The Beautiful Avon

Today June 7th we’re now on the Upper Avon on an idyllic lock mooring at the wonderfully named Wyre Piddle, just up from Wyre Mill which the traveller Charles Showell called ‘the ugliest, of which the Avon is ashamed’.
It’s now a sailing and social club. This lock is diamond shaped, the last of it’s kind on the river and is our favourite all time river mooring. Your literally marooned at this lock and free from the many gongoozlers (boaty term for onlookers) which are plentiful at Stratford.
Over the past week we’ve continued at a slow pace South-West from Stratford through Bidford-on-Avon and Evesham. We continued some of our journey with ‘Best O Mates’ who caught up with us once again at Luddington, where we moored at the Stan Glover Lock. We parted at Evesham yesterday having spent several days with Jennifer and Graham.
The Avon is a beautiful river and for me just out shines the Thames which we navigated last year. If you intend navigating the Avon the one thing one should bare in mind is the mooring availability. On the lower Avon from Stratford-upon-Avon to Evesham the mooring is idyllic and plentiful, from Evesham to Tewkesbury not so! After starting off from George Billington Lock yesterday morning and stopping at Evesham for lunch, we continued a further 10 canal miles, (our longest day to date), before finding a decent mooring. Fortunately having travelled the Avon last year we’re familiar with where the moorings are. Try to moor before the weekend! The moorings can fill up quickly with the many weekend cruisers which frequent the river.
One thing that’s surprised us so far is the lack of traffic. Not that we’re complaining. We’ve passed very few private boats, the majority of traffic being hire fleets. Even quieter this week after the school half-term. Both Dee and I don’t have any problems with hire boats but the one criticism we have of some irresponsible parties is the lack of respect for others. Speeding boats being the worst problem. Irresponsible mooring being the other. Enough said!
Last night we had our first barbeque, a feast of fish, burgers and sausages, my favourite food and Dee’s too provided I burn the sausages to a cinder!
The weather has been wall to wall sunshine and so at last our tans are starting to progress. The wildlife has been good but with nothing unusual to report. Plenty of Buzzards, Kingfishers, Cuckoo’s and Bats. We heard a Tawny Owl last night but still no Barn Owls.
Today we’ll move just a couple of miles to Pershore and then tomorrow on to Tewkesbury for a couple of days before leaving the Avon for the River Severn and Gloucester Docks.