Bidford on Avon

We expected a peaceful stay at Bidford, a small town with no ground breaking historical Abbey to talk about. However as always we did learn something new. The only mooring was outside the pub (The Frog, very nice and to be recommended, lovely view from the window) but they were hosting an event that evening. Bell boat racing.

We first saw a ‘bell boat’ while we were at Woverly on the Staffs and Worcester canal. Although at the time, we didn’t realise what they were. Twin canoes catamaran style for 8-12 plus a helmsman. We’ve seen them several times since, always full of happy people having a good time. This time we got to talk to the person obviously in charge. Andy Train, his father, David created Bell Boats. Andy represented Great Britain as an Olympic canoeist in the 80‘s and David was on the coaching team. He wanted something motivational, to encourage team work, that everyone young, old and the less able could enjoy. The company has a strong environmental conscience raising awareness that the best way to solve a problem, be it global or local is to work together as a team. By working together we can achieve great things.

Unwittingly we were sharing this ethos as we were sharing a mooring with the same boat that had helped us up the locks on our first day up the Avon