On the Wednesday morning we left our mooring in Bristol harbour to collect Vinnie from the station. We could moor up a few hundred yards from Bristol Temple Meads Which was very handy.
We had been moored opposite SS Gt Britain, one of the many attractions of Bristol
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| Cruising through the Floating Docks |
The large ship on the left is the Thekla which is a cargo ship moored in the Mud Dock area of Bristol's Floating Harbour. Originally brought to Bristol as the Old Profanity Showboat, it was a late 1982 brainchild of novelist Ki Longfellow-Stanshall, the wife of Vivian Stanshall. Wikipedia
The first bridge we pass under is very low. John had to phone that morning to check the clearance (which is subject to variation) and this was then checked on each of the boats. John had to take a wheel off his bicycle, which was on top of the boat, to make sure it was safe to go under. Even though I had measured mine, I still thought I was going to lose the cowling off the top of my chimney. It was ok but with only a couple of inches to spare!
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| Cruising through Bristol |
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| Moored up near Bristol Temple Meads |
We pass through Netham lock which is the point at Netham in Bristol at which boats from the River Avon, acting as part of the Kennet and Avon Canal, gain access to Bristol's Floating Harbour.
Construction started in 1804 to build the tidal New Cut and divert the River Avon along the Feeder Canal to the harbour; a system designed and built by William Jessop and later improved by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.[1]
The lock keepers cottage is a grade II listed building and the lock form part of Bristol's flood defence mechanism
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| Hanham Lock which is the first official lock on the Kennet & Avon, opened in 1727 |
This was followed by Keynsham Lock which caused a few problems with its lock gates and not worthy of a photo. It was a rather tight turn though I remember to avoid the weir and a shallow draught for the mooring point. John got stuck a bit!
Then the rain started and after a long day we looked for a suitable mooring. They proved to be very few and in fact where we did moor seemed to be the only one for miles. It was just under the Bitton Railway bridge which is now used as a cycle way. Not the prettiest of bridges but a secure mooring, with easy access to some lovely farmland for walks with Tara.
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