PaulG

The Lock Inn at Wolverley. Good old Bank's pub with unpretentious food. The road can be a bit noisy, but the moorings are far enough away from it. Not to be missed, IMHO.

Yup. It says at the bottom of the page that he's "gone boating - back mid-may" - but you have to scroll down to see it. Not good, from a page layout point of view, really. Paul

Actually, I don't think that it will, because battery capacities are usually quoted at the "20 hour rate of discharge" capacity. If you discharge them more quickly, you will obtain less power. I'm sure that someone will post the mathematics soon... Discharging an accumulator battery by more than 50% will shorten its' life considerably. Best avoided, really, unless you have very expensive true "deep discharge" batteries, as used in vehicles, forklifts, etc Cheers Paul

Sorry, mate, that look's so passe - my wife beat you to it ages ago

Hmm.. there are beards and there are beards, you know. Density, length and colour should count for something. e.g. Grey "ZZ Top" job - plus 5, on a sliding scale finishing with ginger "bumfluff" - minus 5. I think extra points for blokes with ponytails, too. Paul

Looks more like a very anorexic Wayne Sleep!

I'd stop in central B'ham if I were you. Stopped there for 2 days last year (Thursday/Friday) and it was fine, so we'll do the same again this year. It was busy, but not too noisy (even though we were moored right outside a nightclub!). I guess the CCTV system helps, and the nightclub bouncers were more than happy to keep an eye on the boat. If you want peace and tranquility, it's probably not for you, but if you like pubs, restaurants and a bit of nightlife it's not to be missed.

They were probably racing. The one that shouted would have been at the back. Bad dinghy sailors shout at powerboats in the same way as fishermen with empty keep nets shout at powerboats. It's easier to blame someone else than admit that you're cr@p at your chosen sport!

You can buy a short term licence for the Lower and Upper Avon at Tewkesbury lock for £44.00, so you don't need to apply in advance. Have a good trip! Paul

Just a suggestion, but why not ask your insurance company?

I've got one too. I was wondering who they sold the other one to! You can find the info for this unit here There's a link at the top of that page which takes you to the installation isntructions in Word format. Paul

What co-incidence - I was just listening to some "Kevin Bloody Wilson" to try to learn more about Australian culture!

It appears that Dr. Bradley has not "linked us"! I'll get my coat..

A&D Marine on the Glos & Sharpness.

Sound advice Chris. The problem with spring tides on the Severn is not so much the speed of the water, it's the amount of "debris" than the tide brings up with it. You can expect to encounter forklift pallets, tree trunks, and sometimes even whole trees. I was coming back up from Gloucester last year against the ebb and met 20 feet or so of mooring pontoon coming the other way! On that day, the river was completely blocked at Upper Parting and we had to wait an hour or so in Gloucester lock while the obstruction was cleared and they could let us out.

Don't worry - the Severn's a pussy! We're off down to Gloucester on Sunday, so keep an eye open for "Old Deuteronomy"! They'll give you an information sheet at Upper Lode lock if you haven't done this bit of the river before. As the lock is on restricted times, you may find that there is a queue. You need to call the lock keeper at preset (and well-signposted points) on the approaches to Gloucester, so he will be able to tell you about other traffic and whether it's likely you're going to have to wait. The important thing is to remember to keep to the left and slow down as you come round the final corner on the approach to the lock. Ideally at this point you should see a pair of open lock gates and a green light! Have a boathook and mooring line ready on the stern in case there's a queue and you need to pick up one of the chains that hang down the wall. There is always a bit of current in this channel, so be prepared to reverse fairly hard to get alongside the wall if you need to. Moor up stern first. Do not use a center line! When you're lining up to enter the lock, keep to the left, as the current tends to run left-to-right across the lock entrance. Now the good bit. The channel down from Upper Parting into Gloucester is without doubt one of the most miserable bits of river that I know. It's in a deep muddy cutting with nothing of even the remotest interest in sight. If you are feeling depressed, don't go there! You don't really approach Gloucester, you sort of "sneak in" through the back door. Apart from passing under a few big road and railway bridges, you'd never know you were approaching a large city. But it's all worthwhile just for the experience in Gloucester lock, when all the old warehouses are gradually revealed in their full glory as the boat rises in the lock. Somehow it always reminds me of way the old cinema organs used to appear, as if by magic. I never tire of it, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Have a good trip!

I'm getting a boatyard to do mine next week. It's costing £150.00 for the use of the dry dock for the week, and pressure wash and blacking comes out at about £3.50 per foot, plus VAT on the lot. That's for two coats of old fashioned bitumen. I guess that there new-fangled epoxy stuff would be more expensive, but I didn't get a cost on it.

I don't think that anyone who uses the rivers regularly (waits for incoming) would have done that, Chris. Bow and stern rope for me, unless I'm on still water. Once you've seen some poor sod's blood all over the lock landing you learn a little more caution.

'Cos if you've dipped it in the diesel, it comes out dripping with the stuff, and then the drips can go in the cut.

My advice to your friend would be not to singlehand in these conditions unless she has to. I took this picture as we passed through Cadbury lock on the Upper Avon in July last year when there was a bit of "fresh" in the river. The skipper in the narrowboat was singlehanded and the current swung the bows of the boat out into the stream and started to capsize it. He got his hand badly crushed trying to get his mooring line off the bollard and ended up in Coventry hospital. The boat, as you can see, sank anyway.