Monday 11th July - Diglis Basin to Tewkesbury Marina
We left Diglis Basin at 11am, Dave from Cafe Afloat opened the swing bridge for us and Gill, Keith and John locked us down the Diglis Locks onto the river. We turned left and into the Diglis River lock and then we continued sedately down river towards Tewkesbury.
We waved goodbye to Worcester and the new bypass and carried on towards Upton-on-Severn, with a possibility of mooring there over night.
A heron just taking off ahead of the boat, we saw three or four during our cruise today.
After a little rest out the front of the boat, Dave was feeling up to taking the tiller and we took it in turns throughout the cruise. I think he is happy to out on the boat again!
Severn Bank is an early 19th-century country house in the Gothic style built for Lord Deerhurst, the heir to the Earl of Coventry, as part of the Croome estate. There are several ornamental buildings and features. The property was used as a retreat for fishing parties.
At one stage we were overtaken by a hire boat from Napton Narrowboats going at quite a speed, he soon disappeared around the next bend!
These arrows mark the site of a railway bridge on the route of the Tewkesbury and Malvern Railway. This was a Midland Railway branch line from Ashchurch that made a connection with the Hereford and Worcester Railway at Malvern. The line opened in the 1860s but was not a great success.
This is one of the aggregate barges, Pike, being filled with aggregate which is then transported downstream a short distance and is the sole manifestation of commercial trade on the River Severn today.
Upton-upon-Severn was very busy with boats moored three abreast on the visitor moorings, so we continued on our way to Tewkesbury.
Myrtle Bridge and the water works on the left bank, once under the bridge we begin to look out for the turning to the left for the River Avon, taking care to avoid the sandbank on the inside of the turn! We locked up onto the River Avon and as there was no where to moor we took a berth at Tewkesbury Marina where we also filled up with diesel.
16.75 miles, 4.5 hours, 4 locks
Tuesday 12th July - Tewkesbury Marina to Eckington Wharf
We spent a very pleasant night in the Marina and left by 9.45 to make sure we had done the cruising whilst it was overcast and slightly cooler. These are two imposing buildings overlooking the River Avon, possibly Shuthonger House and Abbots Court Farm, both must have stunning views!
We passed beneath the M5 just before Bredon. We often travel this road by car and always look down to see if there are any boats!
A family of swans, one of them had swum right up to the boat to warn us off, which is why it isn’t in the photo. I should think these cygnets are 8 - 10 weeks old.
We moored at Eckington Wharf and as you can see it was still very overcast. We went for a walk across the meadow to a bend in the river called the Swan’s Neck and sat by the river before walking back again. And then it began to rain, would you believe it?
7 miles, 1 lock, 2hrs 36mins.
Wednesday 13th July - Eckington Wharf to Pershore Recreation Ground
Woke to another overcast day with quite a breeze blowing, holding us against the river bank. When we tried to cast off, we couldn’t get off the bank and the boat in front of us helped by pushing the bow out with the long pole. This is the Swan’s Neck we walked to yesterday and sat on the bank in front of the sign. I wonder how many years it will take to form an ox-bow lake?
We collected another boat as we approached Nafford Lock which meant Dave had help to open and close the swing bridge in the middle of the lock and work the paddles and gates. Always appreciated. The picture is of a sunken narrowboat the other side of the weir. I wonder what happened there?
We shared Pershore Lock with the same boat and then moored up on Pershore Recreation Ground. We took the last mooring available just before the water point and under a lovely weeping willow, providing plenty of shade for the boat and Toby.
6.5 miles, 2 locks, 2 hrs 54 mins.
Thursday 14th July - Pershore Recreation Ground to Evesham
Woke to a sunny morning, Dave went and did a small shop at Asda before reversing the boat onto the water point and filling up with water, emptying rubbish and using the elsan. We then set off for Evesham.
In a very short while we arrived at Wyre Lock, the only diamond shaped lock on the Navigation. We managed to secure the boat fore and aft and had a very smooth ride up the lock! It is believed locally, that the diamond shaped locks were built in an effort to reduce erosion of their earth sides by water from the top paddles when they were opened.
As we left Wyre Lock we passed this double decker narrow boat with a floating decking area in front of the boat. Looked very impressive!
We then passed Smith’s Island, a tiny island with a lovely treehouse nestling among the trees, the only way on and off the island is by boat, delightful!
Once we had moored up in Evesham we had lunch then walked up into the town and found the remains of the Abbey. There is a lot of work going on at the remains of the Abbey, it would be good to see how that progresses.
We could see Ella on the other side of the river, still looking very smart!
10.25 miles, 3 locks, 4hrs 18mins.
Friday 15th July - Evesham to Bidford-upon-Avon
We decided to make an early start today hoping that we could secure a mooring for the night at Bidford. This is Evesham Lock, the first of 6 locks today! Dave is happily getting to grips to working the locks on his own now which is excellent progress!
On the island next to the lock and the weir, is the very striking and iconic triangle shaped building. Constructed in the 1970s as a Toll Station and lock keepers cottage, it is one of Evesham’s most recognizable landmarks. The Evesham Lock Project is an ambitious plan to revitalise and repurpose an iconic building and key piece of land in the heart of Evesham into a new Activity Centre focussing on provision for young people, the community and all users of the River Avon.
Billington Tower which resembles a squat lighthouse without the light is at Offenham Lock, the work here was completed in 6 weeks so that it’s donor George Billington, who was terminally ill could see the effect of his benefaction before he died. As we left the lock we were joined by another boat which meant we could share the locks all the way up to Bidford.
A car submerged nose first in the river, no idea how it got there as there doesn’t appear to be a road nearby!
Both boats tied up and waiting to enter the lock which needed to be emptied. Very different to being on a canal, you need to secure the boat front and back or you run the risk of it being swung round by the force of the water.
We made it to Bidford and very surprisingly there was a space plenty big enough for us so we moored up and spent a pleasant evening by the river. This boat had a notice on it saying that it had over stayed and was about to be removed! As there are only 3 moorings at this pretty popular village, I’m not really surprised! We even treated ourselves to fish and chips - 2 small fish and a small chips which we didn’t come anywhere near finishing!
8.75 miles, 4 locks, 4hrs 24mins.
Saturday 16th July - Bidford to Stratford
Today we decided to continue and make our way to Stratford in order to find a mooring with trees in shelter under because of the predicted heatwave for Monday and Tuesday. This is the old bridge at Bidford, a former packhorse structure built in the 15th century.
One of the 6 locks we have done today, half of which were set against us which was difficult for Dave.
The entrance to the new Marina outside Stratford, Shakespeare Marina was opened by Tim in May 2022 and will be open for business from 20th July. However we could see that some boats had already taken up residence.
We found a mooring just above the final lock of the day in Stratford and moored the boat under several large shady giving trees. The river was busy with pleasure boats, boat trips, paddle boards and rowing boats. We shall stay here now until Wednesday to sit out the heatwave and then resume our trip up the Stratford Canal.
9.5 miles, 6 locks, 5hrs 54mins
Sunday 17th July - Stratford
A quiet day, a walk into the town for some shopping before it got too hot for Toby to walk on pavements and then back to the shade of the trees.
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