Saul Junction via Severn, Avon, GU to Bascote

[john6767]

6 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

... and it's a couple of miles shorter, and doesn't need a transit licence for the Avon.

 

(Just don't count the locks!)

It’s a good few locks less to go via Worcester, not really sure why, I guess the W&B locks must be a lot deeper than the Stratford locks.

[Captain Pegg]

2 minutes ago, john6767 said:

It’s a good few locks less to go via Worcester, not really sure why, I guess the W&B locks must be a lot deeper than the Stratford locks.

Can’t be. You have to climb up to the Birmingham level and then all the way back down the Lapworth flight. Via the Avon you only climb until the routes join at Kingswood.

 

W&B locks aren’t deep either. All 7’ other than a few at the extremities.

 

JP

 

 

[john6767]

Just now, Captain Pegg said:

Can’t be. You have to climb up to the Birmingham level and then all the way back down the Lapworth flight. Via the Avon you only climb until the routes join at Kingswood.

 

W&B locks aren’t deep either. All 7’ other than a few at the extremities.

 

JP

 

 

I was meaning if the OP wanted to go into Birmingham, so needed to get up to the Birmingham level by either of the routes.  From Gloucester docks it is 73 locks via Stratford and 61 locks via Worcester, to the Birmingham level (unless I have cocked it up).

[TheBiscuits]

11 minutes ago, john6767 said:

It’s a good few locks less to go via Worcester, not really sure why, I guess the W&B locks must be a lot deeper than the Stratford locks.

Canal plan says 26 more locks going through Diglis.

 

Have you forgotten to count the Avon locks and add them to the Stratford locks?

[Captain Pegg]

Just now, john6767 said:

I was meaning if the OP wanted to go into Birmingham, so needed to get up to the Birmingham level by either of the routes.  From Gloucester docks it is 73 locks via Stratford and 61 locks via Worcester, to the Birmingham level (unless I have cocked it up).

Aha, I was just looking at the direct route. If going via Brum it would definitely make sense to go via Worcester.

 

JP

[TheBiscuits]

Doh!  Brain fade.

Edited February 12, 2020 by TheBiscuits

[john6767]

4 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

Canal plan says 26 more locks going through Diglis.

 

Have you forgotten to count the Avon locks and add them to the Stratford locks?

I used canalplan.  I have checked again and I don’t think it has gone a strange route.

7 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

Gloucester Docks » Gloucester / Sharpness - Severn Junction » Diglis Junction » Diglis Basin » Lowesmoor Basin » King's Norton Junction

This is 53.58 miles and 61 locks.

 

Gloucester Docks » Gloucester / Sharpness - Severn Junction » Diglis Junction » Severn - Stourport Narrow Locks Entrance » Stourport Upper Basin » Stourton Junction » Parkhead Junction » Windmill End Junction » Dudley Port Junction » Deep Cuttings Junction » King's Norton Junction

This is 81.78 miles and 50 locks.

Which is 28.19 miles further but has 11 fewer locks.

You have gone the Staffs and Worcester, not the W&B, which is another valid route.  Interesting how much fewer it is that ways well!

[Dre]

2 hours ago, Captain Pegg said:

By what criterion was it “green”? The information you can get online isn’t necessarily related to navigation conditions. I haven’t seen the Severn in a condition in which I’d go on it for a while and for me there’s a gap between when it’s open and when I’d personally choose to cruise on it.

 

Buying a boat at Saul I guess there’s a fair chance it’s been tested on the Severn but do you know it’s history on the river? Pushing upstream in high levels will be hot work for your engine. You need to be sure the cooling system can cope having allowed for the extra time you will need.

 

All that said it’s a pretty benign river in normal conditions despite its size.

 

JP

CRT strong stream warning page.... That's all I've got to go by. 

 

I hope Green on that page means I won't sink ?

[Dre]

2 hours ago, john6767 said:

Not sure I would fancy taking an unknown boat upstream on the Severn in the current conditions, it is going to be hard going even when the river is open.  The Severn is currently closed of course.

 

I would also think that The Avon will be challenging, in fact more so than the Severn.  On the Severn it is just the push against a fast flowing river that you will need to deal with, on the Avon you have a lot of locks to do with fast flowing and unprotected weirs.

 

If you are thinking about a diversion to Birmingham anyway, have you thought about going up the Severn to Worcester and then the Worcester and Birmingham canal into Birmingham.  You would then go the North Stratford to join the GU.

Hi, yes i did see the option to carry on up the Severn but my plan was to travel on the Monday as it's closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Obviously if conditions allowed to go on the 23rd which might not. In any case I would have asked lock keepers and other Boaters which river was the safest option. 

[plato]

I doubt you will navigate the Avon any time soon. There are huge amounts of flood debris in and around the locks. And with all the rain we’ve had from storm Ciara plus more forecast for the weekend the Severn will be out of sorts for a couple of weeks at least. It was topping the banks near Gloucester lock and still rising this afternoon. 
Good luck with your trip. Please don’t under estimate the power of the flow on this river. even when it’s on amber it’s got a hell of current on it.

[Dre]

2 minutes ago, plato said:

I doubt you will navigate the Avon any time soon. There are huge amounts of flood debris in and around the locks. And with all the rain we’ve had from storm Ciara plus more forecast for the weekend the Severn will be out of sorts for a couple of weeks at least. It was topping the banks near Gloucester lock and still rising this afternoon. 
Good luck with your trip. Please don’t under estimate the power of the flow on this river. even when it’s on amber it’s got a hell of current on it.

Thanks for that. I see that's an email but is there anyway for me to get to that information? 

[matty40s]

That didnt work!!

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/338109029606699/permalink/2816023941815183/

 

Look for the Eckington lock post

Edited February 12, 2020 by matty40s

[Dre]

Well, it seems the only way will be for me to carry on up the Severn, since the Avon seems far worse. Hopefully Dennis will be as kind as its name suggests and river levels will go down by the end of the month... Whatever the case, it's nice to see such a helpful and well wishing community on this forum ?❤️

[Alan de Enfield]

Just now, Dre said:

Hopefully Dennis will be as kind as its name suggests

Really ?????

 

 

 

[Dre]

Just now, matty40s said:

https://m.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2Fgroups%2F338109029606699%3Fview%3Dpermalink%26id%3D2816023941815183%26refid%3D18%26_ft_%3Dqid.6792660097517860946%3Amf_story_key.2816023941815183%3Agroup_id.338109029606699%3Atop_level_post_id.2816023941815183%3Atl_objid.2816023941815183%3Acontent_owner_id_new.100004054458277%3Aoriginal_content_id.617570952407238%3Aoriginal_content_owner_id.113402786157393%3Apage_id.106499659382780%3Asrc.22%3Aphoto_attachments_list.%5B617570272407306%2C617570355740631%2C617570255740641%5D%3Astory_location.6%3Aattached_story_attachment_style.album%3Atagged_locations.106499659382780%3Afilter.GroupStoriesByActivityEntQuery%3Apage_insights.%7B%22106499659382780%22%3A%7B%22page_id%22%3A106499659382780%2C%22actor_id%22%3A100004054458277%2C%22dm%22%3A%7B%22isShare%22%3A0%2C%22originalPostOwnerID%22%3A0%7D%2C%22psn%22%3A%22EntGroupMallPostCreationStory%22%2C%22role%22%3A4%2C%22sl%22%3A6%7D%2C%22113402786157393%22%3A%7B%22page_id%22%3A113402786157393%2C%22actor_id%22%3A100004054458277%2C%22attached_story%22%3A%7B%22page_id%22%3A113402786157393%2C%22actor_id%22%3A113402786157393%2C%22dm%22%3A%7B%22isShare%22%3A0%2C%22originalPostOwnerID%22%3A0%7D%2C%22psn%22%3A%22EntStatusCreationStory%22%2C%22post_context%22%3A%7B%22object_fbtype%22%3A266%2C%22publish_time%22%3A1581090716%2C%22story_name%22%3A%22EntStatusCreationStory%22%2C%22story_fbid%22%3A%5B617570952407238%5D%7D%2C%22role%22%3A1%2C%22sl%22%3A6%7D%2C%22dm%22%3A%7B%22isShare%22%3A0%2C%22originalPostOwnerID%22%3A0%7D%2C%22psn%22%3A%22EntGroupMallPostCreationStory%22%2C%22role%22%3A1%2C%22sl%22%3A6%2C%22targets%22%3A%5B%7B%22actor_id%22%3A100004054458277%2C%22page_id%22%3A113402786157393%2C%22post_id%22%3A617570952407238%2C%22role%22%3A1%2C%22share_id%22%3A0%7D%5D%7D%7D%26__tn__%3D%2AW-R&fs=8&fr=%2Fwap%2Fprofile_tribe.php&sid=2816023941815183&refid=18&__tn__=J*W-R

What's that? .... Apart from the biggest link I've ever seen ?

[The Dreamer]

2 hours ago, TheBiscuits said:

Just don't count the locks!)

Going to be less via the W&B, surely?  Tardebigge is only a few more than Lapworth, so then it’s the rest of the W&B plus Diglis, vs. all the Avon locks.

 

BTW Avon lock won’t be manned at this time of the year, and it is hard work manually!

[Dre]

5 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Really ?????

 

 

 

I was thinking more like... 

 

[Chris Lowe]

4 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Welcome to the forum and the slow world of boating.

If you've got a shovel and plenty of time you could always help the Cotswold Canal people restore the route the other way from Saul Junction, so you have an alternative way to get to Bascote. Of course, once it is finished it ends up at the Thames and that might be in flood too!

Jen

Stroudwater navigation from saul junction to Brimscombe port and from there via the Thames & Severn canal to Inglesham lock and the Thames.

Quite a long journey waiting time at the moment.

Edited February 12, 2020 by buccaneer66

[plato]

15 minutes ago, Dre said:

Thanks for that. I see that's an email but is there anyway for me to get to that information? 

You need to go to the Avon navigation trust website and sign up for navigation alerts

[Dre]

2 minutes ago, The Dreamer said:

Going to be less via the W&B, surely?  Tardebigge is only a few more than Lapworth, so then it’s the rest of the W&B plus Diglis, vs. all the Avon locks.

 

BTW Avon lock won’t be manned at this time of the year, and it is hard work manually!

 

 

From the info I could gather it seemed the Avon was passable. Now I can see the Severn might be the better option. But I guess in two weeks a lot could happen on the rivers 

6 minutes ago, plato said:

You need to go to the Avon navigation trust website and sign up for navigation alerts

Done. Thanks ?

[Dre]

10 minutes ago, buccaneer66 said:

Stroudwater navigation from saul junction to Brimscombe port and from there via the Thames & Severn canal to Inglesham lock and the Thames.

Quite a long journey waiting time at the moment.

Unless Dennis turns out to be a real Menace...., ?

[Dre]

So.... If I'm gonna wait some time for the Severn to behave... What suggestion do you have for a new boater on a new boat to get busy with?

Practice... Maintenance... Brass polishing??? 

[TheBiscuits]

13 hours ago, Dre said:

So.... If I'm gonna wait some time for the Severn to behave... What suggestion do you have for a new boater on a new boat to get busy with?

Practice... Maintenance... Brass polishing??? 

Take a cruise down to Sharpness just because you can.  

 

Run the engine hard for quite a few hours to see if the boat can cope with it before you try to navigate the Severn.

[ditchcrawler]

I find it easier but not as interesting going up the Severn than the Avon, Parts of the Avon have quite a flow on even at normal water levels as you get towards the top. As for working the locks, We have never had anyone doing them for us.

[TheBiscuits]

7 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

As for working the locks, We have never had anyone doing them for us.

 

@The Dreamer was talking specifically about Avon lock at Tewkesbury, not all the locks on the river.  That one is manned (well womanned actually!) and is usually operated for you.