Mike Stevens' UK Inland Waterways Pages

TRIP REPORTS : THE FELIS CATUS II YEARS

TO STRATFORD & BIRMINGHAM
Summer & Autumn 1992

Part 2: Wilmcote to Tewkesbury & return

We resume the story at an overnight mooring near Wilmcote

We had breakfast before starting, as Arlecchino was reluctant to stop hunting and come back, but did manage to get moving by 07:11. In Bancroft Basin, Stratford we found a good mooring after sitting temporarily outboard of someone else. When we came in to moor, our ropes were taken by a couple of people who turned out to be inshore boaters from Florida. They came on board for a chat & coffee. Ian arrived. We went shopping. I needed to buy a new 2D bulb which weren't easy to find. We locked down River Lock into the Avon, and set off downstream, locking with Salmon with two dogs on board. We moored at 18:06 just before Pilgrim lock, but rain prevented us from barbecuing.

There was a very long delay because Arlecchino went hunting and, we think, holed up out of the rain. He was finally flushed out by a blind spaniel off a local boat, Daisy May, who had moored near us. So we didn't actually start until 18:36, and moored on the extended lock mooring below IWA Lock at 19:50. That evening the weather did let us barbecue.

In windy but dry weather we started at 08:10 and used the sani station before George Billington lock, then continued to Evesham Marina where we had a pump-out but decided that their diesel was too pricey for us. We stopped for a late breakfast immediately before Evesham lock. We encountered wall-to-wall anglers all day.

Later in the day, as Ian was manoeuvring round the S-bend into Nafford lock, the gear-cable went and left him stuck in reverse. This, plus wind and current, left us stranded (but perfectly safe, if shaken) across the protection in front of the regulating sluice. Some LANT volunteers were on duty and tried unsuccessfully to 'phone a boatyard for help, then promised to get an engineer out to us in the morning.

Ken, from the previous day's LANT squad, arrived to say he'd contacted Tewkesbury Marina who would send an engineer shortly. The latter duly arrived, confirmed our diagnosis, took off the old cable to find out what size was needed, went for a new one and fitted it. By this time Salmon had come back up-river with news of the Severn in flood and impassable. The wind had changed and took us off the sluice easily enough with no problem as soon as we untied. We went on to Avon Lock, Tewkesbury, to see for ourselves what the Severn was like, having some heavy rain as we approached Tewkesbury. The lock-keeper at Avon Lock wasn't optimistic about the river becoming usable in the next few days, he thought it might open by about the Friday if there wasn't any more rain in North Wales. So we made new plans.

We did a bit of minor shopping, finding a butcher who opened 07:00 - 16:00, but unfortunately didn't keep any humanely-produced meat. Then at 08:35 we set off back up the Avon.

We used Strensham sani station and later cooked & ate both breakfast & lunch on the move. We spent the night on the moorings above George Billington lock (where we arrived at 17:43). There was an attractive pub across the river, but with no access from the lock. Frustration! Barbecue. Arlecchino caught lots of prey despite overnight rain.

We woke to filthy weather and a soggy moggy, so had breakfast before starting. We moved off at 10:16, locking with Dartline boat Frobisher, and stopped briefly at the Four Alls at Binton for me to get a taxi from the pub (which belongs to the same chain as the Fleur-de-Lys at Lowsonford.) to the station to go home for an IWA Branch Committee meeting. Ian and Wendy continued to Stratford-on-Avon, where moorings were scarce as usual. They found a rather dodgy mooring by the bridge in Bancroft Basin at 16:15.

The day started with shopping. I arrived at about 12:00, but the washing wasn't ready because of a mess-up by the launderette staff. We moved off at 14:35, and at one of the early locks Wendy hurt her hand when a ratchet slipped on a ground paddle. We used the facilities at Stratford sani station and later saw Pete Chamberlain. We continued to the visitor moorings past Wilmcote village, where we tied up at 18:06 in the rain. Arlecchino went straight off hunting without his usual circumnavigation of the boat.