Cruising down the Warwickshire River Avon

As I type this on Sunday evening we are west of Evesham heading towards Pershore.  In the last few days that we've come down the river it has gone up and now down and the weather has generally gone down in the sense that we have lost the brilliant summer weather we've had for the last couple of weeks.

So last Thursday we set out from Stratford downstream as far as Bidford Grange Lock.  We stopped here because we particularly wanted to get to see Welford on Avon.  The problem with rivers is that you can't moor just anywhere, like on the canals, and sometimes the mooring is on the wrong side of the river with no bridge for miles.

Stratford Trinity Lock has these beams over it to stop the lock collapsing in the soft terrain it is built in.

Binton Bridges is one of a number where you have to be particularly careful in a strong stream to avoid being swept into the bridge arch.  On Thursday levels were low and we had no problems.  Going downstream is worse because you have less control.

Here is our mooring above the lock.  The high flood poles give you a good idea what can happen with this river!

We cycled back a few miles into Welford.  Some parts of it are delightful.

Welford's claim to fame is that it has the tallest maypole in Britain at 65 feet tall.  It was originally made of wood but the present one is aluminium.  And, yes, it is used at the annual fair.



















Friday started with rain and we delayed our start.  We came down a couple of locks into Bidford on Avon where we had lunch and looked around before cruising on to Harvington Lock:

This is Bidford Bridge, another ancient structure.  The arch for boats is indicated by the arrow and is, oddly, the lower one to the left, not the high arch in the middle.

We filled up with water at Bidford and took this shot looking along Leo and up the river to the bridge.

This is a bit of fun at the Frog Inn by the bridge where we had lunch.  In case you can't read the sign on the wall it says: "FROG PARKING ONLY, ALL OTHERS WILL BE TOAD".  Well it tickled Ian anyway!

Down below Marlcliff Lock the River Arrow joins the Avon.  Though the main river was quite calm, the Arrow had a lot of water in it and the flow below the confluence was a lot stronger and made it tricky to steer round the bends.

As you approach Harvington Lock there is this long weir, part of whose length is protected by a walkway above it.  More about this in a minute.

Here is Leo moored above the lock on some moorings which are at right angles to the direction of travel, so a bit of a surprise when you arrive and nearly pass them heading for the lock.  You can see the weir walkway in the distance.  The idea when boating is to stay away from this in case the flow of water washes you onto it.

There is a large lock island at Harvington and an old mill there is largely overgrown.

However if you creep round the back you can peer inside what is an old water mill.  I wouldn't dream of trying to go inside (even if it was permitted which it is not) as the building looks pretty unsafe.

Here you can see the drive wheels for the mill.

The first lock restored here was not a success and so it has been converted into a dry dock which you can hire from the owner.  Ingenious!

Yesterday (Saturday) the river was higher because of the rain and the warning signs were showing 'red' which means 'stay where you are'.  So we did and walked into Harvington village in the morning.  This painting of local buildings decorates the inside of the bus shelter.

Like Welford, Harvington has its share of fine timbered buildings.

That evening a narrowboat became jammed against the weir walkway mentioned above.  Working with Dan and Kate another narrowboat team, we went to see if we could help.  We tried all sorts of ways to push and drive the boat off the weir but the flow of water kept bringing it back on.  We had one final go pushing the bow with two poles and with the skipper using full forward throttle we managed to free the boat.  But it was rather touch and go.

So, after a day staying where we were and an evening with its own excitement, we've come on downriver today through Evesham:

We've seen this before but it continues to fascinate us.  Here we have at least two families of goslings all looked after by a group of adults.  It's like a school party of goslings.

Coming downstream to the lock at Evesham is a bit of challenge!  You have to moor on a similar weir walkway to that at Harvington and then turn sharp right into the lock when it is ready for you.  And, to make matters worse, there is a strong stream flowing to the left and beyond the lock.  So quite a puzzle but we did it with only a bit of a bump against the lock gate.

Four years ago we came through Evesham in flood conditions and had to stay 4 days on the only flood moorings available which were the 3 taller poles where the first boat is moored.  Now there is a sea of tall poles to ride out the floods.  Well done Avon Navigation Trust!

Some of the weirs on this river are quite fierce.  This picture is taken from the back of Leo leaving Chadbury Lock seen up the stream to the right.

Our mooring tonight is on a big bend of the river so we can see boats coming from both directions.  It is a nice spot though there is traffic noise from the road which is a bit too close.  We are hoping to see our friends Maurice and Carolyn tomorrow so not sure of the plans for the day, but our progress over the next week will be down the Avon to Tewkesbury.

Joining the Thespians in Stratford upon Avon

It's been a few days since our last posting and we've not gone far.  Tonight (Wednesday) we are spending our fourth and final night in Stratford.  But let's start with getting there.

Last Friday we did some painting jobs on Leo and, after lunch, we walked into Wootton Wawen before cruising a short distance to Wilmcote:

The church at Wootten Wawen is fascinating.  The part now used for services is a mix of Norman and Saxon, but the Lady Chapel alongside is open to the roof and is likened to a barn.  This now houses an exhibition showing the long history of the village.  Another part of the nave is beyond this with a huge east window.

The Hall at Wootton Wawen is an impressive building.  It is not open to the public, though you can view the outside, and seems to be home and office to Allen's Caravans.  A mobile home park is in the grounds.

The second of the 3 'iron trough' aqueducts is here and crosses the road.  We later took Leo across it.

Here is the view looking down to the road as we cruised across it.

The final aqueduct we crossed heading on to Wilmcote is Edstone and is the most impressive.  It is 200 yards long and crosses two roads, a railway and a river.  As with the others the towpath is below the water level and gives pedestrians a duck's eye view of the boats.

To illustrate this here is Helen down below walking over the aqueduct.

On Saturday morning we visited the first of the houses owned by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust - Mary Arden's House and farm.  This is where his mother was brought up.  After lunch back on board we went down the 11 locks at Wilmcote and stopped for the night on the edge of Stratford:

This is Palmers Farmhouse next door to Mary Arden's family home.  It is likely that William came to Wilmcote to visit his grandparents and his Mother may well have brought him here to escape an outbreak of the plague just after he was born.

Here we are looking down Wilmcote locks towards Stratford seen in the distance.

On Sunday we came down the last 6 locks into the canal basin in the centre of Stratford right by the Royal Shakespeare Company's theatre on the riverfront.

Here you can see Lady Macbeth pointing straight at Leo in the basin.

Judith, a friend from Canada, had contacted us a few days before. Having read our blog and visiting her mum nearby she contacted us and we managed to meet in Stratford.  it was great to catch up with her and to wander around Stratford together before having a meal at the Dirty Duck.

We walked down the far bank of the Avon and caught the chain ferry back to town.  The ferryman asked if anyone would like a go, so Ian volunteered to wind the ferry across the river.  He still had to pay his 50p though!

We've stayed in Stratford mainly to see a few RSC  productions.  We saw "The Fantastic Follies of Mrs Rich" the first night.  This comedy was written by Mary Pix in the late 1600s and was excellent.  Last night we saw "The Duchess of Malfi" which is better known but we didn't really enjoy it.  Actors spent the second half fighting and dying in a giant pool of blood on stage.  Tonight is King Lear, so we are hoping this will be more to our taste.  Still 3 shows on 3 successive nights is pretty good going.  If you buy tickets on the day they are much cheaper too.

Aside from drama on stage we have completed our visits to Shakespeare related houses and today we've moved out of the basin down onto the River Avon:

This is Shakespeare's birthplace on Henley Street where he was brought up.  Like the other houses it has a well tended garden.

At New Place, which William bought to house his family, the house has long gone but the large garden remains.  In the foreground is a knot garden and on the lawn beyond are some Mulberry trees, one of which may be a cutting from one around in William's time.

Stratford is a very attractive town even without the Shakespeare connection.  This is Chapel Street.

And this is further along Chapel Street with a school and almshouses.

Here is the view from the Rooftop Restaurant at the theatre looking upstream on the Avon to the Tramway and Clopton bridges.

Yesterday, Tuesday, we walked to the outskirts of Stratford to see Anne Hathaway's cottage shown here.  This is where William's wife was brought up on a working farm.  It is amazing that so many of the houses associated with Shakespeare have survived thanks largely to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

The basin at Stratford is a wonderful place to moor right in the town.  We even met some boating friends, Tim and Dianne on Kingfisher, who stayed a couple of days too.  Today (Wednesday) we took Leo down the lock onto the Avon and went first upstream for nearly 2 miles to the navigable limit at least for Leo: little boats could go another half mile to the weir at Alveston.  Here is Leo about to go under the Tramway bridge.

Swiftly followed by the Clopton bridge.

This view is looking upstream from where we turned round.  Beyond here the river becomes narrow and shallow.

Here is Leo where I am currently typing this, having come back downstream to Stratford.  The brick building with the red brollies on the other side of the river is the RSC Theatre.  Lots of hired rowing boats and motor boats are constantly passing us as well as a couple of trip boats going along the river.

So tomorrow boating starts again as we cruise down the River Avon eventually to Tewkesbury where it meets the River Severn.  Sadly the continuous fine and sunny weather is due to break tomorrow.  We just hope the river does not flood as it did last time we were on the Avon.

Into Rural Warwickshire

We did come through the outskirts of Birmingham but our immediate aim this year is to reach Stratford Upon Avon so we didn't go into the centre of the city.  Instead we went up the Garrison and Camp Hill Locks to follow the Grand Union Canal out of Birmingham. 

On Sunday this meant a longer day than we usually do these days to reach Catherine de Barnes:

Garrison Locks are not pretty with empty factories and warehouses alongside

Unusually the inflow in the Garrison Locks comes in both at the bow (as is usual) and at the stern (see picture).

Once up the 5 Garrison Locks we came to Bordesley Junction where we turned left to reach the bottom of the 6 Camp Hill Locks.  Lots of graffiti and not a place to spend the night.

Above the locks the canal passes through long cuttings, like a tunnel of trees

Summer is here and we've seen quite a few orange tip butterflies, like this one on some bluebells

 Catherine de Barnes is widely recognised as the first safe place to spend the night when coming out of Birmingham this way.  We wondered why it has such a strange name but the only answer we can find comes from the Nicholsons Guide which says the name comes from a 12th century Lord Ketelberne.  Not sure we follow that.

On Monday we moved on just a short way to Knowle.  Although Knowle is a suburb of Birmingham we thought it was a lovely village:

Knowle Church is interesting and has two of these 15th century 'dug out' chests made of oak.

Next to the church is this fine half timbered Guild House

Knowle Library is in a medieval building too and round the back is this excellent knot garden of miniature box hedges

Knowle has some fine cottages, like this one with wisteria and neat hedges

Knowle has five wide locks dropping 40 feet or so.  We went down with a hire boat, Ruby, and moored near Lapworth, spending the afternoon at the National Trust house at Baddesley Clinton:

Here we are going into the second lock

This picture is looking back from the bottom of the locks

Baddesley Clinton is a moated manor house and, in the central courtyard, has a splendid wisteria.

Here is the house sitting in the moat.

Several trees by a path in the estate have been carved into animals.  We particularly liked the rabbit shown here.

On Wednesday morning we negotiated Kingswood Junction to join the Stratford Canal.  At this point the Stratford and Grand Union canals run almost side by side and a short branch connects the two.  It is a fun junction and is often pretty busy with boats, but not on Wednesday.  We are still seeing surprisingly few boats on the move even now we are in more popular areas - not sure why.

Having turned onto the linking branch the canal splits into two as shown here.  If you are going right on the Stratford towards Birmingham you turn right through the lock by the white house.  However we are heading south so the route goes through the narrows under the tiny footbridge and then turns left on the Stratford.

Footbridges on the Stratford were built with a gap in the middle as shown here.  This is to allow a horse drawn boat to pass the tow rope through the gap so that there is no need to detach the rope as the boat goes under the bridge.

Two ducks seem to regard Lock 29 as their own and patrolled up and down while we descended the lock.  Though they looked as if they were going to leap onto the boat they did finally let us go unmolested!

We stopped at Lowsonford opposite the Fleur de Lys pub and what better place to go for lunch?  We both succumbed to pies but no lazy afternoon digesting pies, it was back to Leo to do various jobs.  After the winter we are trying to get the paintwork looking as it should.  Another few days should see Leo looking magnficent!

Today (Thursday) we have come down another 8 locks to the strange sounding place 'Wootton Wawen'. Just how do you pronounce this without sounding like an upper class twit?

Our first lock of the day was Lock 31 at Lowsonford.  With the sun today it looked wonderful.

The 'barrel roofed' houses along this canal are characteristic of the Stratford.  This one by Lock 31 is owned by the Landmark Trust, so you can stay there.  The present visitors are walking the canals round here.

Just before Lock 34 is Yarningale Aqueduct over a small stream.  This is the first of three iron trough aqueducts on the Stratford.  They each have the towpath at a low level giving a very curious view of passing boats.

So now we are moored at Wootton Wawen and Ian is knackered having spent the afternoon painting the side of the boat below the gunwhale and polishing some of the starboard side of the boat.  It is jobs like painting and polishing that make you appreciate just how long Leo is compared to a car.

Tomorrow we may well  stay where we are and finish beautifying the starboard side of Leo before exploring more of the area where we are moored.  So it looks as if it will be the weekend before we arrive in Stratford.