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Boater cruising down River Severn


LEO

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Last year the only lock on the Severn that answered was Gloucester.  I think they have volunteers on the others that are not trained, however I think it is still worth blind calling as at virtually every lock the lock was set and open for us when we got there, so I guess the set is on even though they can’t respond.

 

On the G&S it’s worth calling Lanthony bridge and Junction bridge to let them know your intentions.

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I just call the locks or bridges from my mobile phone, only had one occasion on the Severn where a lockie hadn't seen me approaching and one time when Llanthany bridge hadn't noticed me hovering near the bridge.

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By the nature of the canal you can moor just about anywhere on the towpath side for 14 days. Saul Junction and Gloucester Docks are limited to 48 hours. If you need fuel the best spot is Joe Energy between Sandfield an Fretherne Bridges. They open between 9 am and 4pm weekdays only. If you stop anywhere near Frampton Green apparently the longest in the country the best pub is the 3 Horseshoes down at the bottom end. Patch is good for a stop and I think the Tudor arms does good pub food. At Purton you have the ships graveyard which is worth a look. And one of my favourite mooring spots is Sharpness where you can just look over the wall and watch the river. And you couldn't stop at Sharpness without a visit to the Dockers Club. These are only my personal thoughts but may be a starting point for you.

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20 minutes ago, Steve56 said:

By the nature of the canal you can moor just about anywhere on the towpath side for 14 days. Saul Junction and Gloucester Docks are limited to 48 hours. If you need fuel the best spot is Joe Energy between Sandfield an Fretherne Bridges. They open between 9 am and 4pm weekdays only. If you stop anywhere near Frampton Green apparently the longest in the country the best pub is the 3 Horseshoes down at the bottom end. Patch is good for a stop and I think the Tudor arms does good pub food. At Purton you have the ships graveyard which is worth a look. And one of my favourite mooring spots is Sharpness where you can just look over the wall and watch the river. And you couldn't stop at Sharpness without a visit to the Dockers Club. These are only my personal thoughts but may be a starting point for you.

By the wall at Sharpness is one of my favourite places to moor.  Not one to stay in one place for a long time, but 5 days there is very pleasant in nice weather 

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8 hours ago, David Mack said:

Do you mean you are going to transit the Severn between Gloucester and Sharpness in both directions? Or are you going to use the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal for that bit?

If you do that section of the river you won't need vhf to contact the lockkeepers as there aren't any! But you might need it to call for help from the emergency services!

For the river above Gloucester you don't need vhf. The locks have traffic lights. If they are red you pull into the lock moorings, if green the gates will be open and you go straight into the lock. The lockkeepers will usually see you coming.

The only one you need to contact is Gloucester Lock when you reach the partings and you can do that by phone. The advantage of a phone is that he has it in his pocket even when out of his cab

 

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14 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

The only one you need to contact is Gloucester Lock when you reach the partings and you can do that by phone. The advantage of a phone is that he has it in his pocket even when out of his cab

 

Unless the lock keeper is out of the hut. Then you will just get the answerphone. 

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i have always had a reply on Channel 74 from Gloucester Lock and always have my  vhf set on. came in handy recently when the Edward Elgar had an altercation with a fallen tree in the partings and got wedged across the channel.

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15 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

The only one you need to contact is Gloucester Lock when you reach the partings and you can do that by phone. The advantage of a phone is that he has it in his pocket even when out of his cab

 

I tried calling the Gloucester lockie at the parting.  No answer.  Tried every fews seconds for the next 20 minutes.  No answer.  Eventually called the lockie at Upper Lode lock and asked her to let Gloucester know. 

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A couple of years ago coming in to the partings I spoke to Gloucester lock and he said the lock would be open for us to go straight in as the river was running a bit quick.  Very surprised as we came round the final bend to see a boat holding on the chains and gates closed.  For some reason the lockie chose to lock someone out of the docks after speaking to me.  It took a lot of reverse to stop alongside the other boat and get a line off to hold us.

I now speak to the lockie but always expect to have to wait on the chains regardless of what he says and come round the final bend as slow as I can.

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Similar thing happened to me at West Stockwith. Phoned the lockie who said the gates would be open for us. Started to turn towards the lock only to find a large cruiser coming out. Had to go past, then turn, then make our way back upstream painfully slowly against the ebbing tide.

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