Kidderminster to Saul II

Woke up to a nice bright, sunny morning and set off just before 8:00. The trip down to Worcester was uneventful, very little boat traffic about. We shared Holt lock with a small cruiser and passed one narrowboat going up but that was all.
We stopped at Worcester for breakfast at about 12ish (it’s our custom to have a late breakfast when boating). The river was busy with lots of youngsters from the rowing clubs training hard. Down through Diglis locks and on to the long reach to Tewkesbury. This stretch can be rather boring as there is not much to see on the banks and there is nothing to do. Chatting to another boater at Stourport on Friday we had heard that the Jazz Festival was on at Upton and that it was likely to be busy. That was an under statement! There were boats everywhere. Our first encounter was about a mile above Upton, two RIBs were coming towards us VERY fast. They were obviously racing. At this point the GRP cruiser that had been following us for a while decided to move over to the wrong side of the river. The RIBs just squeezed through. As we approached the bridge the MV Conway Castle trip boat was coming towards us mid river. There was not much room on the right hand side as boats were ‘rafted out’ five deep. It was at this point that the cruiser following us decided to overtake! We slowed down and moved over as far as we could, the Conway Castle altered course slightly and the cruiser slipped though the gap. I could see the Conway Castle skipper saying something. I dont know what it was, but I doubt if it was printable. The cruiser then cut across the river and into the marina, what was all the hurry about!
We could hear the jazz bands playing and there were lots of people sat outside enjoying the sunshine and a beer or two.
Through Upper Lode lock and onto the moorings at Lower Lode for the night. It was a lovely evening, there were several families in the pub garden, some young lads had to borrow a rubber dingy twice to retrieve their football from the river.

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