Month: August 2024

Pershore


A gentle 9 mile, 3 hour cruise, river cruising at its best. The Avon doesnt feel like a wide super highway that parts of the Severn or Trent do.  It meanders through pretty farmland, it’s peaceful and calm- at least on a sunny day like this.

River Avon


I was taking part in the annual international spinning challenge known as the Tour De Fleece, which runs along side a certain french bike ride. So with such favourable conditions I got my little electric spinning wheel out and sat atop the boat and spun my yarn.

Spinning a yarn


We must have been feeling very energetic mooring alongside the Pershore Recreational Ground,

Pershore Rec, a really good mooring


France was at it again with little football competition going on, The club house, only 100m across the grass,  was showing the matches live, whilst I was watching “live” on iplayer, so hearing the cheers a second or two before I saw a goal was scored rather spoilt the anticipation, but at least we knew when to look up at the screen.

Looking out from the boat we saw the leisure centre to our left and the football club behind the tree, with the Abbey beyond.

The Pershore leisure centre is also part of the Rec grounds so we took the opportunity for a swim as the pool was right on our doorstep. I’d have liked to have gone paddle boarding as well but we just had to watch this group having a good time.


Our friends John and Tina joined us for the day and we all walked over to Pershore Abbey. Another Benedictine monastery that has undergone mixed fortunes over the  centuries, but survived to remain a sanctuary of peace and wonder. My photos don’t do justice to how if feels inside a building like this.

Inside Pershore Abbey


Of course not everyone shares my love of heavenly old churches, sometimes nature can be just as inspiring and dramatic and moments later those black clouds broke and the heavens opened.

Quick, batton down the hatches cause there’s a lotta rain about to fall

Most of the mooring on the Avon is restricted to 2 days, so we begrudgingly moved on. Attempting to stop at the water point at the opposite end of the Rec. If there’s anything we like to have a good grouch about its overgrown mooring places, today it was an  over-hung water point. Eric couldn’t see where the tap actually was to get in, so it was lucky I’d walked along and was able to call him in. So whilst Firecrest was being filled up Eric got the secateurs out and gave the weeping willows a good haircut.

Good deed for the day


Hopefully the next boaters along will appreciate the extra visibility. Our next stop was exactly what we love about a mooring. Beautifully maintained grass just perfect to sit on. (And do more outdoor spinning)

Great Comberton rural mooring

And a stretch of river so clear you could see the fish nibbling the boat,

Enough for dinner I think.

And warm enough to tempt me in for a bit of wild swimming. In fact when we told our friends from Wawick about the swimming, they jumped in their car to join us for a dip

Me, James and Maggie enjoying a refreshing dip

Yes we like river cruising

Sunset at Great Comberton


Next stop Tewkesbury

Crossing the river in Evesham

Workman Gardens in Evesham is a super place to moor,

The End of the Wall at Workman Gardens

lots to see and nice and close to walk over the bridge into town. I didnt expect to see a whale in Evesham, but there it was in the gardens, albeit a scaled down sculpture.


Crossing over the river into the town, we found ourselves in the Abbey gardens. The Norman Abbey was built in the early 700s, it was huge, almost a town in its own rights, not only a place of worship but providing employment, health care and education and a reason for Evesham to thrive. Shamefully, it was razed to the ground during the 16th century dissolution of the monasteries, but the newly built clock tower was saved.


There’s some fascinating history in Evesham, most famously the Battle of Evesham where Simon De Montfort was fighting for democracy, in the belief that the common people would be less resistant to paying taxes if they had representatives negotiating on their behalf, as opposed to the king, (Bad King John at the time) just helped himself.

Lots of interesting little places to explore in Evesham


We’d been leap frogging down the River Avon with some lovely narrowboats all chug chugging their way to the river festival and a Russell Newby convention (big traditional thud thud engines, that are beautifully maintained and usually housed in an engine room for ventilation, ) despite Eric having a beer belly, he doesn’t smoke a pipe, have a beard or keep his brass polished so we moored at the opposite end of the gardens so as not to draw too much attention. But it looked like we were going to be in for a lively weekend

looking downstream, Firecrest is moored just where the River disappears from view


As more and more boats appeared, signs went up on the towpath saying “closed from 9am Saturday morning”  We were a bit confused by this, what was closed? There was reserved mooring notices at one end for the RN boats, but nothing to indicate if it was the towpath, park or the mooring that was closed. And none of the organisers seemed to be able to give us an answer. Feeling a bit disgruntled we untied the ropes and cruised on, luckily only as far as the pontoon 200m away. And we soon realised why as the cruisers emerged from their marinas to join the party. We were treated to an array of boats in all shapes and sizes

Little and large

But the best one had to be the Dutton amphibious car enjoying a trip out.


Despite big expectations that the River Festival would be fun to watch, it turned out to be a bit of a damp squib, all the action took place on the short frontage of the gardens so we hardly saw any of it. At least the steam boats were all fired up when they returned home late afternoon


I stayed up way beyond my bedtime to watch the fireworks only to realise too late that the trees were in the way and I should have been on the other side of the river.

Still, we’d had a nice few days in Evesham and been visited by friends who live locally. Look out Pershore, we’re coming your way.