Strensham to Saul...and tips?

[midnight-lady]

Hi

 

I will be moving single handed from Strensham to Saul Junction marina on saturday in my battered old 50' narrowboat.

 

I'm pretty nervous about this......not had good lucknon the Severn before.

 

Any advice?

 

jo

[bottle]

Have mobile phone charged and handy, the number of Gloucester Lock in its memory.

 

Check the weather before setting off and contact Gloucester Lock for any updates, news advice.

 

We will have a lot of rain over the next few days, the river may/will be high, again Gloucester Lock will advise.

 

When on the river do not forget to contact Gloucester Lock when the signs tell you to, so that they know you are coming and get the lock ready

 

Before all that give the engine and gearbox a check over, oil,water drive belts etc.

[PaulG]

Hi - part of this is easy as all of the locks apart from Strensham are manned.

 

There will be a fairly big tide on Saturday - about 10.30 am BST at Sharpness, so the Severn below Upper Lode will be affected by this.

I think the earliest you would expect to get out of Upper Lode Lock would be between 12.30 and 1.30.

Suggest you call the lockie at Upper Lode and see what he thinks (01684 293138).

 

This still gives you time to get to Gloucester as the river will be running faster with the ebb tide.

The current should have reduced by the time you get to Gloucester, depending how much "fresh" is in the river.

Possibly worth chatting to the lockie at Gloucester as well (01452 310832)

 

You can check River Severn levels here:

 

http://www.cruisingschool.co.uk/location/river%20severn%20levels.htm

Have a good trip!

[The Bagdad Boatman (waits)]

if you have to wait for the Gloucester lock then you have to hang onto a chain on the long curved wall think about how you will loop a rope round the chain and back to the boat without being pulled off the back of the boat by the current.

[PaulG]

if you have to wait for the Gloucester lock then you have to hang onto a chain on the long curved wall think about how you will loop a rope round the chain and back to the boat without being pulled off the back of the boat by the current.

You need to call the lockie at Upper Parting anyway, so it's a good idea to tell him that you are singlehanded and therefore limited in your ability to grab chains.

Hopefully you will then be rewarded by the sight of a green light and a set of open lock gates when you come round the corner!

[midnight-lady]

Ok thats scared me.

 

I should have stuck to the canals.

[bottle]

and if you do have to 'grab the chains' do it with the stern rope, make sure rope is attached to the boat

[midnight-lady]

Yep....that would be daft otherwise

 

Wouldn't put it past me though....brain is going with age

[john6767]

We went down at the beginning of June the day after Upper Lode opened after high river levels, the river was flowing quite/very fast. When I called up Gloucester Lock at Upper Parting, the lock keeper was very keen that we did not have to stop on the wall, and said he would hold the cruiser ahead us in the lock, and I should not back off on the power and to hug the wall all the way down to the lock.

 

Coming round the corner the lock was open and ready, and I went into the lock at quite a speed, the guy on the cruiser did not look impressed! As soon was the bow as in the lock I backed off, the lock is quite long so there is time to stop. You don't want to be going slowly in front of the lock when there is any decent flow on.

 

If you are unsure why this is a relatively big deal look at the satellite view of the lock, and you will see that the river goes off to the right directly in front of the lock, and there is a danger of getting dragged down that channel. I think a few do end up down there each year.

 

My point in all this is that the lock keepers and Upper Lode and Gloucester will look after you.

[craftycarper]

Yep....that would be daft otherwise

Wouldn't put it past me though....brain is going with age

. I would get a list of all the locks phone numbers on the severn before you set off, the upper loade lock will shut up shop if there are large tides coming up the river, we are getting close to a full moon at the moment so you should ring him first to see if you can even get on the river, secondly if you are a little worried and your not in a massive rush might be worth waiting at avon lock for a while and coming down with other boat,s and your third option would be to postpone your trip and ask on here for someone to come with you from the forum,if I had,nt already made plans for this weekend I would be quite happy to come up and take a ride down the river as long as I could get a lift back to my car after. Lastly I would say despite all the scare story,s you may here there is know reason to fear the river but always respect it,make sure you have a life jacket,anchor and fully charged mobile phone and you will be fine

[Rob-M]

Speak to the keeper at Tewkesbury (Avon Lock) before going through and tell him where you are heading, he called Upper Lode Lock for me when I went through in August and the lock was ready for me. As others have said phone Gloucester as you approach the Partings, there is a sign, and the Lock Keeper will tell you if anything is coming out of Gloucester and if he will have the lock ready for you. Most of all don't worry and enjoy the trip. Once on the G&S make sure you travel down to Sharpness as there are cracking views across the Severn.

[midnight-lady]

Thank you all... I have spoken to the lock keeper at Upper Lode and Gloucester and have changed my plans as bit so I can go on Friday with a friend (means using a day's holiday though).

 

I'm looking at my beautiful mooring here out in the wilds and wishing I could stay. It's heartbreaking to move but I can't face another winter of floods on the avon and it will be nice to have some other boaters around.

[keble]

Good idea! Enjoy the trip, probably see you around (I'm in Saul marina). Rob

[midnight-lady]

I should be there Friday night.. If you can point me at the pub I'll buy you a drink!

[bottle]

What pub ?

 

Only joking the nearest one is ¾ mile away on the Village Green

 

Enjoy the trip down.

Edited October 8, 2014 by bottle

[craftycarper]

What pub ?

 

Only joking the nearest one is ¾ mile away on the Village Green

 

Enjoy the trip down.

. But worth the extra walk to the other end of the green as I think the three horse shoes is far more like what a pub should be, the bell that you refer to is more for tourists though a large number of the marina inhabitants frequent it just a personal thing

[bottle]

Not been in either but from the outside, I would agree.

[craftycarper]

Morning midnight lady was just wondering if you have made the journey safely down the Severn yet, if so how did it go? I hope it was more exhilarating than terrifying for you