On the Avon - Tewkesbury

Densie (front boat) moored at Haw Bridge on the Severn

We agreed to share the lock with a fellow boater - Upper Lode Lock on the Severn

We left Haw Bridge at 9:40 with perfect boating weather - blue skies, warm, no wind - and continued up the Severn. There was no need for speed so we pootled at about 3mph at little more than tick-over until we reached the long wide Upper Lode Lock near Tewkesbury. We were soon followed into the lock by one of the large holiday cruise boats, the Edward Elgar, who pulled up alongside,dwarfing our little home.

In the big locks as the incoming water swirls around we keep the boat secure by passing bow and stern ropes around cables attached to the lock sides and holding on firmly. I was praying that the crew on the Edward Elgar were doing the same as there was only a few feet between us. The EEs captain came and looked over the side and had a little chat before the lock filled.

Soon after leaving the lock we turned off the Severn onto the Avon which will takes us up to Stratford. The Avon is run by the Avon Navigation Trust, a charity which was responsible in the 1950s and 60s for restoring what had become a semi-derelict navigation. They make a £55 charge for two weeks use of their waterway.

The manned Avon lock took us up into Tewkesbury where we will moor for a couple of days. So no blog tomorrow.