SO IT'S off the delightful Avon at Tewkesbury, after a most refreshing cruise and back on to the Canal & River Trust waters of the Severn—to me the most boring of the rivers.
Boring, as unlike the others, it sits in a ditch often tree-lined, so you can see bugger all and I well remember shouting to someone at a solitary caravan park "How far to Upton?" as then we hadn't a clue where we were! It was 2007 that we last came up, that time on our way back from Sharpness, and it gets no better, it being little more that a means of getting from A to B as She Who Must, etc remarks.
Doesn't like rivers
Mind you, 'She' doesn't like rivers at all, perhaps it is because our esteemed editor had the boat stuck on the Thames, thinking it was a good place for the dog, and then again on the tidal Trent cutting a corner and getting fast on a sand bank—silly sod.
But that is enough of that, back to the cruise and the Severn, of which 'She' was giving her opinion that it was 'refreshing' simply cruising into a lock and having everything done for you by a locky, but neither of us were impressed by the short lengths of the lock mooring below the locks as they are certainly designed for cruisers, with no attempt to lengthen since we first cruised the river in 2000.
Still in action
Then we saw this huge thing approaching, and surprise, surprise it was the river cruiser, Edward Elgar, that I really thought had gone out of business, but obviously not, so it is good it is not rotting away somewhere but still in action giving people who don't usually experience rivers a chance to enjoy them. Being of such a height means passengers are able to see the surrounding countryside that is hidden from us on narrowboats.
Gloucester council certainly have you by the short and curlies, for wherever you moor you are instructed to visit a car park and get a four quid mooring ticket from the machine, even using the moorings that the Inland Waterways Association built by the racecourse, where we stayed for a night.
Had an effect
Then it was the Staffs & Worcs again and our esteemed Thomas saw the 'Ducks' sign! That certainly had an effect as you possibly now realise. But he's right. what a stupid waste of money and manpower. But who at Cart cares, I ask?
The signs are not only a stupid idea, they make Cart look stupid and immature (I was going to say amateurish but generally amateurs are quite clever, whilst Cart certainly is not).
What next?
We already have signs for dogs, lanes for ducks, welcome signs, many of which people will never see, and now signs telling people that ducks are playing. What's next I wonder—signs telling us that swans are swimming, bees are buzzing and birds are singing? But don't let us forget the favourite water voles, I just wonder what idiotic slogan Cart will conjure up for them. Something no doubt to continue this idiotic waste of money, whilst the canals slowly but surely deteriorate, for lack of maintenance.
While all this extravagant waste is taking place has anything been done about the unreadable warning sign on the Soar that caused a boater to turn the wrong way and end up on a sandbar?
Of course not. That's for boaters...
Back to the canals
Back then to the canals indeed and the Staffs & Worcester. It wasn't too long before we realised the years of neglect, comparing it to our Log entry of our cruise down to Stourport and back in October 2010—just six years ago. Summing-up the waterway it stated: 'The whole canal with very few exceptions was in excellent condition with the locks a pleasure to work'.
What a difference six years have made through sheer neglect. You really have to be careful with your boat when working the locks these days, one with a long steel piece hanging loose on a gate missed our attention with the result that off came the fender after the strut—designed for that purpose—broke off allowing the fender to drop. Then 'She' not realising that the baffles on one gate were hanging loose, swamped the boat with water as she opened the paddle. Wonder how many have been so caught?
First class to third class!
It was after winding a ground paddle with nothing happening and having problems opening a top gate as the leakage through the bottom two was too excessive that 'She', who was obviously in good voice, comparing the Avon with its well maintained locks and paddles that were all working and nicely painted as 'first class to third class', with everything the opposite. How right she is, for how scruffy and tatty the lower Staffs & Worcs Canal has become, through nothing more than sheer neglect. Here are a few photographs:
Bratch
It is a great shame that such a lovely canal is being allowed to literally go to waste. It seems the poor state of the waterway is putting boaters off, for whilst at Bratch, the two volunteers there—yes my friends, another three lockies having lost their jobs—told us that we were the only boat to go up the locks all morning with three down, and passing so few later there would not have been many more all day.
We actually saw a teenager fishing one day, together with a few of the usual older ones, and is the first young fisher'man' I have seen for many a year, in fact I just cannot remember the last time. So I'm afraid that Cart's campaign to get youngsters to its banks can be classed as another failure.
Mind you there is one angler who is sticking it out—the one on the roof of a house by the side of the waterway— reckon that after all these years he should give it up as a bad job as he is not catching much.
Trouble
Then it was boat trouble. Over the past few days those three 'very good' and very expensive batteries we purchased from Alpha Batteries Ltd of Rochdale with a four years guarantee were obviously giving up the ghost—after just four years—as they would no longer hold a charge, so it was making sure no one was moored behind us in the evenings, as we just had to run the engine to get even a little power.
Oxley Marine
So being on the lower Staffs & Worcs it had to be our Orph Mable of Oxley Marine to the rescue, and luckily he had three decent ones in stock, and at somewhat less than those 'very good' ones from Alpha, but better still, they were fitted for free! And by that most talented of boat engineers, Proficient Phil, who quickly discovered that one of our alternator belts was also on its last legs. Our spare it was found was far too short, and alas there was no replacement in stock, but it seems that Oxley go the extra mile, for without further ado Orph was away collecting a couple, one quickly fitted and one for spare.
And the icing on the cake? Diesel at just 60p a litre!
I find it most annoying that a small company can sell the red stuff at such a low price whilst British Waterways Marina Ltd with its vast buying power charges around 20p a litre more.
Still the same
And would you believe—of course you will—that the broken lock moorings at Roboston Lock have still not been repaired, having included the picture for the past four times we have passed, now going back 11 years, so obviously now little chance of any repair.
The reason no doubt is obvious from the little used state of the towpath that there are only the regular dog walkers, so why bother repairing as no visitors to see it? Anyway, the above is the latest picture.
Good news
But not all is bad, Land & Water are very busy in various locations dredging the waterway, and though there is a notice stating a wait of up to 30 minutes, in every instance the fella on the digger let us straight through.
And though the state of the locks are bad, at least they were easy to operate, and the paddle gear nicely geared, so there is some good news!
Victor Swift