More than 7 for the Severn so far.

We went to the Old Black Bear and took part in their quiz but didn't do too well. What did a Fart Catcher do? and what can't you do with a washing line in Minnesota? where two of the questions.

Our time on the Avon has come to an end. We have thoroughly enjoyed it and the weather has been quite cooperative too. Like all rivers though at busy times it may well be a different thing as the moorings are always limited and this makes for a more stressful time. We filled up with water and then got penned down on to the river and away by 1000.

The only lock keeper we found on the Avon and the only electric lock too. The lock house is built on stilts giving you an idea of the height the river can come up. On to the Severn and making a fair speed without flogging the revs.

The sun was shining and the views to the Malvern Hills were teasing. We passed a few boats coming down river but again it felt like our own river.

As we came up to the M50 motorway bridge we also saw 'Elver' loading sand from the east bank.

Only a couple or three miles further up we came across the discharging point where 'Perch' was just completing her discharge and they swapped round. The other two don't look as though they have worked for a while.

We were soon arriving at Upton on Severn where we were going to stop as we missed it last year. The pontoon through the bridge was vacant when we arrived.

Straight away after mooring this blighter was looking for food and would have come right inside if we hadn't barred his passage.

The duck reminded me that it wasn't the only bird we have aboard, and I'm not talking about Helen here. I don't think I have shown a picture of our boating budgie called Skye. Not after the island but the colours in a summer sky and the 'Neighbours' character.

After lunch we went up into the town to find a bit of a time warp. It would make a great place for one of those WWII re-enactment days like at Stoke Bruene. The blue diamond plaque marks the height that the 2007 flood reached.

This is the bell tower of the old church now known as the Pepper pot. The church had a spire that was changed to this cupola and later the nave of the church fell down as it was not well built. In the end a new church was built at the limit of the village but the tower retained. The Pepperpot was also the site of the Battle of Upton in 1651. The Parliamentarians captured the bridge to secure it prior to the Battle of Worcester.

There are lots of old Georgian buildings and with little side streets etc. There are loads of music festival held here over the summer but none whilst we are here.

This is the site of the last bridge that was made of iron and had first a drawbridge and then a swing section. The other side abutments can be seen between the stern of the boats and the steps.

This graceful steel bridge was built in 1940 and was perhaps the last large steel bridge that was riveted in the country.

We have been joined by three more boats including 'blogger 'Fizzical Attraction' on their was south.

Tied up in Tewkesbury, the end of the line.

We set off this morning a little earlier than normal as we were up anyway. The sun was shining on the hull and it starts to 'crack' as it it expands so heralding another nice day and getting us out of bed.

After the rain we had a beautiful rainbow and the evening light on Bredon Hill made it look a little like I expect Middle Earth looks, especially with the cloud atop the hill.

We resisted the temptation to visit the pub. The mooring is not perhaps the quietest spot on a warm summer afternoon, no that you would get near it for all the GRP cruisers that would be moored here.

As we close Tewkesbury the land opens out and the white of the may blossom certainly adds a touch of 'colour' to the green.

There is a lot of cruisers moored in Tewkesbury. It must be like the North Oxford Canal on a Bank Holiday here, especially if the sailing club has a regatta too.

King John's Bridge would be very interesting with a good current flowing as it is at an angle. We have seen some of the cruisers coming through that actually have inches of headroom.

We were soon tied up near the lock and off to find a Sunday paper and get reacquainted with the town. The Abbey is our favourite in the area. I was taken by this bust that was carved by the West Door of the Abbey. He is obviously a priest as he has a dog collar. On the opposite side of the door is another. They are very lifelike.

We entered the church soon after the service. I don't think the place was lit up last time we were here and it was even better than I remembered. The photo looks a little blurred but it is actually the remainder of the incense used in the service. Another high church we have visited.

There are some beautiful tombs around the east end with the most beautifully carved vaulting. It was after thios photo that I saw a sign saying you need a permit to take photos. This one from the choir stall was my last. You get the idea what an atmosphere there is in the place too.

The tower is large and solid looking. Later in the day we were treated to a good bell ringing selection too. How very English in a very genteel place like Tewkesbury. We had a lovely scone with clotted cream and jam for our lunch at a very nice place on the High Street.

This is our mooring just through King John's Bridge with the lock between the cruiser and the wide beam. We should have any sun through the day which is a bonus. In the distance is Healing's Mill and Borough Mill by Quay Street Bridge.

Quay Street bridge was opened in 1822 and had a railway line over it to the mill. The building in the background is the Blizzard and Colman and Co Brewery. The building is for sale and would make good flats I reckon.

The Severn Ham that is by the Mill Avon was absolutely covered in buttercups at the moment. The may and cow parsley sets it all off.

This is a lovely cottage by the Abbey Mill with the Abbey Tower in the back ground. We succumbed to a pint and a wine at the posh Weatherspoon's Royal Hop Pole Hotel and I'm told we may repair to the Olde Black Bear later as there is a quiz night.

Missing moorings.

With the proximity of the ASDA store Helen popped over the playing field whilst I watched some young lads playing football and get ready for the off. Just as Helen returned I spied a boat pulling off the moorings below us and recognised them as a boat we had come down some of the Stratford Canal with called 'Bodger'.. This was good for both of us as Pershore Lock was close by and we could help each other. We were soon down and setting off for real.

The next obstruction to our passage were the two bridges just round the corner. The first (and oldest) dates from the 14th century. The centre span was brought down by the Cavaliers following the Battle of Worcester. It is only one lane wide. The second and less lovely bridge was the first concrete in Worcester built in 1928. 

We were soon passing through the edge of Tiddesley Wood and this is where the 'famous' Pershore egg plum was found growing wild in 1833. It is a very attractive section of the river.

It is about now that that Bredon Hill starts to dominate the sky line. As the river meanders about it seems to be on either bow and then astern as our course boxed the compass. The tower visible on the top was built by John Parsons MP in mid 1700's. The actual height of the hill is 981 feet and his folly brings it up to 1000'. It was used as a summerhouse, but now has phone masts on it. There is an old iron age fort on the top too called Kemerton Camp.

Doesn't bear thinking about does it! Apparently it had been stuck across Eckington Bridge and when freed and travelling on this happened. A superficial search doesn't find much though. We had to wait for a boat coming up. That is the first time on the Avon.

Not much further on was the 'Swan's Neck' turn. As you can see from Helen's photo it is literally a 360 bend. The photo is not doctored or in a panorama and of course it is where we met the other boat of the day. You can also see our lock companion just approaching the bend too. 

It is quite windy today and on several reaches we were having to crab along to make a good course. I just liked this photo.

We were soon at Eckington Bridge. Our lock companions were stopping for lunch at the moorings here. The first bridge built here replaced a ferry in 1440. The current one was built in 1720's and is an ancient monument. It does look a lot less than the 18' it is supposed to be.

Once through though it looks bigger again. We had decided to stop for the day at the moorings indicated at Strensham Lock. However when we got there there were no moorings there! It seems that the Environmental Agency, who administer the sluices here, were not happy with the lay out of the private moorings so the public ones were sacrificed. We filled up with water though and then moved off to Twyning Green where new Avon Trust had been put in at the Fleet Inn where as before you had to pay.

Strensham Lock has a little basin after you come down which makes life interesting.

As the valley of the Avon widens and the banks drop there have been a couple of sailing clubs. They both looked well kept and seemed to have several boats. I think here they were just having a warming couple minutes. It must be bedlam on the river when there is a regatta.

As we approached the M5 motorway bridge we came across this boat using the wind to work upstream. It had no outboard so I don't know what he would do if the wind dropped as would be tacking like mad to get up current.

It is a much nicer photo looking up stream.

A little further on we tied up at the Fleet Inn mooring and were soon enjoying a bowl of soup. Soon after the rain started so once again we have dodged the worst of it.

Pretty Pershore.

The other boat was a way a little before us but we left before 1000 and the sun was trying. It was successful later in the day.

Our over night mooring with pollarded willows and the foothills of the Costwolds in the distance.

Less than a mile down river was Fladbury Lock. There were some lovely big house for Helen to stare at today so it kept her interested as we headed south. The nearest mill is Cropthorne Mill and in the distance is Fladbury Mill. At nthe lock there was a marker to where the flood level of 2007 reached and it would have been just under the white bay window on the nearest mill!

It always seems to be cooler on the water and it isn't quite warm enought for Helen to come out of her cocoon just yet.

Cropthorne Mill and lock with the narrow channel leading to the lock.

There were moor gardens and house for Helen to peruse as we made our way to Wyre Lock. This is the last 'unusual' shaped lock left on the river. There were all sorts of shapes used apparently to reduce to erosion on the lock walls from the paddles. This acute shape doesn't make it that easy to work through though.

Wyre Mill was an old gristmill and was converted by the Lower Avon Trust into a social club and still owned by the members. The Avon Navigation Trust now have offices and a workshop here too.

We got to Pershore and went to fill with water. We had picked a mooring at the extensive moorings that were entirely empty when we arrived. As we were filling a boat came that also had solar panels and pinched our spot. We found another as good place a little further up and tied up. There is a very convenient gap in the trees to get sun all day.

 After lunch we walked into town via the retail market. We bought some local asparagus and some brown bed for tea tonight. The Abbey Church was started in 689 and became a Benedictine monastery. It went bust in the 10th century when it's lands were handed over to Westminster Abbey. The Monastery survived but serious damage was done by fire 1223. The lovely vaulting was erected in the 14th century. It is known as plough share vaulting and it and the stone carved roof bosses are of high quality and were originally brightly painted but the Victorians cleaned it all off!!  The tower lost in the fire was replaced and appears to be by the same architect as built Salisbury Cathedral. At the reformation the land and abbey buildings were sold and stones used else where. The tower survived though.

This is a tomb to the Hazelwood family that were originally from Yorkshire but acquired much land in the area. You can see his children here five girls and three boys. The girl facing outward represents a girl that died as a child. This was in the late 1600's.

This is another tomb of the Hazelwood family. This one is of the eldest son depicted in the previous photo. On the right is his wife and at his feet is his eldest son. Dated in the 1700's.

 The flying buttresses were added later to stop the tower falling down. You can see evidence of attached buildings on the right hand wall and the pink colour is actually discolouration caused by the fire of 1223 that brought he original tower down. 

There are several of these 'wavy walls' in Pershore. This one fronts the river so may be an original flood wall. I think that the curves in it give it extra strength but could be wrong about it. Just looked it up and they are called 'wiggle-waggley' or 'crinkle-crankle' walls. They were built like this so that the one course of bricks could be used and the curves did give added stability'.

There are many lovely Georgian houses in the town and this one is significant to my blog as it is the Perrott House, built around 1770 by Judge Perrott. He retired here to Pershore and set about restoring the weirs and locks of the Avon Navigation that brought trade to the town. The mill at Pershore provided the last commercial trade too. That is until it burnt down in 1970. If Judge Perrott hadn't set about his good works maybe the navigation would have been lost for ever by now.

Leaving Evesham.

We went for another look round Evesham. Helen was looking for a book on embroidery so we trawled the charity shops, of which there are many. It seems that Evesham is like several places that we pass through on the canals and rivers. They don't seem to be of a sufficient size to sustain the shops that they historically had as the local market town. People travel more now so go to larger centres. They have built a new shopping centre but many of the shops are empty. The charity shops are good but we didn't find what we were looking for. We did pay a visit to Aldi's after a walk through the town and then back round by the river walk. It was then back to the boat for lunch. We then set off down river again.

 This was out mooring site alongside Workman Gardens and opposite the Abbey Grounds Park, but not flood protected. There are bins at the end of the path but I diodn't see any water point as indicated.

A little further down river on the same bank are the Avon Trust Moorings that are for flood periods.

The banks looked colourful in the sun,

Helen wants one of these in the back garden of our next house but I think that it is a bit of overkill to keep a lawn mower in.

Just round the bend from the Abbey Gardens is the Hampton foot ferry. The 'punt' is drawn across the river by the ferryman pulling on a wire that is tensioned at shoulder height between the banks. Obviously if you passed when the wire is raised the boat would get caught up. There are a few fluttering tell tales on the wire but it is quite hard to see. If it is up three blast on the horn should bring the ferryman to drop the wire to the river bed. If he is on the east bank we first has to travel to the west bank to get to the winch. All this can take time so if the river is running with plenty of fresh water it could be best to swing head to current to wait for the operation to be completed.

The is the cottage and the punt at the ferry. The wire/rope can be seen running through two guides on the side of the punt and the man pulls between them.

By the time we left the only lock of the day, Chadbury Lock, the sun had been hidden and the wind was quite cutting.

By Chadbury Lock the old mill race has the restored mill prettily hidden by willows.

We didn't have to go far after the lock and tied up at the Avon Trust Craycombe Turn Moorings. We were joined later by another boat. We got inside after mooring just before a slight shower went through. Good timing. Macy cat is enjoying it here as she has had a good sniff about in the grass after being stuck near to pedestrians passing and then she likes to stay in the boat.