Evesham

Today's Navigation - River Avon

The forecast had been for a generally grey day but we awoke to sunnier scenes which stayed with us for most parts of the day and only the occasional cloudy patch.

Mike made a quick trip to Sainsbury for some potatoes, milk, eggs and paper whilst Andrew sorted out the anchor and lifebelt ready for the rivers (Avon and Severn) which we will be on for much if the rest of this trip.

Alongside our mooring is the rather splendid Gower memorial which was given to the town in 1888, The main central statue is surrounded by four iconic Shakespearean characters - the one of Falstaff really captured the way in which he is so often portrayed. The statue originally stood close to the theatre but when that was redeveloped after being destroyed by a fire in 1926, the statue was relocated to a better location.

At the lock down to the river the flood gauge showed well into the green so we were safe to proceed into the lock!

Down through the lock - far fewer onlookers on the bridge today than we have seen in the past - we passed the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

In the sunshine the river scenery was often quite spectacular.

The locks on the Upper Avon have a distinctive design that seems to own very little to the rest of the canal network. The paddle gear mechanism is manufactured by a French company (Louis Feugier) that specialises in flood and water control gear mechanisms. This one is dated as manufactured in 1995.

Most of the locks have bouldered weirs rather than the more usual flat cascades.

The river downstream of Stratford for some distance has many splendid and no doubt expensive properties. Most of them are (very) individually;y designed. So, as a change, let a selection describe our journey.

Of course, riverside locations are always sought after for properties and several large sites show how other people manage to have a share in enjoying the outlook.

Mooring long term on the River Avon involves being prepared for floods which can sometimes here be extensive and the water level rise considerably. As a result, all moorings come equipped with tall poles and, usually, rings for the boat's ropes which can slide up and down.

One boatyard had a strange looking contraption which looks as if it is specifically for hammering in such poles.

Another large house - from later study of maps it was probably originally a large farmhouse (and may still be so) Comes complete with boathouse.

Another property looks as if, at least on days like today, intends to draw as little from the National Grid as possible and even make money from its surplus.

Some views can be included just because we can!

All of the locks were given names at the time of the restoration that referred to sponsors or others who were key to the project. More recently, after some have undergone further name reassignments, have now all been given geographic names but, because many people's guides and maps have the older names still on display. The lock which was once called Robert Aickman New Lock (after the co-founder of the IWA) is now officially Harvington New Lock! Whilst most of the locks further up were originally fitted with two paddles on each gate, only one now remains - except for this lock.

A large railway bridge heralds the arrival into Evesham. Although the lady who sold Christine the licence last night tried to warn her about Evesham Lock (perhaps because she also lives there) it did not make sense at the time. As we arrived we could see numerous notices but in some cases older ones remain and the overall result was that we approached the lock the wrong way!

The issue is that although there is an extensive weir alongside the lock, the song current across the top of the lock is in the opposite direction, caused by a small hydro electric scheme alongside. Although slightly inconvenienced we came to no harm but it did give satisfaction to the Trust lock keeper who delighted in telling us how wrong we had been and why did we not read all the notices which the Trust have so carefully provided?

Fortunately we managed to pass through the lock unscathed and then continued down under Workman Bridge to the long stretch of moorings in the town centre. At this time of the year there was little competition with us for the space. No tv signal however . . .

17.6 Miles - 11 Locks

Stratford-on-Avon

Today's Canal - Stratford

We awoke to a strange mist rising from the canal - but even then we could see that when it cleared we would have a wonderful bright blue day.

Mike walked down to the first lock whilst Andrew readied the boat and set off.

As we continued through the succession of locks, the views into the fields alongside looked very promising.

By the time we reached Lock 33 the promise had been fulfilled and we enjoyed  remarkable sunshine for the rest of the day.

The mile markers along the southern Stratford have been provided by SONACS (Stratford on Avon Canal Society) They are quite small and easily missed, especially if surrounded by excess of grass or weeds.

However, we have gradually noticed the frequency of bare metal posts. At first we wondered if they were like the Distance posts on the Oxford Canal (which determine priority when two boats approach in opposite directions at almost the same time) but they were not sufficiently consistent. Eventually, by checking the distance between them, we concluded that they were originally quarter mile markers but the plates have been removed at some time.

Yarningdale Aqueduct is very short and only spans a small stream but it does look like a trial for the construction of larger aqueducts.

Just a couple of metres further is the top of Bucket Lock - the former barrel roofed lock keeper's cottage looks splendid on the sunlight but it is almost dwarfed by the large extensions (not all make it into the photo) which have been built onto it.

After dropping down through Preston Bagot Lock we had a much longer level stretch.

At Wootton Wawen was passed over the slightly larger aqueduct over a main road.

The level pound continued - the surrounding countryside really looked great in the sun.

Hill Farm Marina was where we stayed for a short while at the start of the season. They seem to have a few more boats now but still plenty of room for new moorers or visitors - the facilities block is  coming on as well.

After working through he isolated Bearley Lock we arrived at Edstone Aqueduct - as thew sign says, the longest canal aqueduct in England (thus ignoring the really famous one at Pontcysyllte but that is in Wales!) It is still quite a challenge to those who find it hard to cope with unguarded heights!

We had lunch on the go so that we could start on the long Wilmcote flight without delay. Luckily there was a volunteer lockie on duty who set the first half of the flight for us. However, he then met a boat coming up that he felt needed his help more than we did!

The CaRT workshop and office for the volunteers is looking smart - it was re-built since we last came this way when it had recently been damaged by fire.

We departed the last of the eleven Wilmcote locks just about 70 minutes after starting at the top.

Valley Cruises is a hire base and boat yard just on the outskirts of Stratford but it does have public elsan and water facilities. We only needed the former so we made the briefest of stops. We guess that the facilities existed at a BW site before the hire company moved in and are required to maintain them. It was a tight squeeze to come alongside between all the hire boats not currently out.

Four more locks and we squeezed through the narrow and low road bridge in the centre of town that marks the entry into the large basin just above the lock to the River Avon. There were several free spaces on the Visitor Moorings and, earlier than we had expected, we moored up just before four o'clock.

We did not have a large shopping list but walked to the high street to the rather limited Sainsbury Local. Alas it did not stock most of what we wanted so Andrew offered to walk to the Aldi on the retail park whilst Christine and Mike looked for a few other items, including a paper. We did eventually find some fish cor tonight's meal. We took so long over our limited shop that when we returned to the boat, Andrew had already reached there before us! He was very much successful in finding what he was tasked with finding!

10.9 Miles - 26 Locks

Lowsonford

Today's Canal - Stratford

We set off with a bright autumnal sky - a little chillier than the last couple of days but not much. Parts of the middle of the day clouded over.

We had moored overnight just before the main bridge at Hockley Heath - alongside is a towpath bridge that spans the entrance to a short wharf arm that was built quite early in the life of the canal. At that time, Hockley Heath comprised only a few houses so we are not sure why the arm was constructed.

South of the village is Hockley Heath Drawbridge, the first of two today. This one was surprisingly easy to open although a little harder to lower.

We were keen to fill our fuel tank as there are not too many places to do this once we get onto the lower Stratford and then the Avon. When we saw that Swallow Cruisers looked open and had a diesel pump we pulled in, and indeed someone did come to serve us.

And then we came to the second drawbridge. Buoyed with the surprise of how easy the first had been, Mike jumped off enthusiastically. However this one was altogether different and, despite furious winding of the hydraulic winch, thee bridge deck lifted very slowly. After 128 turns kit had still not reached the end stops but Andrew decided that there was enough room to pass underneath. Fortunately, the bridge closed very quickly - only 24 turns!

Shortly beyond this we arrived at Lapworth Top Lock - the sun was still low in the sky and in the wrong direction for photos of the top of the lock so the above picture is not much use for a documentary purpose but it does look rather pretty!

There are a number of houses built alongside the canal that are not conversions of a canal-related building. This one has a modernistic look - the rooms on the ground floor had large glazed windows - great for views of the canal and the sun was shining in, but also rather exposed to the stares of passing boaters (like us!)

Canal bridges which have been required to carry road traffic that was not in mind when the bridge was first built have often had to be widened. Sometimes the new structure follows a different profile from the original. With many towpaths becoming popular with cyclists, such bridges can catch the unwary with a nasty bump on the head. Luckily for those not on the lookout, someone has kindly added unmistakable warnings.

After four spaced out locks we reached the densely built section where there is barely a boat's length between each. Here, the canal changes direction sharply and it is far from easy to steer the boat around.

After the water shortages of the past few months, it was good to see that at the moment there seems to be no problem in keeping the flight well topped up.

Looking back up several locks in a straight line.

At the lock before Kingswood Junction we spotted this sign on the bottom gate. The evolution of this Junction between the northern and the southern sections of the Stratford Canal as well as the Grand Union have left us with a small triangle of canals and one lock down to the GU and the other to Stratford. We could see that Lock 20 in the GU direction was all taped up - this is not a major problem apart from having to negotiate a sharp bend below the other lock. Dis not affect us as we were heading to Stratford anyway.

So what's interesting about the notice, you might ask? Well, it is actually attached to Lock 19 and the one down to Stratford is Lock 21!

We remembered to drop the rubbish off as we came through Lock 21 - it is otherwise a long walk around the basin with it from the service block just above Lock 22. We stopped to empty the elsan and fill with water. As there was not a lot of traffic we took a chance and stayed on the water point to finish our lunch even after it had filled up!

After the junction, the southern Stratford has different architecture and construction details. One of the first to be apparent is that the lower lock gates are singles rather than the more usual two gates that the northern part has.

Two of the locks had failed top paddles - one of them was already out of action back in April. Perhaps all of the problems will be dealt with together over the winter. Well, we can at least hope!

The bottom gates also only have a single gate paddle - overall this means that we progressed through the locks here much slower than this morning.

Eventually we passed under the M40 . . .

. . . which is quickly followed by the bottom lock of the Lapworth flight.

There is not much difference in gap to the first of the Lowsonford locks. Alongside it we saw this small lake that looks as if it has either been dug out or renovated recently. Looking later at older maps it seems that it is recent in origin but we can find no information about its pour pose. Anyone know?

Two further locks and we arrived at the good visitor moorings opposite the Fleur de Lys pub. Although it was only mid afternoon, we opted to stay here and visit the pub for a meal this evening and treat ourselves to another of their delicious pies - well they were still good back in April!

5.3 Miles - 28 Locks