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Gloucester & Sharpness


The Maestro

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Do you mean a offside mooring that's not on the towpath? If not, I'm not aware of any free moorings. Towpath side - Yes, there's many suitable spots along the stretch which will allow a stay of up to 14 days. Though the popular spots such as Gloucester Docks & Saul Junction permit a stay of up to 2 days. 

If you're looking for something more secure then there is Saul Junction marina who are very good but charged me for a couple screws so good luck getting anything for free. :) 

Cheers

RichM

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18 minutes ago, The Maestro said:

Thanks Rich. Towpath side is fine but I need longer than 2 days, preferably without paying. I think you have answered yes to that.

Cheers, Paul. 

It's a canal with a towpath, so there are plenty of places that are the normal 14 day limit, just they will not be in the popular spots like Gloucester and Saul Junction.

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1 hour ago, The Maestro said:

Thanks Rich. Towpath side is fine but I need longer than 2 days, preferably without paying. I think you have answered yes to that.

Cheers, Paul. 

No problem. I'd recommend mooring up just south of Patch Bridge where there is a lovely pub named "The Tudor Arms". The moorings there have very nice views overlooking the Severn estuary. If you need to be further up north, there's lot's of moorings just north of Rea Bridge where you can also find the Pilot Inn. Though in my personal opinion, it's not a great pub on price, choice or quality of food.  - bit of a shame given its ideal position. Both spots have refuse bins and water points nearby, making them ideal for longer stays.

If you are travelling down the G&S and need an itinerary (Bearing in mind the whole stretch can be done in around 4 hours due to the 6mph speed limit along with the absence of locks) I'd recommend:

- Stop off at Gloucester Docks, plenty of bars, pubs and shops within walking distance. There's also the waterways museum  (2 day max stay)
- Head south and moor up at Saul Junction. There is a nice cafe here named "The Stables Cafe". They do good food but expect to pay for the luxury. Suprisingly they are owned by the same group who own the Pilot Inn. Moorings here can be limited during weekends. (2 day max stay)
- Head down further south and and moor up just south of Patch Bridge where you can find "The Tudor Arms" within short walking distance . Here, you can also find the Slimbridge Wetland Centre where you can see lot's of wildlife. (14 day max stay)
- The Graveyard at Purton may be worth visiting if you're interested  (14 day max stay)

Be aware of the rowers. They don't look where they're going and many don't know the rules of the waterways. It does make for light entertainment.

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Have a look at the barge graveyard at Purton too. It's interesting.

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/canal-and-river-network/gloucester-and-sharpness-canal

I've only been down the G&S once but there was something about it I really liked - and it wasn't just the lock-free cruising and manned swing bridges...

Edited by blackrose
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25 minutes ago, blackrose said:

I've only been down the G&S once but there was something about it I really liked - and it wasn't just the lock-free cruising and manned swing bridges...

I would second that. We went down there at the beginning of last month and really enjoyed it. Gloucester docks were fab, and Sharpness was interesting. The stretch between Sharpness and Purton is lovely with the views over the estuary. The pub looking over the river in Purton is a gem.

By the way, when coming down the river towards Gloucester early in the morning, Mrs S. and I saw rather more of you than we wanted to before breakfast...

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Patch Bridge sounds perfect. I would like to visit the Wildfowl Trust which could hardly be closer. Thanks again

5 minutes ago, blackrose said:

Have a look at the barge graveyard at Purton too. It's interesting.

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/canal-and-river-network/gloucester-and-sharpness-canal

I've only been down the G&S once but there was something about it I really liked - and it wasn't just the lock-free cruising and manned swing bridges...

Thanks. All sounds good.

Paul

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15 minutes ago, billS said:

I would second that. We went down there at the beginning of last month and really enjoyed it. Gloucester docks were fab, and Sharpness was interesting. The stretch between Sharpness and Purton is lovely with the views over the estuary. The pub looking over the river in Purton is a gem.

By the way, when coming down the river towards Gloucester early in the morning, Mrs S. and I saw rather more of you than we wanted to before breakfast...

That will be The Berkeley Arms, which used to have a reputation of the most miserable landlord ever, but has now improved somewhat. 

Greatest shame was when The Berkeley Hunt, which was the big white farmhouse by the Lower Purton Bridge, closed. That was a wonderful characterful old world pub run by "Aunty Kath". Beer served from the back kitchen over a serving plank in the hall, home made cider only served in halves if she didn't know you, and some wonderful Double Gloucester cheese with bread and pickled onions if she was in a good mood.

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1 hour ago, billS said:

I would second that. We went down there at the beginning of last month and really enjoyed it. Gloucester docks were fab, and Sharpness was interesting. The stretch between Sharpness and Purton is lovely with the views over the estuary. The pub looking over the river in Purton is a gem.

By the way, when coming down the river towards Gloucester early in the morning, Mrs S. and I saw rather more of you than we wanted to before breakfast...

:lol: Me? Was that on the Severn? 

Edited by blackrose
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9 hours ago, Mac of Cygnet said:

Has the scheme to allow boaters to control bridges by phone come in yet?

No, it's a bit if a joke to be honest. I understand they trialled it on one of the bridges but I never found out what came of it. (if anything) Working in the industry responsible for making this technically possible, I'd go as far as saying it's a bridge too far and they'd be better off finding a compromise using technology that has been in use for decades. 

Even if they do implement it, many people will be unable to use it. Many (particularly older folk) still don't even have smart phones let alone know how to use one. It would perhaps be more feasible to make all bridges remote controlled with heavy use of CCTV and have a single control centre (Netheridge Bridge?) whereby they can open/close the bridges remotely. A few bridges already have this capability so it's a tried & tested process that they could easily expand. If they were to do this, they could probably afford to extend their opening hours given their wage bill will be significantly reduced. The current summer schedule of 8:00-19:00 is not much good to me given I work 9:00-17:30 Mon-Fri and I'm sure there's many others in the same boat... :mellow:

Of course, the bridge keepers for the most part do an excellent job and form part of the history of the G&S but given the current funding issues the CRT face, along with the drawbacks/constraints of the current system and also when considering the alternative options available here in 2017, it could perhaps be argued that they're no longer a necessity. 

RichM

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2 hours ago, RichM said:

No, it's a bit if a joke to be honest. I understand they trialled it on one of the bridges but I never found out what came of it. (if anything) Working in the industry responsible for making this technically possible, I'd go as far as saying it's a bridge too far and they'd be better off finding a compromise using technology that has been in use for decades. 

Even if they do implement it, many people will be unable to use it. Many (particularly older folk) still don't even have smart phones let alone know how to use one. It would perhaps be more feasible to make all bridges remote controlled with heavy use of CCTV and have a single control centre (Netheridge Bridge?) whereby they can open/close the bridges remotely. A few bridges already have this capability so it's a tried & tested process that they could easily expand. If they were to do this, they could probably afford to extend their opening hours given their wage bill will be significantly reduced. The current summer schedule of 8:00-19:00 is not much good to me given I work 9:00-17:30 Mon-Fri and I'm sure there's many others in the same boat... :mellow:

Of course, the bridge keepers for the most part do an excellent job and form part of the history of the G&S but given the current funding issues the CRT face, along with the drawbacks/constraints of the current system and also when considering the alternative options available here in 2017, it could perhaps be argued that they're no longer a necessity. 

RichM

I thought remote control from a control centre that you could contact on VHF was part of this for those with no smart phone.  Perhaps just that would be enough to hit some of the objectives, for the lesser used bridges at least.

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