The weather forecast had offered us a rather grey day at least on the morning so it was an especially pleasant surprise to awake to a very fine, sunny day which stayed with right until darkness started to fall.
A day for exercise! In the open space opposite where we had moored a junior Parkrun was in progress - even the marshals included youngsters.
Soon after setting off we passed under the modern Abbey Bridge which carries the main road through the town.
The tiny ferry boat could also be included in the above gallery!
Approaching Sankey Marine we encountered a fairly dense bank of mist but it quickly passed.
The locks on the Lower Avon have more conventional flat topped weirs such as this one at our first lock of the day, Chadbury.
The large dishes of Wood Norton came into view, nestled amongst the trees of the sharp escarpment that followed the river. This is a BBC location, originally a Training Centre but provided with a nuclear bunker during the Cold War so that the broadcaster could continue to produced programmes (government propaganda as like as not) during an attack.
Golf was in progress as we passed alongside Evesham Club. A great morning for it.
Some striking trees just before Fladbury Lock.
Below the lock we had a full view of the former mill alongside the weir. Much of it dates back to the 18C and although the waterwheel is still supposed to work, the property is now an upmarket holiday let.
A dead tree trunk provides a good perch for alert sentinels!
As we passed Wyre Piddle we wondered if it is compulsory for owners of the waterside properties also to own a boat to moor outside.
Still, it doesn't stop some people choosing naff names for their boats!
Andrew nominated this boat moored above Wyre Lock for an entry in our Unusual Boats Gallery. (We don't seem to have made too many additions this year?)
We shared this lock with a wide plastic boat that cast off from the moorings above just as we arrived. This was only possible as a result of the strange shape of the lock. However, they were only going a short distance and they pulled in at Pershore Town moorings.
Some guides describe this former mill (Now the headquarters of the Avon Trust) as the ugliest on the river but not all of us agree- but perhaps the great weather provides a rose tinted view!
The locks of the Lower Avon have more conventional paddles such as here at Pershore Lock.
But they still had to adopt a bit of a fudge to make it possible for boaters top cross over when the gates are open!
Alongside the lock is another hydro power station.
Nafford Lock, unusually, had a swing footbridge across the middle which has to be opened before boats can enter the lock.
It also has the sad sight of a largely sunken abandoned boat - not sure how it got there, the wrong side of the buoys.
The historic Eckington Bridge still looks splendid in today's afternoon sunshine.
The spire of Bredon Church and the Old Rectory (dating back to the 15C or 16C) dominate the river scene as we passed by the village below the well-known Bredon Hill, popularised by numerous
composers, poets, writers and artists
The last listed mooring place before Tewkesbury (where all the moorings seem to involve a fee) is at Twyning, outside the Fleet Inn.
23,0 Miles - 6 Locks
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