Etsy shop all packaged up ready to go, I headed off into town to find a Post Office as it’ll be a few days before we are near another branch. Town was buzzing in the sunshine, the Town Crier was shouting about all that you could do today and a Polish market was setting up and it looked like there was to be music later on.

Back at Oleanna Mick was listening in to channel 74 on the VHF, plenty of boats coming and going through Llanthony Lift Bridge and the Lock. We could hear boats approaching Upper Parting on the Severn, the lock would be made ready for them, all large craft had to call in again as they reached the road bridges so that the lift bridge over the lock could be raised. Day boats would radio ahead of them coming out from the arm informing the keepers that they were doing training before they’d then request for the bridge to be lifted. One such call was from a chap, ‘This is Badger, we’ll be coming out from the arm to do some training before requesting the bridge, the training may take some time as it’s a group of mature women’! EXCUSE ME!!!! Mick and I looked at each other, maybe the training would take some time because he was likely to end up being a pig over board!

On one call to Llanthony Bridge a chap was wanting to book through at midday, he then asked about the other bridges ahead. Would the Bridge Keeper inform them or should the Captain. The reply was that some of the bridges needed 24hr notice! This had to be a taller ship than normal. The Captain was not aware of this, he enquired if any other vessels were booked to go through today, one was at 1pm, but the Bridge Keeper only knew about one bridge. The Captain went to have a chat with the keeper off air to see if anything could be sorted. Their boat appeared just before midday from the Barge Arm and sure enough they had a tall mast. They trod water waiting for Llanthony Bridge to raise and once through their mast mixed with others up ahead. We kept an eye out for the next bridge lifting, but didn’t see any movement, the number of masts did decrease at some point during the day, so they got through somehow!

Just as we were about to have some lunch NB Mallard requested a bridge lift. They were moored on the side, not a finger pontoon. We quickly got ourselves sorted and untied and as soon as they’d cleared the water behind us we reversed out, winded and reversed into their space. Here we could have a view from both sides of the boat and be slightly further away from the bars which were noisy till gone midnight last night. Our new neighbours Dutch Barge Bellus Diem came out for a chat before putting chairs on their roof to sit in the sun for the afternoon.

Not being sun worshippers we headed off to the National Waterways Museum at Llanthony Warehouse. Today the museum was reopening after some work had been done, not that they were mentioning this anywhere. The ladies at the desk swapped our tickets from Ellesmere Port for annual passes and informed us of boat trips and that the Steam Dredger would shortly be in action. We refrained from the boat trip but hung around to see the dredger.

There were lots of people dressed up in costume, dockers, bosses, foremen, ladies in narrowboat bonnets. Plenty of rats were being hit with ropes, stopping them from running up peoples shorts and lifting sacks of wadding look very hard work in deed! They all seemed to be having a whale of a time, lots of banter. Outside the steam was getting up on the Dredger, fifteen minutes or so till they’d have enough to get her going. Then a bit longer, then a bit longer still.

Built in Holland in 1925, SND No 4 was used at Sharpness New Docks to help keep the build up of silt down. With her bucket ladder she can dredge to just about any depth and was used on the canal and docks from 1926 to 1981. Her boiler was changed from being coal fired to diesel in 1963 and when she retired had a refurbishment in 1988. Since then she has sunk once when the canal had a breach in 1990, but was raised again.

She hadn’t been fired up for sometime and plenty of pigeons had moved in, but they were about to get a very big shock. A crowd had gathered and the big wigs of the museum stood waiting and willing her to fire up and get the ladder moving, you could sense the will power amongst the onlookers. Everyone was allowed down below decks to look at the engine and the grease smeared operators, some very 21st Century expletives coming from the lady down there as she turned the whatsit and twisted the thingumyjig and pulled the lever and still nothing.

Back on shore we stood willing even harder, hoping that the rust hadn’t got the better of her. Then creaking and grinding and the buckets started to move, backwards. This was soon rectified and the ladder started to move it’s buckets round with an incredible noise (video link)The buckets once they’d gouged out the silt wound up the ladder, holes in the bottoms helped drain the water out leaving only sediment which passed up the ladder to the top where they then pivoted, depositing the solids into a shoot that would gradually load a barge to the side. Today there were no dredgings so the shoot was folded out of the way. What an amazing piece of kit, glad we got to see and HEAR it in action.

Ellesmere Port has a far bigger collection of all sorts of stuff, here most things relate to the G&S canal. A few new interactive displays were good, loading a barge with bundles up to certain weights, if you got too much in the hold the boat would sink! Talking heads of four chaps who worked the boats appear on panels telling stories of their working days, long shifts, few days off, but anything they wanted all duty free from the boats coming in at Sharpness. Very interesting.

The museum was good, especially the dredger, but if you have a choice Ellesmere Port has far more to see and do, we spent a couple of days there where as an afternoon did us here. We rounded off the day with some chilled medication sat in the sun outside before returning to Oleanna to watch the Tour De Yorkshire ending in Scarborough. We spotted a few people we knew, the SJT, my first flat and the late night drinking dive nightclub Bacchus, twice.

0 locks, 250 ft, 1 wind, 1st Sale, 2 tall for bridges, 2 many boats, 1 quick move, 1 very bored cat! 2 boring moorings, 2 boaters who couldn’t care less about me! 1925 dredger, 9 startled pigeons, 1 dredging spoon, 1 deep canal diver, 2 chocoholic heavens, 1st flat, 1 Odeon, 1 very sunny Scarborough, 0 big bike beat band on tv.

Severn River level at 9am today (at Bewdley a mile upstream from Stourport) 0.861m,
level at Diglis, Worcester at 9am today 0.77m,
level at Gloucester Docks at 9am today 0.878m.

Then on Sunday The Green is being taken over for the World El-Ver Eating Competition. In days gone by you’d have been challenged to a ‘pint of elvers’ eating competition, a local delicacy not for the faint hearted. Baby eels were fished from the Severn during March and April, blanched in boiling water, fried in bacon fat and served with a poached egg. The decreasing numbers of Elvers brought an end to the village tradition. But in recent years it has been resurrected using sustainable El-Vers from Spain, these have been made using reconstituted fish. The young lady who served us in The Three Horseshoes last night is the current champion. I’m not sure if it is the quantity you can eat within a set time or the quickest to eat a pint of them. Along with the El-Vers there is a kids competition for eating spaghetti, barbeques, classic cars, a tug of war, plenty to keep the village busy on a sunny Sunday.

We delayed pushing off this morning as we’d had a C&RT notice about a tall ship on the canal today. Kaskelot would have right of way at bridges, Sainsburys mooring would be suspended until it had passed and we should take care when mooring as they were likely to create a lot of wash. They were leaving Gloucester Dry Dock at 8am. When we arrived in Gloucester Kaskelot was in one of the dry docks. Built in 1948 in Denmark, she is a three-masted barque and one of the last remaining wooden ships in commission. She has undergone major restoration in the last few years and had been having her annual check up in Gloucester before heading to Falmouth and further south for the summer. She has been used in many TV programmes and films including, Return to Treasure Island, Poldark, The Three Musketeers, and Shackleton. Our mooring had a long straight ahead of us, so hopefully we’d have a good vantage point.

The first sighting was of the masts passing the flour mill just before the next bridge. It then disappeared for a couple of minutes before the masts came back into view, shortly followed by the bow turning the bend onto the long straight towards us.

A tug was on it’s bow occasionally going to port or starboard helping to keep it centre channel, a rib tied to the stern followed along behind. Then off the starboard stern we could see this tiny little narrowboat, a day boat from Gloucester sitting in the slip stream (for want of a better term) of such a big ship.

What a sight! I took far too many photos, but missed getting one with both Kaskelot and Oleanna in the same frame. Never mind it was better to actually watch than concentrate on photos.

Splatt Bridge was opened up ahead for them and they cruised through without having to wait, only a few meters to spare as they went through.

At Saul Junction we came across other craft speeding along, trying to overtake us, only to wizz round to follow another boat back to the bridge. We’d had 153ft of tall ship go past only an hour earlier, here we had 1ft of model cruiser zipping along on the plane! Luckily there was also a sailing boat, warship and a lifeboat all at hand should things get a bit tricksy.

We’d planned to pull in at Sainsburys to do a big shop as stocks were now quite depleted, but realised that maybe finding a mooring for a bank holiday weekend would be a better idea. The pontoon just before Llanthony Bridge was full, well there were git gaps! So we passed under the bridge and pulled in on a finger mooring. There were a few spaces left but all were in between other boats, so not much of a view for us tonight.

0 locks, 9.45 miles, 11 bridges, 5 swung, 1 lifted, 3 hours cruise, 153ft tall, 1 impatient day boat, 1ft tall, 7mph! 3 git gaps, 1 pontoon mooring, 1 walk to the shop, 1 noisy heating next door, 2 boaters too warm, 1st sale on Etsy!

Severn River level at 9am today (at Bewdley a mile upstream from Stourport) 1.164m,
level at Diglis, Worcester at 9am today 0.843m,
level at Gloucester Docks at 9am today 0.932m.

Splatt Bridge

Returning to Frampton there were a couple of things on the list that we wanted to do. I wanted a look around End Of The Line Fabrics on the Industrial Estate and we wanted to have another look round the village and decided to see what the Narles Walk was like that we’d seen mentioned on a gateway.

Late morning I walked up the towpath, Mick wasn’t interested in fabric so I was on my own. End of Line Fabrics had a lot of stock, however Fabworks in Dewsbury has getting on for five times as much. I had made myself a promise not to buy anything unless I could think of a project it would be good for. I tried and tried but no light bulb moment. There was some fabric that I could make into locker cushions, but that would involve getting the sewing machine out and foam. I really want to crochet mats for these so that they can easily be rolled back out of the way as we don’t often sit in there and all that is needed is something to insulate your bum from the cold of the metal. Sadly any fabrics I liked the look off were too thick to do this with so I left empty handed. But should you be wanting to do any upholstery or soft furnishings I’d say it would be worth a visit. Some fabrics there was plenty of but others enough to make curtains for a narrowboat but not a house, all were reduced greatly.

Back at the boat we had some lunch before starting the Narles Walk, we planned to follow the route in the direction shown on a map we’d found on line, but take a slight detour near the end to visit The Three Horseshoes for a refreshing pint.

We followed the towpath to Fretherne Bridge and then turned west along the road before joining a footpath that crossed through fields under an avenue of chestnut trees.

The path led us past a private lake and into the village of Saul. Here we came out alongside the old School House which alarmingly had a post with a handcuff attached to it on the front lawn.

Across the road next to St James Church was a modern house being built. I quite like white boxy houses like this with lots of glass, but I really hope they do some nice landscaping to soften it’s edges.

Meeting up with a stream we then followed it up to the canal at Saul Junction where rowers were preparing to go out. Here we crossed over the small bridge and did a dog leg around the cottage.

The path brings you to St Andrew’s Whitminster a pretty church bordered on one side by huge Yew trees. These are so huge that many of their branches have supports. They hide what looked like (from the glimpses we got) a very large house, Whitminster House.

The instructions from our map became a little bit confusing at this point and luckily a sign put us off going the wrong direction, no right was needed. Crossing the road we followed a track along the side of numerous fields.

We then were brought down to cross the Stroudwater Canal. This week they have just been awarded a grant to go towards restoration works to connect the Stroudwater back to the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal.

From here we walked along the River Frome for a while and ended up crossing muddy fields before edging our way around more. Some paths were hard to see yet others very obvious indeed.

We were now faced with very large gates and the entrance to Frampton Court Estate. Frampton Court and it’s Grade 2 *listed park are at the heart of the estate, together with the Green and Manor they are designated Heritage property. Fair Rosamund Clifford, Henry 2nd’s mistress was born at the Manor in the 12th Century. It has been the family home of the Cliffords for 900 years. Sadly their website doesn’t seem to want to work at the moment, but here is a link to wiki for more information.

Behind the house the grounds stretch out, a large lawn (with stripes) is surrounded by slightly longer grass with pathways for the public to enjoy. The garden pond is vast too. Sheep graze, Geese peck a wonderful place to be.

Once we’d walked across the back lawn we deviated from the route and headed into the village. Our feet were tired and we were a touch parched. Our arrival at The Three Horseshoes was almost perfectly timed, we had a two minute sit outside before they opened.

First a well deserved pint and my Dad’s favourite was on so we both chose Landlord (T) Mick did later try a local brew. The menu on the wall shouted out to us. We’d heard of the 3 Shu Pies and decided to sample them.

A Shu pie (invented by Eileen) is split into three sections, cauliflower broccoli cheese, creamy mash with vegetables and then the last third is down to yourself. There is a huge choice of fillings, at least three veggie options and nine meat and one fish. Mick had Liver and Onions and I had Steak and Kidney. Each pie is topped with a puff pastry lid, not one that you get in your average pub levitating above your food, but a thin crust moulded onto the top of the pie dish sealing everything in with a letter to indicate what is inside to the server.

We were given instructions on how to eat our pies. Cut down the middle and peel back the crust to let plenty of steam out, the contents were very very hot and tasty. Definitely worth a visit.

Just to the end of the village and back across the fields to Splatt Bridge nicely refuelled closely being followed by a heard of young cows who certainly weren’t giving up.

0 locks, 0 miles, 6 miles walk, 2.4 miles for fabric, 0 purchased, 2 bridges, 1 stream, 3 churches, 1 river, 2 canals, 1 estate, 9 kissing gates, 1 amazing village, 3 fillings, 2.5 pints, 6 bells,23 cows on our heels, still more to see, 1 river on the way up!

Severn River level at 9am today (at Bewdley a mile upstream from Stourport) 0.756m,
level at Diglis, Worcester at 9am today 0.75m,
level at Gloucester Docks at 9am today 0.98m.

Patch Bridge to Splatt Swing Bridge

Not the best nights sleep, I woke at 2pm listening to the howling gale outside, this was then accompanied with down pours of rain hitting us sideways for hours. The local forecast had suggested the wind and rain would stop at around 9am, the National that it was more likely to be midday. So despite there being no rush to get up we were still awake early, an extended cuppa in bed before starting the day with a bacon butty. Outside was filthy, we even put Tilly off wanting to go out as we were worried she’d get blown away!

11am things were looking up outside, there were patches of blue sky appearing. Platt Bridge was opened up for us and as soon as we were through we pulled up in front of The Black Shed. A chap busy digging a trench asked what we were after, diesel, then suggested that we should turn round as the hose wouldn’t reach! So with help from the wind we winded Oleanna, pulling the bow round, getting the diesel filler as close to the pump as possible. The pump, hose and tank all looked quite new and the hose was on a retractable drum, there seemed to be plenty left to unravel, but we’d turned quite easily only slightly holding up the bridge from being swung for more boats.

With the forecast now warming up, we decided to assist with the rising temperatures and bought a bag of coal! Heat, not sure we’ve had this brand before, we’ll be glad when we can buy Excel again, less ash easier to light and keep in than Taybright.

The Black Shed is a cafe with a gift shop at the back. Along with typical canal ware and crafts they stock some basic provisions. So at least if you were stuck at this end of the canal you’d be able to survive on more than tinned potatoes and pot noodles from Sharpness. Along with coal and diesel they also do pumpouts and at £12 are a bargain.

We winded again and continued on our journey northwards. After Splatt Swing Bridge we pulled up on the off side to fill with water and set the washing machine going. There was a hose attached to the tap which then disappeared into the friendly cover along the permanent moorings to a boat somewhere in the distance. So we decided to have some lunch and give it an hour before deciding what to do.

An hour and half later we’d eaten, a load of washing was complete and there was still no sign of anyone. Mick walked down the path to see if he could work out which boat was filling their tank, or by now filling the canal, but had no luck. So we decided to disconnect them and start filling our tank, that would flush them out from their cabin. It took about half an hour before a lady showed her face, all very amicable, but she still needed about another twenty minutes until her tank would be full. What a huge tank she must have for it to take around two hours to fill with good pressure. But then who knows what state the hose is in all the way to her boat. She asked if we could give her twenty more minutes and then we could disconnect her, which of course we did. Our tank took a further twenty minutes to fill. We’d been there for getting on for 2 hours 45 minutes.

Pushing over we found our mooring from a few days ago and managed to line the side hatch up with where Mick had trimmed the nettles. The sun was out but the strong breeze made it a touch hard to moor up, Oleanna really wanted to go and say hello to the boats on the other side. Too windy for the whirligig so our airer was put on the stern with washing to dry.

I took the opportunity to do some gardening. Our herb pots although the plants are growing needed some tidying up. The new Thyme plant has doubled in size since we bought it a month or so ago and was in need of repotting then. So the herbs each got a new pot each, even my old Thyme plant is doing it’s best to make a come back. With these looking tidier and easier to have around the bits and bobs in the well deck I then filled one of the tree troughs with compost and popped eight seedballs on top.

Christine, Mick’s sister, had given me a tin of seedballs for Christmas. They should grow a variety of salad plants. All you do is lay them on compost, or scatter of earth, water and wait. We’ll see what happens, if they sprout successfully I’ll do another trough in a few weeks to keep the crop going. These may have to live on the roof, but we’ll see how they do in the cratch for now.

This really is a lovely mooring. On tip toe this evening we watched the sun go down over the hills in Wales.

A comment from Ade reminded me that I’d forgotten something in my post on Sharpness. As we stood looking southwards towards Bristol I’d wondered how long it would take to get there. Then I wondered how long that long way round would take us to get back to Droitwich. So a quick route plan on canalplan and adding in that we love Tidal Rivers and Seaways it did the calculation for me.

Returning the way we’ve come, but carrying on up the River Severn to Droitwich would take us just over 23 hours, it being 54.5 miles and there being 12 locks.

But heading south to Bristol, the whole K&A, Thames, up the Oxford, Hatton, Lapworth, Tardebigge and then limboing under the M5 would take us around 148.5 hours, it being 262.5 miles and there being 276 locks. The fact that there are more locks than miles to do this route put us off.

0 locks, 2.42 miles, 2 winds, 3 swung bridges, 55.91 litres diesel (how much will this drop with new batteries?), 1 bag Heat, 2:45 on a water point, 1 load washing, 1 careful cat, 8 balls, 4 plants repotted, 0 contest, 2 many locks!

Severn River level at 9am today (at Bewdley a mile upstream from Stourport) 0.706m,
level at Diglis, Worcester at 9am today 0.706m,
level at Gloucester Docks at 9am today 0.8m.

https://goo.gl/maps/MGLARt2AMcz

The Wildfowl and Wetland Trust at Slimbridge was set up by Sir Peter Scott at the end of 1946 as a centre of research and conservation. He was a keen ornithologist, painter, naval officer, figure skater, sailor and broadcaster. The son of Robert Falcon Scott  who died when Peter was only two years old. Roberts last letter to his wife advised her to ‘make the boy interested in natural history if you can, it is better than games’. She obviously succeeded.  Peter first came to Slimbridge to shoot ducks and realised what a fantastic place it would be to study wildfowl. The centre was set up and opened to the public.

It is now one of eight such centres across the country. Slimbridge covers 2,000 acres of reserve of which part has been landscaped and is open to the public. It houses the largest collection of wildfowl species in the world and doesn’t just concentrate on British birds. Through captive breeding programmes Sir Peter saved the Nene or Hawaiian goose from extinction in the 1950’s and the centre has been involved in trying to increase the numbers of Common Crane, helping them to forage and avoid danger.

We timed our arrival with a talk and tour of the sight at 10.30am. Our guide was a volunteer at the centre, she said she wouldn’t know everything but was very informative about the centre and told us what quite a few of the birds were. Swan Lake is where you come to first, with Bewick’s, Mute and Trumpeter swans all interested in seed that you may have bought on your way in. They share their space with may free loaders, Mallards, Crested Ducks, Shelducks and Pigeons.

Areas have been landscaped and planted to resemble certain parts of the world, Asia, South and North America etc. Here collections of birds from those continents are kept their wings having been clipped to stop them from flying away. Over 100 different sorts of wetland birds live here along with the local freeloaders. Out on the reserve wild birds come and go with the changing seasons and numerous hides face out to the wetlands that surround the centre.

Our tour ended at the Otters pool just in time for a very informative talk about them. The three ladies were showing off to the crowd before their keeper arrived with a silver bowl of fish for them. They simply loved being in the spot light and eating their breakfast.

We were then left to our own devices to wonder around at will, from area to area, spotting the first few babies that have hatched at the centre, including some Nene chicks. These birds are very polite and simply walk up to you to see if you will give them some seed, other geese are far less subtle and give your legs a peck!

Too many beautiful birds to mention. Our favourites were the Eider males all sporting their mating plumage and calling to each other in a rather rasping purr.

Several Teals caught my eye with their incredible plumage but no bird could ever upstage the Mandarin Ducks, even the female in her grey plumage is beautiful.

Slimbridge is the only reserve in Europe to have all six species of Flamingos. Andean, James’, Chilean, Greater, Lesser and Caribbean with their incredible orange pink colour (they must eat a lot of Haribo to be that bright!). These chaps are all very noisy. Mick read that they can live in flocks of up to 1 million, we wondered what happened if the flock became 1 million and 1, we expect that they’d all just explode into bright pink sherbet.

One place we had to visit was the Kingfisher hide. Our visit was badly timed as they are currently sitting on their eggs. In a few weeks time Mums and Dads would be very busy trying to feed their off spring. A brood of around seven, each needing 12 to 18 fish a day will keep them coming and going. We sat patiently along with other hopefuls but gave up after a while.

A bite to eat and a drink at the Kingfisher Cafe. I don’t know how but we managed to refrain from the Flamingo chilled medication that was on offer.

The observatory sits high above the main centre and from here you can see for miles. It must be an amazing place when flocks of migrating birds are flying in from all over. We then walked round some of the hides, from one a Crane was at on her nest with one egg beneath her belly, a chap with a very large lensed camera said that she was expected to lay a second egg today or tomorrow. The place will soon be full of chicks. We’d already seen a Moorhen protecting it’s nest from some Nene Geese who were just politely walking by, it could get a bit fraught soon!

The sun gradually disappeared through the day and down pours started to happen towards the end of our visit, dodging between hides we managed to stay dry.

We thoroughly enjoyed our day out and it was well worth the money. Mick was a bit concerned that we’d be indoctrinated into becoming twitchers, but instead we left knowing the names of a few more ducks that we see. For instance the white duck at Norbury Junction that can be heard from miles away, isn’t just a white duck it is a Call Duck. Those huge Mallards that you see every now and then well they are actually Rouen Ducks.

Severn River level at 9am today (at Bewdley a mile upstream from Stourport) 0.736m,
level at Diglis, Worcester at 9am today 0.718m,
level at Gloucester Docks at 9am today 0.825m.

Sharpness to Patch Bridge

Once Tilly had come and gone a few times this morning we were allowed to go off and have an explore of Sharpness.

We followed the Old Arm down to the Old Tidal Basin and lock. Much of the Old Arm is now used for mooring and what was the lock down into the tidal basin has boats moored there too, the old lock gates still in position. Huge rings fixed by the wall are now far too big to moor a 35ft cruiser to, but are just a sign of the size of boats that once used to use the arm.

The original dock opened along with the canal in 1827. It was separated from the Severn by a lock gate and when open to the river the level in the dock varied depending on the tide. A lock brought ships up onto the canal and through the years was expanded to be used by the ever growing sized ships. By 1874 ships had out grown what could be accommodated here so a new dock was built to the South. A large lock and tidal basin meant that the docks above could be at the same level as the canal. Should bigger vessels want to dock the tidal basin could also be used as an extension to the lock.

The old lock and dock had only served to get the ships from the river and on their way to Gloucester, but now the constant level encouraged wharfs and warehouses to be built in Sharpness. With the arrival of the railway and swing bridges across the canal the dock became a port in it’s own right.

In 1908 the old lock and basin were abandoned the old dock was used for boat repairs and by 1990 the gates were fully removed and replaced by a weir enabling the whole of the basin to be at the same height as the canal. Above what had been the River gate is the old Harbour Masters House, now used by the Severn Area Rescue Association. A Land Rover with Lifeboat written on it’s bonnet and a slipway a distance away suggests that there is a lifeboat stored away next to the house.

The Harbour Masters House sits in a very exposed position, with views both up and down the Severn. Both Severn Road Bridges can be seen in the distance and we might even have spotted where Mick’s sister Kath once lived in Severn Beach. As soon as we walked out of the shelter of the house we had to cling onto our hats and the force of the wind was so strong it resonated the railings along the sea wall. It was very eerie, I tried to record the sound on my camera  but the wind just upstaged it. From our position today and with the tide low we could see the wrecks of both the tankers that had collided with the railway bridge. We could also see that maybe a few more beached vessels were needed to help with bank erosion.

We followed the track over to the newer docks, stopping to have a closer look at the wind turbine on the head land. They really are massive things, can you spot Mick at the base? Apparently it was really quite quiet stood next to the turbine as it swept round creating its 500 KW.

From here we walked down to Dock Road where we followed signs for a shop. A few houses with what had been a Post Office, we decided to go inside and see if they had any potatoes. The lady behind the counter told us that when they lost the Post Office their income had halved, it was a good job that they had a very big paper round which helped keep them going. The only potatoes she had were tinned, not what we were after so we came out with a midweek newspaper instead.

A string of houses look down to the dock and the old rail tracks, now mostly overgrown. The odd bit of old rolling stock sits idle, maybe waiting some TLC from some local enthusiasts. There were plenty of boats out on hard standing and more in the water. Planet the old Light Ship that used to be at Liverpool Docks has made it’s way here after being removed for not having kept up with it’s mooring fees (according to The Liverpool Echo). It is hemmed in by other large ships, one with a bladeless helicopter on it’s roof. A tall ship stands at the end looking in much better order.

We followed a track round to some gates near to the lock from the river. A big sign said that when ships were on the move then the gates may be locked, at other times we could enter. Not locked, so we followed the designated route towards the lock and Tidal basin. The basin is huge and looking down we could see where a small pontoon has been built to accommodate smaller boats, such as narrowboats that navigate the 18 or so miles to the mouth of the River Avon at Avonmouth and Portishead before heading up to Bristol. To do this you need to have a pilot with you. NB Chrysalis was booked to do the crossing at the end of last week but we’d wondered if it was too windy, but there was no sign of them in the docks, so they must have gone.

We crossed the lock top gates and walked up around the docks into Newtown, everywhere felt a bit like Keadby on the River Trent, desolate, accompanied by the loud crashing noises of scrap metal being moved around down by the docks. Our route brought us down to Sharpness High Level Swing Bridge where we could look down to the Lower Level Bridge, a crane storage site and have a view into the docks. Only one ship was in, Wilson Gadansk, with it’s cover wound back. It was strange to think Oleanna our little narrowboat was on the same pound of water not far away.

The weather forecast had been for a horrible day, but it had turned out considerably better than expected so we decided to move back along the canal to Patch Bridge. The approach to the first of the Purton Bridges is around a bend, but just by the weir there is a camera giving the Bridge Keeper a better view along the canal, the red light flashed as it came into view and the bridges opened up in turn for us. Not far to go  before we pulled in, mooring up with a better view than we’ve had for a while, just a touch short of Patch Bridge. Tilly had a new rule added to her list, ‘NO bringing rare species of friends home!’

0 locks, 3 walked over, 3.35 miles by boat, 3.5 miles by foot, 1 lying Land Rover, 2  7 bridges, 2 wrecks, 2 hats clung onto, 250 dish washers, 1 newspaper, 0 potatoes, 1 small pontoon, 1 vast tidal basin, 1 Post Office just missed, 2 lots of shore leave, 1 tyre fender deployed, 678,946,423,273,806,449 new colourful feathery friends, only one that squeaked!

Severn River level at 9am today (at Bewdley a mile upstream from Stourport) 0.815m,
level at Diglis, Worcester at 9am today 0.735m,
level at Gloucester Docks at 9am today 0.863m (the tides will start to affect the level again).

https://goo.gl/maps/xCsnQj1EXuo

Splatt Bridge to Sharpness Old Arm

Whilst we had breakfast Tilly was allowed out, when she returned would dictate what we did for the day. The water gauge was reading just under a quarter full so we decided that when she returned we would carry on towards Sharpness stopping for water at an available water point. It was cold and very windy, so I got my padded waterproof trousers out again ready for the off.

I came home knowing that they wanted to change the outside. First I tried getting in through one of the windows, but my calculations suggested that it would be a tighter fit than the bathroom door (the one that I can’t get under). She called for me from the back so I stopped my calculations and just used the normal way in. Then I remembered something that I’d meant to do before leaving this outside. I could just see it over the top of the green if I did my meerkat sit. Just in view, it wouldn’t take me long, I’d be back in a jiffy, no need to ask for the back door to be opened, I’d jump out through the side.

Except that didn’t work! She made a loud funny noise as my head hit the solid view of the outside. In slow motion I slid down to the floor where I quickly gathered myself and rushed to the sofa. My head hurt! How come the outside had turned so hard all of a sudden!

Tilly seemed to be nursing a headache for the rest of the morning. She once tried this on Lillian and to stop her from repeating the incident we put a post it note on the Perspex infill for the side hatch, at least that one had an amount of give to it. This opening is only allowed to be used in one direction and that is to come in from the cat walk, she knows this and that she can’t just walk through it.

We pushed off once we knew there was no lasting damage done, both to Tilly and Oleanna. Through Splatt Swing Bridge, on past the Cambridge Arm feeder where a new build sits at the junction. After the next two bridges we pulled in for water. Just before the bridge there is The Black Barn, a cafe, gift shop and they sell red diesel. The Slimbridge Wetland Centre is just  a short distance from here, we may stop and have a good look round on our way back, also have a top up of diesel.

At Purton there are two swing bridges in quick succession, both operated by the keeper at the Lower Bridge. Cameras mounted high up catch you arriving. As you pass through the Upper Bridge the Lower one starts to open.

The Keepers Cottage at the Upper Bridge has just been sold. Hunting round I managed to find it’s details. £250,000 doesn’t get you much really, in need of a lot of modernisation with a Grade 2 listed frontage and a toilet in your garden that is used by C&RT.

Around the next bend is a long straight, which looks like it is very close to the Severn on the maps. We hoped for a mooring with a better view this time, only to be thwarted by high trees and undergrowth blocking virtually all the view. No break came until we’d passed the old Severn Railway Bridge. Here a wall would shelter us from the prevailing wind but also block our view, another trampoline required. Almost at the end we winded and pulled up. Tilly used the back doors to go out this time, but wasn’t too impressed at what greeted her. A wall! A piddly little wall, no where near as good at the one in Marple. Well until you look over the other side, then it is really quite high. Calculations proved too complicated to risk ascending in such blowy conditions today, it was blowing right up my bum!!

In the afternoon we wrapped up warm again. Walking up the canal you pass what was the Severn Railway Bridge. A typical start to any bridge sits on one side of the canal and a round stone support on the other. This support was once the pivot point for a rail swing bridge and it housed the steam engine that opened it to enable tall ships to pass along the ship canal. But why is there no other signs of the bridge crossing the river? The bridge was used to carry coal across to Sharpness docks for export. Opened in 1879, it was 3/4 of a mile long with 21 spans supported by cast iron columns sunk into the river bed.

25th October 1960 disaster struck when in thick fog and on a strong tide two tanker barges missed the entrance to Sharpness Dock and were carried further upstream to the bridge. Wastdale H collided with the 17th column rupturing her petrol tank, Arkendale H was forced by the power of the tide on top of her. Two bridge spans collapsed rupturing a gas main and electric cable that passed along the bridge. All this led to a massive explosion. Three crew members survived and a train had missed the explosion by seven minutes. It was not economically viable to rebuild the bridge so the remainder was demolished, at low tide you can make out the wrecks of the tankers.

On the shoreline are numerous other wrecks, known as the Purton Hulks. These ships were however beached with the intention of strengthening the canal bank from erosion form the river. It started in 1909 with the beaching of a small fleet of semi-redundant timber lighters, more followed through the years up into the 70’s and now The Purton Ships Graveyard has 81 vessels on the shoreline. Each vessel was taken out from Sharpness Dock on a high Spring tide, towed towards the shore then released so that it would charge up the bank. Holes were then knocked through  the hull so that on subsequent tides the holds would fill with silt helping to reinforce the bank.

The vessels are of various construction wood, steel and concrete. The later two materials withstanding the elements better than the wooden hulls. Archaeological research has been done to identify each boat and plaques have been mounted wherever a hull lies, listing it’s name, size and dates. Some are easily identifiable, others have very little left to show.

A fascinating place to visit especially on a moody windy day. For far more information click on the link .

0 locks, 5.9 miles, 5 swing bridges, 1 wind, 1 flat nosed cat, 1 headache, 0 spans left, 81 plus holes, 81 dead boats, 1 piddly wall, 1 bum hole in need of a wind break.

Severn River level at 9am today (at Bewdley a mile upstream from Stourport) 0.91m,
level at Diglis, Worcester at 9am today 0.769m,
level at Gloucester Docks at 9am today 0.885m (the tides will start to affect the level again).

https://goo.gl/maps/kjfR5jYJ2jC2

Frampton to Splatt Swing Bridge

With very full tummies we all slept well last night. Once the dinette was swapped back from being a bed Mick started on cooking us breakfast. This had been requested by Duncan with some unsubtle hints before they arrived, so we’d shopped accordingly. A bigger and better spread than normal was brought out from the galley, we even had hash browns! This set us all up for the day especially Duncan.

Once the plates were empty we had one last Stripy Crew photo before they stepped ashore and we waved them goodbye. It was nice to have met you both, from my position high up in a tree I waved goodbye too, before dashing back to get warm again.

With Tilly home we could head off in search of our Saturday newspaper. In the village of Frampton there is a shop that we hoped would oblige so we set off, leaving it any later would risk them having run out.

Crossing over the swing bridge we passed an industrial area. Cadburys built a factory making chocolate crumb here in 1917 which remained open until 1982. Some of this is now a flour mill and other units have smaller businesses, one of which I’d like to visit on our way back End Of Line Fabrics. There’s a fairly standard approach to the village along the road, nothing out of the ordinary. But then as you come round the side of The Bell Inn you are faced with a huge village green, carrying on almost as far as the eye can see. Across on the other side are large grand houses surrounded by trees. Wow what a village.

The Green Shop looks a bit like a small cricket pavillion. A little dig through the newspapers and we found what we were looking for. They stock some veg and local produce, a bit like a farm shop, just not quite the stock. There has been a Post Office here, but the service has been suspended.

We decided to see what the rest of the village looked like along the green. A selection of large houses ranging in dates fills the village, all very pleasing to the eye.

One jumped out to me and said buy me! Even though it wasn’t for sale. With a large garden, fruit trees and a house which looked like it was seeping character it had to be mine. I’ll just have to start saving now!

The green carries on with not one but several ponds, swans sitting on nests, another pub boasting it’s Camera credentials. On a notice board I spotted a poster for a show by theatre company Bad Apple, run by an old colleague of mine, Kate Bramley from my early Hull Truck days. Amy Johnson will be on at the Village Hall on the 9th May. Very sadly we’ll need to be up river by then and we’ll miss it, but if you happen to be nearby I’m sure it will be worth a visit.

A small cottage is up for sale, 2 bedrooms and a modern kitchen could be yours for £350,000. It looks nice but I’m going to save up for the other one in the village .

A gateway opens out to a field with an avenue of Chestnut trees, this drew us along and back towards the canal away from the village. We’d seen enough to make us want to return to see more, a circular walk taking in all the highlights will be on the agenda when we return.

Back at the canal we waited for a boat to go through a bridge before we could cross to the towpath to walk back to Oleanna. Along the next stretch there was plenty of mooring possibilities with views over towards the Severn, so we decided to move up. Here would have been a perfect spot for a barbeque should the weather have been 15 degrees higher! We pushed off, came through one bridge , winded and then moored up right next to a big gap in the trees.

A mooring with a view, well if you had a double decker boat! Even after trimming the nettles down the bank was so high we could only just see the tops of the hills on the far bank of the Severn when stood on tippy toes.

0 locks, 1.19 miles, 1 bridge swung, 1 wind, 1 not so tall tall ship, 1 guided tour, 3 full English breakfasts, 1 bowl cereal, 6 hash browns, 0.5 of a bag in the freezer, 1 blog reader reading the blog on board in bed, 1 newspaper, 0 Post Office, 1 beautiful village, 1 house, 1 mooring for two storey boats, 1 trampoline needed, 2 outsides, 0 bunnies today.

Severn River level at 9am today (at Bewdley a mile upstream from Stourport) 0.931m,
level at Diglis, Worcester at 9am today N/A,
level at Gloucester Docks at 9am today 0.908m (the tides will start to affect the level again).

https://goo.gl/maps/kGBEqQp9P6k

What a shame it rained for most of the day. We had guests coming and if the weather had been like last week we’d have planned a barbeque, but instead we lit the stove!

Jaye and Duncan are old friends from Scarborough and had been visiting family in Monmouth, just 15 miles away as the crow flies, only another 25 miles by road to get over the Severn. Duncan has been reading our blog from the day it started back in June 2014 when we left Crick Marina on Lillian, so it’s only taken them four years to actually come and visit us!

First we walked down one side of the disused canal and then after one slightly boggy field realised that we were on the wrong side of it so had to retrace our squelching steps. Back on the correct path we had the canal on our left and the River Frome on the other for much of the way to the Severn.

The Stroudwater Canal had a long winded start. First thought of in the late 17th Century to transport coal to Stroud where woollen goods were made in the mills. The finished cloth would then be transported back along the canal to the Severn and on to market. An act of Parliament was passed in 1730 although there was a lot of opposition from mill owners worried that the water used to power their mills would be stolen for use in the locks. 5 miles of river improvements were done by 1761, but the works were proving to be too costly so the scheme was abandoned. A new act of Parliament was passed in 1776 for a plan that avoided much of the river and therefore the mills. Works were finally completed and the canal opened in 1779.

At Framilode there was a tidal lock, with differing gates to accommodate different tides. By 1794 a basin was built above the lock so that boats could wait for a suitable tide before entering the Severn. A horse drawn towpath was finally added in 1827 boats had been bow hauled prior to this. As ever it was the railways that brought about the decline of the canal and by 1922 any dividends from the canal had ceased along with the canal getting blocked at Framilode which severed the link to the Severn, leaving this end of the canal unused.

Much of the canal now is still full of water, but over grown creating more of a linear pond. The Ship Inn stands looking very attractive with it’s outdoor seating canal side. They are closed during the afternoon, open for lunch and in the evenings, so sadly we couldn’t sample their ales. Past the line of cottages we joined the road meeting the Severn more or less where the tidal lock once was.

The views down the river were wonderful, just a shame some people got in the way!

To help our feet dry out we returned to Oleanna via the road seeing some rather interesting houses on the way.

In the evening we enjoyed a very large Salmon en Croute (there are left overs thank goodness) followed by a Bakewell Tart all washed down with some bubbles, more wine and lots of conversation.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 pooh bucket, 0 guided tour! 2 balls of wool delivered, 1 dead canal, 8 soggy feet, 1 pub not open, 2 bowls of nibbles, 1 en croute big enough to feed the 5000! 1 bakewell, 1 bottle (yes I did say bottle) of white, 1 bottle of red, 1 bottle of bubbles, 1st overnight visitors to a fully finished Oleanna, Duncan had to be a first visitor of somesort!

Severn River level at 9am today (at Bewdley a mile upstream from Stourport) 1.08m,
level at Diglis, Worcester at 9am today 0.83m,
level at Gloucester Docks at 9am today 0.953m (the tides will start to affect the level again).

**Duncan, did this arrive at a different time? Also can you try replying to the email, we’ve changed some settings on the emailed blog.**