Narrowboat Just Heaven

A lovely warm sunny day today. We need to be back here at Splatt bridge tomorrow as Nikki is coming, but we didnt want to spend all day doing nothing so we chugged down to Sharpness. We stopped for a while where the river comes up close to the canal and watched the tide turn. At low tide there was almost no water in the river. It looked as though you could walk across.

We had lunch sat outside on the bank and then went for a walk through the marina and along part of the Severn Way, which follows the towpath here.
On the way back we called in at the “Black Shed” for a bottle of gas, but they had run out.

In contrast to previous days the evening was calm, with hardly any wind at all. This gave some lovely reflections on the water.

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Rain, rain and more rain!
Jan & Mike were due to arrive mid afternoon. The plan was for a short trip then back for another barbecue. We texted them midday to decide what to do. They suggested that we abandon the bbq and go to the pub instead. About three o’clock there was a lull in the rain so we walked down to Patch bridge and back. Uncle Mort chugged past as we walked. They were on their way up to Gloucester as they had arranged to meet someone at Lower Lode tomorrow.
By the evening when J&M arrived the rain had stopped, but we took the car to the Bell Inn and had our meal.
A mandarin duck spent a while near the mooring, he was a bit timid and we had to coax him nearer with some bread.

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We awoke this morning to grey, overcast skies and strong winds. Our daughter Liz and her family were meeting us at Splatt bridge for a lunchtime barbecue, but it didn’t look promising. We set off about eight o’clock and had to battle against a strong headwind. At Saul we wanted to use the DIY pumpout machine. I needed to turn the boat round as the connection is on the right hand side. Trying to turn in the wind was problematic and the bow hit the side which caused some glasses to fall out of the cupboard and break.
We passed Andrew & Sheila on ‘Uncle Mort’ at Parkend, by which time it had started to rain as well as the cold wind. Andrew called out “Is the barbecue still on?”. “yes, it’ll clear up” I replied. “OK, see you about twelve” was the response.
When we arrived at the mooring at Splatt bridge we were surprised to find that sheltered behind the high hedge there was very little wind.
Uncle Mort arrived at twelve as expected and Liz & the family came about one o’clock, by which time the sun had come out and we all sat outside having a great barbecue until about 5:00 when they all left.

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An early start, we were on our way by 6:15. Becca was still in bed until we got to Stourport. On the Severn it was windy and rather chilly, but an uneventful cruise down. We stopped briefly at Worcester for a cooked breakfast and to top up the water. The stretch of Severn from Worcester to Gloucester is not very interesting, especially the Upper Lode lock to the upper parting reach. It is particularly not enjoyable when the weather is bad. This time it wasn’t raining, but there was a cold head wind. Becca was very good and steered for quite a lot of the way.
We shared Diglis lock with a small cruiser, but when we were due to leave the cruiser’s engine wouldn’t start. This was further confused by the two narrowboats waiting to come up getting blown across the font of the lock by the strong wind. The only way they could avoid the wind was by entering the lock, which they did as we left, but the cruiser was still in there. Not wanting to hang about in the wind I pulled off quickly leaving them to it. The cruiser didnt pass us until several hours later.
We made good progress with the GPS showing between 5.5 and 6 mph most of the way, this was despite very little flow on the river. On arrival at Gloucester lock just after 5:00pm we expected to have to wait, but we locked up almost immediately with cruiser that had the engine problems at Diglis.
As we were locking up we saw friends Andrew & Sheila waving at us. They had just driven from Stourport to Gloucester, i.e. the same journey that we had made, but by car. We pulled into one of the pontoon mooring for a quick chat with them. Then Heddi & Becca went to the Gloucester Quays shopping centre and I took the boat down to Sainbury’s do do some food shopping.

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We picked our Becca, our granddaughter, and arrived at Kinver about five thirty. A quick unload and off. We wanted to get as far as we could before dark, as the plan is to do the whole of the Severn tomorrow. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but as the water levels are low BW are operating restricted locking times at Gloucester, so we need to be there by 17:30 instead of the usual 19:00. We moored up just after nine o’clock, had a quick cup of tea and straight to bed.

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We picked up a flyer from “Kinver Canopies” a new business set up by two of the employees from Wilson’s. We have been thinking for a while of having zips fitted to the cratch cover to make access easier. I contacted them by email and they had a look at the job and called me with a very good price. They did it the next day - excellent service.

 

New zips fitted by Kinver Canopies

 

 

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A weekend of odd jobs in preparation for the trip down the Severn to the Gloucester & Sharpness later in the month.

We had planned to go camping this weekend in the new tent, but the weather forecast is for rain Saturday and thundery showers Sunday, so we decided to do a few jobs on the boat instead. The first job was to finally finish the new perspex panel for the side hatch. We needed a replacement since Heddi put her head through the previous one which ended up at the bottom of the river Avon! I have made a new one with a hardwood frame, which should make it less flimsy. It’s been a long time in the making with the various components and tools carried backward and forwards between home and the boat. After much fiddling we eventually got it to fit OK.

The next job was an engine oil change. This went smoother than I expected. I had brought an old 5L container for the old oil, but there was just over 6L, so I had to find something else for the rest. An empty 2L cider bottle did the trick.

Whilst I was busy in the engine hole Heddi cleaned one side of the boat. The whole boat looks a bit dirty after the winter, but the other side will have to wait until that is towpath side. The forecast was partly right, it rained heavily overnight, but Sunday was warm and sunny.

With our jobs finished on Saturday, we decided to go for a walk on Sunday. We drove a few miles to Pedmore, just outside Stourbridge. There we did a 4.5 mile walk from the AA book “100 walks in the Heart of England“. It was really lovely. Close to industrial Stourbridge, but actually very rural with some stunning views across Worcestershire

The afternoon was spent a bit lazier. I cleaned out one of the rear lockers in preparation to painting it next trip. Heddi read her book! In the evening we often go for a short stroll. This evening’s stroll seem to get extended and finished as a 3 mile walk along the towpath to Stewponey lock and back across the fields and through the woods.
Monday morning - packed, cleaned up and left for home.

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