Close Encounters of the Wild Kind!

Today, for my excellent behaviour, I was granted some reprieve! I was also given some spending money!! Not a moment too soon it would seem as himself has apparently been dreaming about me falling into the deep mud of the River Severn head first when the tide is out and waggling my little short, fat, hairy legs!! (They are NOT hairy!!)

Beswick Swan

Flamingoes

So .....how did I celebrate my get-away? I went off to find creatures one would not expect to find (at least not easily) along the environs of the canal system.

I went to Slimbridge!

So, what did I think? I'm not sure! There was every conceivable type of duck, swan and goose and, for sure, many of these I will never have the chance to see out of captivity. HOWEVER, the ducks that ARE indigenous to this country and I HAVE seen in the wild like smew, eider, mergansers, goldeneye? In captivity? As I say, I'm not sure. The enclosures were fine and they didn't have to worry about finding food or safety but ...... ? Endangered species - they are keeping some safe and breeding them so that has to be a good thing.

It was the only way I am likely to see these lovely, adorable creatures in the for-see-able future.

They have just introduced a female otter and her cubs + some beavers + some water voles in an area called "Back from the Brink". The numerous visiting children were really excited about all of these so if they grow up with a passion for the protection of these animals that has got to be a good thing .... doesn't it?

Watching birds in the wild from a hide? In my opinion the RSPB wins hands down.

So how did John spend his "time off"? He fettled and fa*ted! My entrance fee? "A small price to pay for a peaceful day", I can hear him say!

Sharpness

There is a section of river bank from a place called Purton to Sharpness where old barges have been deliberately beached in order to protect the bank from erosion. This one didn't make it as far as the bank!

Good old estuary mud! The birds love it! This was at low tide at the entrance of the old lock.

Looking up the estuary from Sharpness.

Looking down the estuary from Sharpness - the two bridges across the Severn into Wales can just be seen.

Friends drop by for Sunday Lunch

Gerald, Ron and Jane Cole joined us for Sunday lunch at "The Bell Inn" at Frampton-on-Severn.

Gerald lives in Addlestone and Jane and Ron live in Southampton but, fortunately for us, they each know people who live in Gloucester! John went to school with Gerald and Ron who, as is given away by the photo, are twins!!

Also fortunately for us all, it was a rare, lovely, warm, sunny day!

We all agreed that it was the best Sunday roast any of us has ever had in a pub. The pub overlooks the largest village green anywhere in England (or so the book says!) and, it was no surprise that out came the cricketers! Like policeman, some of them seem to be getting younger and younger!

It was really good to see them - all looking very well - even Jane who is recovering from having her appendix removed!! Thanks guys (and Jane!) for making the effort to come and see us.

We have moved on since to Sharpness where there are truly magnificent views of the estuary but I will not attempt to download any at the moment because internet connection here is very weak.

Mixing with the Big Boys!!

Hurray! After about a week and a great deal of hastle we again have internet connection! Fingers crossed that things are now back to normal!

We are about half way down the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal at a place called Saul Junction where there used to be a link across the Cotswolds to the River Thames. The canal is under restoration. I only hope I live to see the restoration complete!

This canal was built to by-pass the shallow, tidal section of the lower River Severn so that big vessels could safely get to Gloucester Docks and then back out to sea again. It is only 16 and a half miles long but it is wide and deep and so, despite not having a current, it feels more like a river. There are no locks but there are lots of swing bridges operated by BW staff.

It is SO my kind of place!!

• A huge variety of craft to see going by - narrowboats, widebeams, all sorts of different barges, large sea-going cruisers, sailing boats and - the chance of a fabulous tall ship as seen in the picture.
• A wide, well-maintained towpath with, in places, fantastic views over the Severn estuary and the Forest of Dean to the West and the Cotswold Hills to the East.
• Lovely quiet lanes and villages to explore either on foot or on the bikes.
• Masses of footpaths (not always maintained that well I have to say!) for walking Maggie.
• Mandarin ducks visit the galley window every day.

Just as well we like it because we need to spend about a month here!! After the appalling rainfall of yesterday I was beginning to think that we would be stranded here all Winter!

Looking across the Severn Estuary towards the Forest of Dean.

Gloucester

"Dr Foster went to Gloucester

In a shower of rain

He stepped in a puddle right up to his middle

And never went there again."

Well, clearly he did because he has been making a very good living in the catering trade here at Gloucester Docks.

The Dock area is really interesting. Thankfully, most of the old, magnificent warehouses

have been saved. The Inland Waterways Museum is housed in one of them. LOTS of ££ are being invested in the re-development of the dock area. A big attraction is a very posh retail outlet centre called "Gloucester Quays". Already coach loads of punters are coming here. From a tourism point of view the area still has lots of untapped potential which I hope will be handled appropriately.

Gloucester City itself is within easy walking distance of the docks. Mark (as in Henry) didn't have a good word to say about Gloucester and I don't really know why. From an architectural point of view the cathedral is absolutely beautiful. It is a huge city! There are SO many shops! All too big for me really. I even went into my first Primark today!! (Just to see what all the praise was about really.)

There were lots of flower displays about and the pedestrianised streets seemed to be clean and tidy. We did, however, notice a high presence of police and community officers so what is this saying?

The 'Mystery' of the disappearing blue marker

It's not a mystery really! We are now experiencing something new - being on tidal waters on our own boat. We have left Tewkesbury and are now on the Mighty River Severn heading downstream towards Gloucester. Being the responsible people we are (!) we have dusted off the life jackets, Maggie's included. No point having them and not using them.

And:- it is pouring with rain!

And:- high tides are expected over the next few days!

Why do these things always seem to happen to us?

A 'cheerful' bit of news on the local radio this morning reminded listeners that it was two years ago today that a month's worth of rain fell in 24 hours causing all that devastating flooding in this area!

HOWEVER -

We have:-

• 'big' skies which I know Mrs Elliot would like
• a wide, empty river very condusive for easy steering (Mr Elliot would like this!)
• turbulance, waves and water going the wrong way twice a day and this is accompanied by the temporary disappearance of John's blue marker!
• ducks desperately trying to swim against the current when the tide is not coming in, getting no-where until they turn around and then ....... whoosh! Gone!
• a complete absence of any other boats on the move and this is really quite spooky!

We are aiming to make our way into Gloucester on Wednesday. We have been told that we need to arrive when there is minimum turbulance and little debris created by the tide. Watch this space!!!

Tewkesbury

Well, despite initial concerns about yet another river festival we have had a really nice weekend here in Tewkesbury.

Ken (Lord Kenneth) & Sandra (Lady Sandra) on Kesandra ("The Floating Palace") caught up with us on Friday afternoon and, whilst we were out and about in Tewkesbury searching for brass knobs (!!!) breasted up to us. Ken later said that it was a new experience for him and one that he didn't much like!!!

I must say that I think all this living on such a palatial vessel is somewhat going to their heads and that they are now getting a little carried away!

They are even beginning to think about getting a royal guard dog!

Sorry Rebecca. Sorry Samantha. They simply can't have this one because she's ours. She has, however, been welcomed on board "Kesandra", and, you never know, she might just have left a royal flea behind on that big back deck somewhere!

All joking apart - we had a really good weekend together. The Water Festival was quite low-key - local people have spent the last two years trying to pick up the pieces from all the devastation caused by the floods of 2007. It was, however, a really good Family Fun Day based around the water. There were water based races for children, mums and dads and teachers! There were fun-fair type stalls, some live entertainment, an illuminated boat competition which was really well supported and an excellent firework display to end the event.

Over the weekend Sandra & I went to have a really good look around Tewkesbury Abbey - the architecture of which is simply phenomenal. Whilst we were away Ken and John drank too many beers and, in the evenings, we all drank too much red wine!!! Thank you Ken & Sandra for your good company, your support re our boating shortcomings (!) and your great sense of humour.