Stratford on Avon (basin)

Here I am Rune

Distance  4.9 miles

Total 3394 Locks  185 Tunnels

Running total mileage 4941.4 miles

Now we are moored in the basin at Stratford and it looks like we might be here for a while. The original estimate for the lock repairs was going to be 2 months! That has been amended to 2 weeks and now they hope to have it done by next Tuesday. We’ll have to keep an eye on the progress of the work since if it starts to look like it is going to take longer we may need to look at other alternatives. The basin is now almost full with boats waiting to get up the lock flight so we are not the only one ‘in the same boat’ so to speak. 

I can think of worse places to be stuck however.

Stratford (Weir Brake Lock)

Here I am  Rune

Distance  8.6 miles

Total 3393 Locks  185 Tunnels

Running total mileage 4936.5 miles

Not quite into Stratford, but close enough, we’ve moored for the night by Weir Brake Lock which is the last but one before you get into Stratford itself. It seems a pleasant woodland setting and, although there haven’t been many boats on the move today, now we have moored up, a whole load seem to be coming through.

The plan will be to go into and possibly through Stratford tomorrow to go as far as the limit of navigation. 

We’ll moor somewhere on the river tomorrow night and then on Thursday, the day we are due to get off the river we’ll try and find a mooring in the basin on the Stratford Canal. There has been a small issue that I’ve just received and e-mail about, two of the locks on the Wilmcote flight just outside of Stratford are closed due to damaged cills, so until they are fixed we wont be able to carry on up the canal. Might be longer in Stratford than initially planned.

Bidford on Avon

Here I am  Rune

Distance  4.2 miles

Total 3388 Locks  185 Tunnels

Running total mileage 4927.9 miles

As ever, our changing plans meant we didn’t move off to Bidford on Avon until today, we decided to sit out a weather front passing through that deposited a bit of rain and wind over the weekend. Judging by the number of boats on the move today it seems a few other people had much the same idea, as we set off from Offenham Lock it was like Paddington station with boats arriving.

As we get further up the Avon it is becoming clear that the depth is reducing, we haven’t scraped the bottom or anything like that but it is possible to see just how much water we are moving which only happens in shallower water. It is also taking us a bit longer to get anywhere due to the reduced speed, although some of that may be down to a marginally increased current.

We managed to get a mooring by the Big Meadow but moorings here are a bit few and far between and almost as soon as we had moored, we had another boat breasted up alongside to go to the local pub. They moved on after lunch.

We should be here until tomorrow then press on probably to Stratford on Avon,since there isn’t much between here and there.

Offenham

Here I am Rune

Distance  3.9 miles

Total 3386 Locks  185 Tunnels

Running total mileage 4923.7 miles

Our Evesham moorings were ideal,no noise or disturbance all night. Completed the weekend shop this morning then set off after an early lunch, getting here to Offenham Lock by about 4pm. We were a bit concerned getting here as late as that with the risk of all of the moorings being taken, but the reality when we got here was that it is pretty much deserted. 

It’s a nice out of the way mooring, and some of them have the rare attribute on this river of being 48 hour moorings, most of where we have stopped have been 24 hour moorings which doesn’t always give you much chance to see a place. Here we can stay for 48 hours…..but there isn’t much to see.

Either tomorrow or Sunday we’ll move on to Bidford.