Great Western Coffee Shop

Leave Bristol floating harbour at 05:30 Tuesday 18th and make way into Cumberland Basin and the entrance lock.

Dropped down onto high water at 06:00 and set off in the dawn light down the Avon. No other boats, river totally calm. Saw either the 06:21 or 06:39 at Sea mills, probably the latter didn't appear to stop, is Sea Mills a request stop?

Then informed Avonmouth Signals of our passage got the reassuring message all clear no commercial traffic about so clear to Portishead. Turned West at the entrrance for the quick run into Portihead. Making sure you don't let the ebb drag you past the seaward end of the breakwater. Lock against as we arrived but opened to let some fishing boats out and us in. Moored had breakfast, went to Waitrose for papers and my cousin used the showers.

At 14:15 we made our way back to teh sea lock and pick up our pilot Bill who was to take us to Sharpness. propmpt at 14:30 were let out into the Bristol Channel. A 50' narrow boat is quite small in the vastness!

You have to cross the main shipping lane to Portbury and Avonmouth looking down channel
there was a small but much larger than us coaster coming up channel so hard down on the throttle as we dashed across. I understand provided the bearing of the approaching vessel is changing you won't be hit so I was pleased to see that were bearing away.

After that it's under the middle of the lower  bridge (new) and a skirt towards Wales to pass under the upper bridge (old). Water was dead calm apart from a bit of tidal eddies visability was up to 20 miles we could see the silos at Sharpness from the old bridge.

Cross to the Olbury side using the power staion as a marker, then along the English shore into Sharpness.  The pilot took the tiller for this bit as the way the jetties are positioned the tide flows through them  and if you aren't carefull you can be swept past the entance. As those unfortunte petrol barges that destroyed the old rail bridge further upstream discovered.

So it's hard a starboard and full throttle, then you're in the calm again. Into the huge sea lock, to be lifted into the basin. One small narrow boat and millions of gallons of water.

Then a very very quite mooring at the start of the Glouster and Sharpness canal.

The fiollowing day and an 07:40 start gets you to the first of many swing bridges just for 08:00 their opening time. All are manned and open in front of you as you approach.

Apparently at one time it was the widest and deepest canal in the world so for a narrow boat it's paradise.

Moored in Gloucester in time for luch.

Caught the the train home.

Why expensive, well with Harbour charges at Bristol and Portishead plus the pilot a tad over ^200. 

Many thanks for posting that account ... something I've often thought I would like to do sometime if I ever got the opportunity (Best I ever did was Narrow Boat on low loader from Alvechurch (a station where the service has risen from twice a day to twice an hour - it CAN be done!) to the Floating Harbour.