Terry wrote: > Advice please!.... > Intend doing a circular tour from the Worc & Birmingham Canal to > Stratford-upon Avon in August.....is it best going down the Severn and up the > Avon or the other way round?.....bearing in mind it's best going against the > flow of water! > Any places best to avoid and any nice places to moor? > My inclination would be to go down the Severn and up the Avon. The Severn is dull other than Upton, and there's nowhere much to stop other than there, Worcester and Tewkesbury. Under normal summer conditions flows on both rivers are negligible. However, if there is any fresh, the bridges at Eckington, Pershore Old, Binton and Bidford are much easier and safer going against the current.
The moorings at Upton are inadequate for the number of boats wanting to use them. Be prepared to breast up. The marina will find space for around a tenner per night (and will do free elsan emptying - there's nowhere else on the river around here). Tewkesbury has good moorings, and the lockie always seems to be able to squeeze boats in. Best to go through the lock if you want an early start as it doesn't open until about 0930. The Black Bear by the bridge also has mooring space for one or two boats. Pershore has good mooring above the lock near the swimming pool and Co-op but gets busy - best to be there by late morning to find space. It's four hours from Tewkesbury. The moorings below the lock have noisy traffic. Plenty of mooring at Evesham at Abbey Gardens, Workman Gardens or above the lock. Bidford moorings get busy and other than the pretty waterfront with pubs is not very interesting. There are a few other ANT moorings, all small, and a few pub moorings. Lock moorings are very nice but many are in islands mid-stream so bring your own beer. At Stratford the river and the basin are good. Both 48 h so you can legally spend two days in each. One can usually get tickets to the RSC Other Place (main theatre is shut) at short notice if one goes for standing room (excellent value for a fiver) or restricted view (around a tenner, and barely restricted at all). Enjoy! -- Martin Phillips [email protected]
