At 1630 the lock opened and in we went to start our slow drop down to sea level. I had called the City Docks at Bristol and they had asked us to be there at 1900. that meant that we had plenty of time to get there as we would have the flood tide with us and less than 10 miles to do in 2.5 hours.
The afternoon weather was fantastic and one clear of the Portishead area we called Bristol VTS to tell them our intentions and were told there was no traffic expected. I decided that it would be best to waste time out here in the open space rather than in the River Avon so we swung round and set head to tide and just treading water more or less. It could have been that we were cruising among the Greek Islands, except for the colour of the water that is! It really was a beautiful afternoon.
After half an hour we turned again and trickled past Portbury Dock and headed for the south pier at Avonmouth.
This is looking down the Avon and the yellow buoy appears to mark the limit of the shoal at the mouth. For good measure we continued to head close to the breakwater at Avonmouth. The M5 bridge is in the distance.
Avonmouth Dock was built as the the ships got bigger and it became more difficult for them to access the City Docks. It was opened in 1877. There was a big argument ab out this at the time as many wanted to expand the docks at bristol but they would still have been hindered by the width and depth of the River Avon. As it was they were run by the Bristol Dock Company anyway. Above is the light on the south breakwater and twhat I expect is the Bristol VTS Control tower. Avonmouth was further extended by adding the Royal Edward Dock in 1908 which had an even larger lock access.
As there was no traffic on the river we just stuck to the middle of the river that was wide at this point. The south bound lane on the M5 bridge was almost at a standstill as we passed under at 1815. It reminded me of the many times we have been delayed in this area of the M5 going to and from holidays in Cornwall.
We passed the village of Pill which was where all the Bristol pilots and there cutter crews traditional came from. and the river started to narrow. It had obviously cut through solid rock but it looked like the banks had been built of stone. It was all very picturesque.
As we passed Sea Mills on the north bank and the Roman settlement of Abona on the south we had the 'Jonefold' of Bath pass us outward bound. It was the first vessel we had seen, but it wasn't to be the last.
We called up City Dock Radio at Black Rock. This isn't marked on the maps but I assumed that it was the bare rock on the north bank. Actually there are two ares of bare rock! So we decided to wait until we could see down the reach to the Clifton Bridge. When we did call they told us that there were three vessels leaving the lock and we should give them plenty of room. Imagine out surprise when round the corner MV Balmoral appears. Balmoral was built in 1949 and worked as a mixed passenger/car ferry for the Isle of White. It moved to the White Funnel Line for excursion out of Bristol in 1968.
As she passed she looked in very good condition as Helen got a good photograph with the bridge in the background. In 1980 she was sold as a floating restaurant. This didn't really work and she was again for sale. The Waverley Trust bought her for a running mate for their steam paddle ship Waverley. Balmoral is on the Historic Ship's Register and has had alot of work done on her over the years. She was taken out of service for her excursion runs in 2013 and has only just started to take passengers again in April this year so we were very lucky to see here at all, and then to meet her in such an iconic position we were extremely fortunate. The other two vessels leaving were a couple of large yachts.
We now knew why that we had to wait until 1900 before arriving. High Water was at 1915 so the outer lock gates were open as the river level was as high as that in the outer basin. As we very slowly passed through the Dock Master welcomed us to Bristol and explained that as the height of tide was 9.6m and the level in the Floating Harbour is 9.2m. This means that we could come in to the outer Cumberland Basin but would have to wait to enter the Floating Harbour. They closed the outer gates at high water and then we had to wait a short while until the level in the basin equaled that in the harbour. Before the Floating Harbour ships in Bristol just rested on the mud when the tide went out. This meant that unless they had a flat bottom and the mud was flat they would keel over. Therefore they had to lash all the cargo etc each tide which lead to the term 'shipshape and Bristol, fashion'. The Floating Harbour was completed in 1809 and was achieved by diverting the river and putting lock gates on the end. This meant the the ships stayed afloat at all states of the tide. The last commercial ships finished using Bristol in the early 1960's and now it is a very bustling recreational area and much more extensive than I had thought.
By the time the inner lock gates opened it was just passed 2000 and we were getting a little weary and as we hadn't been directed to any specific berth we idled along looking for somewhere to moor. We passed the SS. Great Britain in the dry dock where she was built. I have also been to where she was salvaged from the rocks Berkley Sound near Stanley in the Falkland Island.
Soon after we spied some short pontoons in a slight bay on the north bank. As there was room we ducked in stern first and moored up. We were soon changed and out looking for a pizza to eat. Soon we found a place and were tucking into a our food and a large glass of wine and toasting a fantastic day and superb weather. I will have a look when we get to the Thames in a month or so's time and assess what the difference is in the cost of coming from Sharpness rather than doing the return trip up the Kennet and Avon, but to be honest the experiences we have had on the trip are worth the journey anyway. As Helen says, if the weather had been worse it would not have been so pleasant. I countered with that if it was too windy we wouldn't have gone, but the fact that the sun blessed us for the journey too certainly made it much more memorable.
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