18th July 2019 – Offenham Lock to Bidford-on-Avon
Offenham was a lovely surprise. It was very peaceful and quiet, but at the end of the day it was a lock and not much else. Whilst there was a lovely looking pub over the river, there was no easy way to get to it – so in the morning we decided to move on. The river was just falling into the Amber level which means sailing is possible but exercise caution. So we did. Our plans were not ambitious, we just want to see if we could moor up at Bidford-on-Avon which is only about 4 miles up the river, but has some basic amenities – and a pub of course!!
The sailing was good and the waters mostly calm. There were a few patches where the water was flowing quite quickly against us, but Arty pushed her way through without any drama. As we came into Bidford we were lucky, a single space on the right of the river allowed us to moor up – and there is water here too – so a great result. The moorings are alongside a huge recreation ground which is used a lot by dog walkers. The platform we moored to was recently underwater and so was extremely muddy – so a lot of that gunk will no doubt end up all over the boat!!
After getting over the mud and finding a way off the boat (easier said then done for Wendy!) we had a look around the village. We found a Budgens and stocked up a bit on provisions. We noticed that all of a sudden the toilet flushed itself a few times until I gave it a stern stare. Hmm, something to keep an eye on. It seemed that the local pub is being refurbed so was a bit noisy.
Our plan is to moor here tonight then fill up with water in the morning and then sail either to Luddington or all the way to Stratford-upon-Avon and get onto the canal. I am a bit fed up with the river at the moment so a canal would be a welcome relief.
Artful Dodger 