First journey! Help please!

[Jus11972]

Hi

So excited as at last we get our first boat on Saturday. We are travelling from Gloucester to Upton upon sever on Saturday with help. Then moving it to droitwich spa marina on hopefully Sunday or early next week. We are really nervous about doing the river severn bit on our own as we've heard a few scary stories.

 

Any advise on the journey would be so helpful. How long from Upton to droitwich, any challenging parts etc etc..

 

Thanks so much everyone

:-)

[john6767]

Hi

So excited as at last we get our first boat on Saturday. We are travelling from Gloucester to Upton upon sever on Saturday with help. Then moving it to droitwich spa marina on hopefully Sunday or early next week. We are really nervous about doing the river severn bit on our own as we've heard a few scary stories.

 

Any advise on the journey would be so helpful. How long from Upton to droitwich, any challenging parts etc etc..

 

Thanks so much everyone

:-)

We did that section in the other direction in the summer. Depends on how quick you want to do it, you could probably just about do it in a day if you need to, but splitting over 2 days stopping overnight in Worcester would be easier.

 

I would guess the most difficult part is coming off the Severn onto the Droitwich (but not actually done that as we went the other way).

[keble]

I'm based at Saul and planning to go up to Tewkesbury on Sat.

The first time on the Severn can seem daunting but usually it's as calm as the canal!

 

I guess the main thing is to pay attention to safety: wear life jackets, have phone numbers for the locks, get enough experience with your new boat that you feel confident. Talk to the lockie at Glos before you go, should be very helpful.

 

This web page http://www.rwilson.org.uk/severn.html shows river levels at various points. It looks fine now!

 

There are limited places you can moor en route; look at the CaRT guide http://canalrivertrust.org.uk

[Pete of Ebor]

Depends which route you want to take. You can either leave The Severn at Worcester and use the Worcester & Birmingham canal to Hanbury Junction or stay on The Severn up to Hawford Lock. If you're not too confident with tight manoeuvres, then staying on the Severn up to Hawford would probably be easier. The turn off The Severn into Diglis basin at Worcester can be tricky if the river is up - even a bit, and the turn from the W&B into Hanbury locks is also tight. The turn off the Severn into Hawford isn't even a turn its more of a fork-off when going upstream. Hawford could be more tricky going downstream. Can't comment on ease of passage of the Droitwich though.

Edited October 10, 2013 by Pete of Ebor

[The Bagdad Boatman (waits)]

Check fuel filters, when was the oil and filter changed, stern gland grease, fan belt, fuel in tank, anchor and chain and fasten the chain with a good rope to the bow of the boat. It is no good under the bed if you need to use it, clean water in a bottle for tea. Upton is a rubbish mooring we used to stop at the Hawbridge. As long as the river is not in flood it is an easy trip. You might think about spending the first weekend on the G&S getting the feel of the boat.

Edited October 10, 2013 by The Bagdad Boatman (waits)

[colmac]

Hi, we live in Stourport on Severn within sight of the river. As boat owners with a mooring in Stourport basin we keep a keen eye on the Severn river levels. Just been out walking the dog by the river and I can confirm it is well within navigable levels. We have just got back from a 3 month trip on our narrowboat and travelled from Hanbury on to the Droitwich thence on to the Severn. This was our first time on the Droitwich and, although "fiddly" and a tad awkward at times due to the narrow bits and swing bridges in Droitwich itself, it was no problems at all. The section from the river at Hawford lock is a very pleasant trip with double locks which you would be going up. The only snag we hit was going through the wee tunnel under the M5. It is a tad low and we snagged the top of our cratch which was easily remedied. The good thing is; all the locks on the Droitwich are new having just been refurbished with none of the heavy paddle gear you normally encounter. If you have any misgivings about the Severn river levels, the best people to phone are the lock keepers at Diglis lock. We have always found them to be very helpful. The number is in Nicholsons. Hope this is of some help and have a safe journey ( remember to attach the anchor to something on the boat ! It is not unknown for crews to get the anchor out all neat on the fore deck and not tie it to the bow )

[Richard Fairhurst]

At Upper Lode the lock-keeper can't always see narrowboats approaching from downstream, and may not hear your horn. Give him a phone call (maybe when you pass the Lower Lode pub) so he knows you're coming. Hanging around in mid-channel in the lock cut there is a pain - better to head towards the walls and hold the boat there until the gates are open.

[keble]

At Upper Lode the lock-keeper can't always see narrowboats approaching from downstream, and may not hear your horn. Give him a phone call (maybe when you pass the Lower Lode pub) so he knows you're coming. Hanging around in mid-channel in the lock cut there is a pain - better to head towards the walls and hold the boat there until the gates are open.

I've also not been seen coming from upstream. Well worth phoning ahead :-)

[Keeping Up]

We couldn't make ourselves seen at Diglis this year. Coming upstream we hovered near the piling below the lock, and noted that the red light flashed a couple of times and someone on the gate waved to us, then the keeper emptied the lock and let a boat out. We moved well out of his way but then as we prepared to move in, he shut the gates and refilled the lock. We had tried unsuccessfully to radio him, and we hung around for a bit, but nothing happened so eventually we phoned him.

 

He said he hadn't seen us. The flashing light had just been an engineer testing it, and it was he who had waved to us; ironically his visit was mainly in order to survey for fitting a CCTV camera. He hadn't heard us on the radio because he "hadn't been trained to use it". I wonder why he had filled the lock when nobody was waiting to come down? Anyway he said we should have tried hooting. Actually I had tried but my horn had chosen to blow the fuse instead, and later we spoke to another boat who had had the same experience an hour before us, who had been told off in no uncertain terms that on the Severn it is NOT acceptable to hoot at the lock keeper.

 

To the OP my main advice is don't worry about it and just enjoy the journey.

[Jus11972]

Thank you so much everyone for your invaluable advise. Lots of useful tips. Look forward to our journey ! Will no doubt be asking more questions soon!