Sarah's Holiday

From Sharpness we sailed back to Gloucester where Sarah came on board for a holiday.  We all enjoyed a visit to Gloucester Cathedral with an interesting tour of the tower which included a bell ringing demonstration.  From the top of the tower we had some good views, especially of the docks. 

A view of the docks from the cathedral.  

 We had a good run up the River Severn to Tewkesbury and were pleased to find space on the best moorings.  Sarah and I enjoyed a potter around town before retiring to a cafe but we weren't calling in just for refreshment.  The Artist and Illustrators magazine had a list of summer projects, to try some sketching in a cafe being one of them.  

That evening we watched out for the moon.  It was the second full moon in the calendar month which made it a blue moon, as in 'once in a blue moon'.  The moon looked like any other full moon but I was pleased with my photo so here it is. 

The 'blue moon' over Tewkesbury

Our next stop was Pershore where Sarah and I continued with our art projects.  Sitting in the sun sketching the abbey, with a good brass band playing a variety of tunes nearby, was an excellent way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  

On the way to Evesham we passed the impressive mill building at Fladbury.

The mill at Fladbury

Less impressive and more precarious looking was the ferry at Evesham which crossed the river in front of us. 

The ferry at Evesham.  The wire for pulling the ferry across can be seen over the river, this had to be lowered down to allow us passed.

Sarah and I enjoyed a look around Evesham which has an abbey, a church with Norman origins which is now owned by the Church Conservancy Trust and some interesting Almonry buildings. 

The Almonry heritage centre in Evesham

We then followed the river walk and soon discovered some humorous comments on the signposts. 

One of the humorous signposts on the river walk

After our nights mooring in towns it made a change to stop at the isolated Offenham Lock.  The next day I had my camera ready as we approached Bidford Bridge.  In June a tractor crashed against the bridge wall knocking it and one of the supporting turrets into the river.  As we sailed under the bridge I focused my camera to see a man with a camera filming us!  At lunchtime we watched the BBC local news and there we were, sailing through, as they reported the traffic problems due to the bridge closure.

The cameraman, crouched down, is still filming as we sailed on.  

Stratford-Upon-Avon is a popular destination for boaters and we were lucky to find a mooring in the basin.  In the evening Sarah and I joined a ghost walk; our guide played an excellent theatrical role as he related ghostly tales.  The next day we visited the Mechanical Art and Design Museum which has an amazing collection of moving exhibits.

A wooden skeleton band in the MAD Museum, the players move as the cogs on the bar underneath rotate.

On Saturday Sarah caught the train home but we stopped for another day in Stratford.  We were surprised to see a large Sunday market materialise alongside the road.  After a walk around the market's interesting stalls I discovered the Royal Shakespeare Company Tower was open for visitors so I was able to take a photo of the scene.

The Sunday Market viewed from the tower.  Brent III is in the top right hand corner.

The majority of the tourist attractions in Stratford-Upon-Avon are linked to William Shakespeare so it seemed fitting to join in the spirit and see a play.  The Dell Open Air Theatre was host to amateur productions.  I joined the crowd sat on the grass to enjoy Romeo and Juliet performed by the Oxford University Dramatic Society.

Our journey from Sharpness to Stratford-Upon-Avon