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Stopping on the Severn


Pennie

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Has any one had any success mooring on the Severn between Stourport and Worcester away from pubs or locks? Even if it requires a boarding plank.


I want to go for a trip and stop on the river for a night in the middle of no where (well as best as you can in the area). One of my favourite nights since boating was mooring on the Soar and I'd love to spend a night by the river again

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I think it will be impossible purely because of the size of the river. If I did find anywhere I don'think I would be able to sleep much for fear of ending up on a weir. 

It will be interesting to see if anyone has done it.

 

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This post is a few of my rambling thoughts   -  I have been up and down that stretch a few times and can not think of anywhere suitable.  The river level does go up and down a bit, and if it drops overnight and puts you on the bottom by the bank you could be in for a very long wait before you can move off.  Maybe you should go on a bit and onto the Avon at Tewkesbury.  I am told that you can moor on the pontoons by the river locks if you arrive just BEFORE they close and ask the lock keeper.  But someone else may have had the same idea, in which case you will be sharing.  You could go onto the Droitwich canal which has some quiet moorings just after the entry locks.  But I don't think you can turn, so you will have to reverse back to get back to the river.  Also the river banks on the River Severn are all private and don't have a towpath, so you might have problems from the landowner, assuming he evens knows you are there.

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You have to be more adventurous - when on (any) river, there are miles and miles of bank with poor access, but there are trees...

On my local we often size up the tree spacing an lasoo trees for and aft.

We certainly have done that on the Severn -

head up to current

tie to a tree and throw out an anchor on the stern - or to a convenient tree as above.

Loveley

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I have moored overnight on the lock mooring above Bevere Lock at the furthest end from the lock. Its pretty quiet, but still within walking distance of the Camp House Inn below the lock. Shouldn't be a problem if you arrive after the lock has closed for the night and are prepared to leave reasonably early next morning.  

I have also seen boats moored on the back of the pontoons at the Droitwich entrance at Hawford.

...

 

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I'm sure I've seen boats tied up on that stretch there must be places if you are really determined.   People complain about the lack of places to stop on the rural parts of the Thames but we've always managed to find somewhere and if we didn't have the dogs to get on and off it would be even easier.   I was initially mystified why anyone would want to dwell on this part of the Severn but whenever we've done it it has always been raining, there might be a certain appeal to it on a balmy summers evening...maybe.   

  • Greenie 1
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Yes those wonderful summer evenings are amazing on the river even in towns or villages. My first boating experience and mooring was on the river so it feels like home.

Determination helps when trying to Moor on the river. My collie will jump most gaps, never uses the boarding plank unless the rarity of a tired sheepdog occurs lol

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On 08/05/2017 at 19:44, OldGoat said:

You have to be more adventurous - when on (any) river, there are miles and miles of bank with poor access, but there are trees...

On my local we often size up the tree spacing an lasoo trees for and aft.

We certainly have done that on the Severn -

head up to current

tie to a tree and throw out an anchor on the stern - or to a convenient tree as above.

Loveley

 

Seconded. 

This is exactly what I do on rivers. Nothing beats tying to the branch of a tree leaning 30ft out into the river in the middle of nowhere.  I have a small grappling hook on a line I bung out into the bankside scrub to keep the stern from drifting out...

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I have often been tempted but never tried. There are loads of fishing platforms and i would have thought if you ferry glide gently in and tie carefully to trees you could probably find somewhere quite good, I just wouldn't try it if it has been raining heavily further North.

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I can't think of anywhere isolated that's sensible - even most of the pub moorings are tumbledown Heath-Robinson scaffolding structures ill-designed for narrowboats to use. Couple that, and all the other disadvantages pointed out earlier, with the fact that everywhere along a riverbank is someone's private land hence you will be trespassing and you're on a loser all ends up. The Severn is the wrong river for your idea imho. If you want seclusion it's not far away up the canal, otherwise treat yourself to a nice trip to the Weaver.

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You best bet for an easy but isolated mooring would be on the floating pontoon on the river below Hawford Lock at the end of the Droitwich Canal.  Yes it's near a lock, but not a river lock and it's pretty rarely used and there's hardly anyone round there.  The downside is there's no access to the bank from the pontoon, but that just makes it even more isolated.  It's a lovely spot on a pretty bend in the river.

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Yes those wonderful summer evenings are amazing on the river even in towns or villages. My first boating experience and mooring was on the river so it feels like home.

Determination helps when trying to Moor on the river. My collie will jump most gaps, never uses the boarding plank unless the rarity of a tired sheepdog occurs lol

Ive spent a night at that pontoon by the Droitwich once, it was a good stop but missing the laying out on the grass factor. Will probably give up on the Severn idea and wait till after exams and treat myself to a trip on the Avon

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2 hours ago, Dave_P said:

hawford.png

Doesn't that have a sign saying Private on it...?  I thought the only jetty you could use there was the one on the other side of the lock mouth.

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15 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

Doesn't that have a sign saying Private on it...?  I thought the only jetty you could use there was the one on the other side of the lock mouth.

From my photos (most recent 2015)I cannot see any notice on the pontoons but there is a No Mooring sign on the landward side of the lock entrance from below - there is a waiting pontoon on the opposite side. We have used the other pontoon on one occasion and seen others waiting there as well.

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1 hour ago, Pennie said:

Yes those wonderful summer evenings are amazing on the river even in towns or villages. My first boating experience and mooring was on the river so it feels like home.

Determination helps when trying to Moor on the river. My collie will jump most gaps, never uses the boarding plank unless the rarity of a tired sheepdog occurs lol

Ive spent a night at that pontoon by the Droitwich once, it was a good stop but missing the laying out on the grass factor. Will probably give up on the Severn idea and wait till after exams and treat myself to a trip on the Avon

The Avon is not really suitable for rough mooring, although no doubt someone will say they have done it, the banks are all private property.  It is not like the Thames, particularly the upper Thames, where you can moor against fields almost anywhere.  ANT do provide some very nice mooring locations though, some of them very isolated, the one at swans neck springs to mind.

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1 hour ago, Rob-M said:

Doesn't that have a sign saying Private on it...?  I thought the only jetty you could use there was the one on the other side of the lock mouth.

Last time I was there I don't remember any private sign.  In fact I remember it being signed as a CRT visitor mooring.

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3 hours ago, john6767 said:

The Avon is not really suitable for rough mooring, although no doubt someone will say they have done it, the banks are all private property.  It is not like the Thames, particularly the upper Thames, where you can moor against fields almost anywhere.  ANT do provide some very nice mooring locations though, some of them very isolated, the one at swans neck springs to mind.

I remember my dad stopping on the Avon as we ran out of petrol for the outboard and he needed to top the tank up which he never did on the boat. Within a few moments of him stepping on the bank a farmer appeared on horseback with a shotgun advising him to get off his land so I don't think I would stray from the recognised ANT moorings but as in say some of these are remote.

4 hours ago, Mike Todd said:

From my photos (most recent 2015)I cannot see any notice on the pontoons but there is a No Mooring sign on the landward side of the lock entrance from below - there is a waiting pontoon on the opposite side. We have used the other pontoon on one occasion and seen others waiting there as well.

I must have thought the no mooring was further along, not been there for a few years.

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