Down the Upper Avon to Bidford-on-Avon

Friday 1st August, 2014 at Bidford-on-Avon.
We both slept well, but M remarked that she wouldn't want to moor at Luddington again as the weir and the lock are very close, only a few yards from the mooring. The weir was so noisy that we closed the windows on that side overnight - the first time in many days that we have closed any windows.

One rather worrying aspect of these river moorings is the height of the mooring poles. The idea is that as the river rises, the mooring ring round the pole rises with you. These are called "Flood-Safe" moorings, but neither of us fancy being here if the river is running fast, six or eight feet higher than it is now!!

One of R's special breakfasts set us up for the day and we headed into the nearby lock. To our surprise, Cathy from nb "Jessica" next door walked across to help us through the lock (minus Pam the ferret). It was very sweet of her and much appreciated as the gates are very heavy.
The locks on the Avon are very big - some of them can take three narrow boats at once, and the turbulence as they fill up is very strong. Luckily, we are going down, so they are less violent.

The River Avon was made navigable in 1639 and enjoyed a significant level of trade until it was sold in 1856 and by 1875 it was no longer navigable. Restoration of the lower Avon started in 1950 and that section opened in 1964 but the upper Avon restoration did not start until 1969.  Finally, the whole river became navigable again and was reopened by HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother on 1st June 1974. Many of the locks were rebuilt by local prisoners, Army Engineers or, in this case, by boys from the local borstal.

Our progress downstream was quite rapid. Although the river is very low and not running quickly, you can certainly feel the difference in speed of going with the current.
At Bidford, there is a 15th century bridge that has seen more of its fair share of problems - including being partly demolished by Charles I after the battle of Evesham. Every arch is a different shape and size! The navigable channel is through the small arch to the south. Try to go through any other arch and you will end up literally "on the rocks".

Just past the bridge, we stopped at Bidford Marina for diesel. We were running quite low as the boatyard before Stratford, more then a week ago, had a "No Diesel" notice on its pump so we hadn't been able to fill up.
While we were re-fuelling, MM was visited by "Boris" a black and white cat who lives on a Dutch Barge in the marina. He was a very friendly puss and even came on board MM briefly for an explore.

We moored up on the other side of the river beside a large open park and then walked into town.

We found a very good bakery-cum-tea shop where we had a light lunch before exploring the town.
By the time we got back to MM, it was almost teatime so we had tea and a slice of excellent carrot cake, purchased from the bakery, sitting on our "Director's" chairs beside MM - before a rain storm drove us inside, the first proper rain for weeks.
Today: 5 miles, 4 locks and 2.7 hours.
Trip: 98 miles, 91 locks and 95.4 hours.