Monday 10^th June 2019

We moved further down the canal, passing through five swing bridges and a feeder channel that brings water down from the Cotswold Hills into the canal, to Purton. On the way down, the River Severn became ever closer. The countryside is quite flat but there are distant hills all around.

The two swing bridges at Purton are close together and operated in tandem with each other. Beyond, after a bend in the canal, the river is very close and only separated from the canal by the towpath and a line of trees. It had become quite windy and winding was a little difficult, but we winded and moored up.

Purton is a special place of interest. Just over a mile away from the Old Arm at Sharpness, the river here used to consistently threaten the canal bank with erosion and breaching. The solution was to ground the hulks of old barges. In the mile of bank, there are 85 of them. They were beached at different times throughout the 20^th century. They differ in size and construction, some are wooden and the bigger vessels are concrete built. While a lot of them have become completely submerged or covered in silt, an awful lot are easily visible and can be walked around and climbed upon. All have plaques beside them giving their names, sizes and a brief history. The sight of them stretching down into the distance is eerie.

     

The Severn Estuary at Purton and the Purton Hulks

     

We stood at the hulks and just drank in the views across the estuary, a wild looking place. The tide was surging in, covering sandbanks and the remains of one of the hulks that have been dragged from the bank at some time in the past. Across the estuary, we watched trains travelling the length of the river bank we could see. That must be a spectacular rail journey.

We walked to the first swing bridge and down to the river where there is a pub, called, unimaginatively, The Pub. It looked almost derelict, certainly forlorn, but apparently is a very atmospheric place. When it is open. The landlady keeps strange hours and is only open for three hours in the afternoons at weekends, and three hours in the evenings on weekdays. The view from the front of the pub though, is staggering, looking right down the river.

It came on to rain, heavily, so we returned to the boat. The evening, and all through the night was wild. Strong winds and heavy rain. Not unsurprisingly, we received a message from Gloucester Pilots cancelling our passage of the Severn estuary due to a poor weather forecast. We were due to do the crossing on Friday. They suggested bringing it forward a day, but we do not want our time on the G&S Canal cut short, it is such a lovely canal. The pilot said it could be well into next week before being able to next cross, but that suits us, we are in no rush.   

Weather: not a nice day. Windy in the afternoon. Heavy rain and strong winds through the night.

Day Total: 0 locks; 6 miles; 0 Tunnels; 5 Swing Bridge; 0 Lift Bridges; 0 Boat Lift; engine running hours 1.9

Overall Total: 539 locks; 979 miles; 46 tunnels; 22 Swing Bridges; 5 Lift Bridges; 2 Boat Lifts; engine running hours 626.3hrs