Bartimaeus

Last time we were in Stratford-upon-Avon the river was too fast and high to go on it. The guages were at red. We were pleased to see the levels at the locks were well in the green range this time. We also hadn't been able last time to see any Shakespeare so returning was definitely a must. We had certainly fixed that this time, with seeing a play, looking round the theatres and visiting places he'd lived or visited.

Since going through the lock we were moored on the river. Avon simply means river so just "the Avon" or "the river" should do, but such linguistic history gets lost and it is called the River Avon. It seemed nice and peaceful, with a gentle flow. We had some windy weather and there was a little buffeting but it felt very safe. Again the mooring, like in the basin, was only for 48 hours.

Shane wanted to go up to "the limit of safe navigation" and also we had established there was a pump out in that direction so we headed that way first. It was in a small marina, just through the bridges and a sharp left turn. It all seemed a bit tight for space. The jetty was too short for the boat so we had to use the middle rope, which is less than ideal. Unusually the routine was to tie up, walk along a jetty and press a bell to get the attention of someone who could sell you a token to operate the pump out yourself. After pressing, a voice warned me I may have to wait a while for someone to come, but a head popped out of a nearby boat almost straight away. Also unusually, he only accepted cash and was anxious about notes flying out of his box in the wind as he stood on a jetty looking for change.

Mission accomplished, we headed for the river. The map was sparse in detail and even that detail was out of date. The map even tells you it isn't to scale. We found a point that we thought was water and rubbish disposal but there was nowhere to tie to and no tap. We carried on - lunch would have to be later. We reached a point that might be near where we needed to turn back. We saw a great close up of a kingfisher, so that made it worth going that far!

Turning round was not straightforward. It was windy and this section seemed narrower. It wasn't obvious if it was wide enough. As Shane tried to turn, he found the flow moved him to a narrower point during the turn. He moved backwards. We knew we could at least just reverse to a wider point. He tried soon after, but again the starting point and mid turn point were not the same width and some greenery was in the way. He was getting the hang of it though and on the third time, despite a nearby moored plastic boat as an additional hazard, he managed a turn.

It was a relief and we were now going with the flow so we didn't have as long to wait until we returned to Stratford-upon-Avon.  With the flow bringing you faster towards the arches of the bridge and having only one you are allowed through,  the anxiety wasn't over yet and I wasn't even driving.

There didn't seem a lot of room. Not any arch will do, we needed the fourth one along. The arch didn't look very big but the flow should push you to go through the arch. 

There was now another pedestrian and cycle bridge, known as the Tramway Bridge, and the welcome sight of Stratford-upon-Avon ahead. We were ready to get lunch. We would soon be at safe moorings and a water point. These arches looked wider on this bridge and the one we had to go through was easier to see in good time too.

We had lunch, and got water, but a short trip away doesn't count as moving on. All the rings along here were deemed the same place. After two days there we had overstayed our welcome, even though we were paying to moor there. However Shane had received a message from Caroline, to which he wanted to reply. At Electrika, we had spoken to her and she had written down a list of things he fancied as improvements that might be done over the winter. At the time she had told us it wouldn't be until after September, but now that we were half way through September he had been wondering if he should ask her if she had any more of an idea about a timeline, or if indeed it was still possible this winter. It was getting to the time when we wanted to plan our next bit of travel and whether we should aim for Droitwich or plan where else we might leave Bartimaeus over Christmas. Marinas can fill up. And we had seen a lot of mistletoe in a tree this morning.

We had a lock to do, but he was keen to respond promptly, so he hastily sent an email saying we could speak after four o clock. The lock wasn't far away. The rules were to tie up to the side going through so more vigilance and fewer free hands were available there. I worked the lock but the placement of the winding mechanism made it hard to cross on the gate. Still they weren't too hard to wind and the emptying wasn't too fast so I was able to do a bit of winding and rope handling alternately. We met another boater coming in and he said they were all a bit different. I don't know if this was an easier or harder one. We only did one that day, and moored up before the next one.

Shane was delighted with the positive email from Caroline, but managing to catch each other was harder. The next day began with a lock and then we moved on to the next one, where we moored and had a walk. A few back and forth calls to and from the office, just missing each other and contact was eventually made.

Caroline is good at organising timings to make the use of the same hiring of a crane and we thought that might be the main reason to discuss timings, but she also had another customer buying an old diesel boat of theirs, who wanted to have a parallel hybrid system installed. They wanted to do what Caroline calls "white knuckle narrow boating", such as tidal rivers, not just canals and the parallel system gives you the oomph to do that. What perfect timing that she had a second hand engine looking for a new home soon! They are keen to maintain green credentials and are not in the habit  of just throwing out items removed from boats when the owners change.

The new customers were keen to try out the engine so she has asked us if we are happy to meet them and go for a cruise with them, on Bartimaeus. Of course Shane was very happy to oblige and be put in touch. Even better, we are on a river so they get to try going with the flow and against it, but hopefully it isn't too "white knuckle" at the moment.