As forecast, today as very overcast and never far from chilly. Nevertheless, rain held off for yet another day but is definitely on the cards for tomorrow.
There are few incidents to report today as cruising this route is quite straight forward: long river stretches with the separation being anything from ten minutes to well over half an hour.
At first we continued to have the locks ready for us - on this navigation the instruction is to leave exit gates open. This is fine when you approach an open lock but when the reverse is the case, which it became towards the latter part of today, the heart can sometimes sink at the thought of first having to close the far gates!
In the morning our run was toward Evesham. Just after Craycombe Turn we spotted a couple of large satellite dishes hidden amongst the trees on the hillside. Later we discovered that this a BBC Training Centre with a Nuclear Bunker underneath!
Further along the way we saw Sankey Marine where in 2011 we had an overnight mooring in order to do a 'grand daughter swap'.
Also noted that the sanitary station beside the railway bridge below the town now seems to be back in action. When we came before we urgently needed to find an elsan tip-out (there seem to be a few more now) with the result that before we could moor for the night we had to carry on another mile or more upstream to Evesham Lock and then return back down again!
Hampton Ferry did not look as if it was expecting too many passengers today!
Abbey Road Bridge has been re-built since we passed underneath in 2011.
We moored as close to the town centre as we could - Andrew went in search of a newspaper and milk. He was followed by Christine who went for a longer explore. Apart from finding inn the high street a sweet shop (for Mike!) she spotted this sculpture. In the 1820's someone sent a large whale bone which was erected here but a few years ago it had crumbled away. It was replaced by this modern version.
Both the park and the bridge are named Workman. A plaque on the bridge shows that the mayor at the time was one Henry Workman.
We noticed that all of the mobile homes in a park just beyond the town are fitted with what seems to be flotation devices underneath - presumably in case of flooding.
Many of the Avon locks seem to have been renamed. Since restoration, the lock above Evesham has been known as George Billington Lock but is now Offenham. Confusingly, the original name plate still stands alongside the lock. The lighthouse has also changed colour - our photo from last time shows it painted green. We took the opportunity to use the full range of services. For once we found a fast filling tap.
The footbridge at Robert Aickman (now Harvington) Lock - the steps have been summarily lopped off! Pity, as Mike recalls encouraging a three year old Jess to make the passage over. The steps were quite steep so it was a real challenge for her.
We seem to have spotted on this trip quite a few more kingfishers than we usually see but they are rather hard to capture on a photo. Just for once we managed something recognisable! Although they are easy to see when they fly along, skimming just above the water, they almost always take off before the cameraman can focus in on them!
The sign at Elsie and Hiram Billington Lock intrigued Mike but it was only later t hat he was able to look up just what White Swan Piscatorials are. It seems that they are a private fishing club that operates a number of waters in the Midlands. It costs £75 to join and £100 a year. Since we have never been anglers we have no idea whether that is expensive or not!
Binton Bridge looks especially wide but the left hand spans cross the unnavigable part of the river - only one span is available for boats!
The weir alongside Luddington Lock looks as if it was created by landscape artists.
By the time we arrived at Weir Brake Lock (one of the few on the Upper Avon that has not been re-named) it was getting rather gloomy. The light was so poor that the camera struggled to take any pictures at all. There was not really enough time to continue to the next lock close to Stratford - we were not too sure about moorings - so we tied up just above this lock. However, Christine went for a walk and discovered that there would have been room opposite the church where we moored last time!
22.5 Miles - 10 Locks
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