Seeking information about the River Severn

[John P]

Josephine and myself are contemplating spending a few days making a mid-winter trip down the River Severn in our green rowing boat (the one pictured below).  We would be staying in hotels each night, we don't want to camp at this time of year.

Ideally we would like to start at Bridgenorth since information on the internet sugests that Bridgenorth to Bewdley is one of the more attractive stretches of the river. However, the internet also tells me that there are slight rapids near Trimley on this stretch of river.  On the other hand, from Bewdley right down to Gloucester is reckoned to be easy for any kind of boat, so if the rapids at Trimley are likely to be a problem for our rowing boat we should start at Bewdley, not Bridgenorth.

So does anyone here happen to know the river?  What are the rapids at Trimley like? (the internet says they are Grade 1 which is 'easy' but I dont know what 'easy' means).  Our rowing boat is probably a bit delicate compared with a typical plastic canoe, we certainly dont want to be bumping over any rocks. And we certainly dont want to risk a capsize in Winter conditions.

Advice would be appreciated.

[Paul H (admin)]

John,

I only know the stretch from Tewkesbury to Gloucester. In the Winter if it rains, the river turns into a fast, wide and high torrent. There will be fast moving logs and branches and the weirs will be buried by the sheer volume of water. Boats literally surf over the weirs.
It could easily flood and you won't know where the bank is or the buried tree stumps. In flood it looks fierce and scary - not the place to be in a small canoe.

My advice - pick your weather very carefully. It is no coincidence that Tewkesbury Abbey is the building not at risk; the monks knew which land was above the flood 1000 years ago.

Spot the river:
 

-Paul

[Bill Jones]

John - I agree with the caution about the Severn in winter when it is in spate or flood. I have cruised the river in a hired motor boat, and it is of course a major river, with fine places to visit. My only comments to add are first, that it has high banks, seriously limiting the view, and second it has big 'ship' locks where I imagine you would have portage your boat.

 

My cruise did not venture further north than Stourport -  as you may know a fascinating canal/river port.

 

I much admired your new boat at Beale Park.

 

Bill
Topper Cruz 'Arion',  Linnet 'Wandle', Torch 'Thrift'

 

 

In a message dated 12/8/2017 5:28:23 P.M. GMT Standard Time, [hidden email] writes:

Josephine and myself are contemplating spending a few days making a mid-winter trip down the River Severn in our green rowing boat (the one pictured below).  We would be staying in hotels each night, we don't want to camp at this time of year.

Ideally we would like to start at Bridgenorth since information on the internet sugests that Bridgenorth to Bewdley is one of the more attractive stretches of the river. However, the internet also tells me that there are slight rapids near Trimley on this stretch of river.  On the other hand, from Bewdley right down to Gloucester is reckoned to be easy for any kind of boat, so if the rapids at Trimley are likely to be a problem for our rowing boat we should start at Bewdley, not Bridgenorth.

 

 

 

[John P]

Thank you Paul and Bill for your comments.  It seems that the river Severn could be risky at this time of year and someone else I know mentioned the high banks spoiling the view along much of the river.  If we chose the River Avon from Stratford to Tewksbury would we be at less risk from floods I wonder?

The locks on the R. Avon look smaller and more boat freindly than on the Severn although I understand that several are out of action at the moment so we would need to portage, but that should not be any harder than with a typical double canoe.

If both these rivers are questionable for navigation at this time of year then perhaps we should consider canals in which case the choice seems very wide. Not having done much inland cruising (other than the HBBR Thames trip) I would not know where to start with exploring the canal network.

I realise that any kind of boating in the UK could be pretty unpleasant in the Winter so I am really only thinking of risks due to floods, not bad weather. If we get really bad weather I think we would just do the same trip by car staying at the same hotels we would have booked for a boat trip.  Mindyou that does not help if the roads are all blocked with snow!

John

[LASER41420]

Hi,
If it gets much colder you could fit ski's to your boat and go ice yachting!
Regards
Steve

[gregandginas]

OK - tried posting this from my phone the other day but failed:

Greg wrote

Hampton Lode to Bewdley is a glorious trip... and the only significant features are in a short stretch upstream a viaduct a couple of miles from the end.

We used to park river-right on the hillside next to the viaduct and there's a footpath from there to Eyemore rapids. Go and take a look. On a nice summer day they are pretty inconsequential...

If you would be happy running through Symonds Yat you would be happy at Eyemore

Now I'm at the PC I can share this sort of thing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uM3zwV8UuM

That's the hardest rapid on the stretch down to Bewdley... and so long as you stay in the middle of the strong flow it really is pretty inconsequential, especially at normal levels... but anywhere on any river it's possible to do something dim and end up in the water.

Would I recommend going this weekend? No - it's absolutely freezing even without being wet! If the temperature climbs to something more agreeable? Different matter entirely... but be sure you have a bag of dry clothes that will be with you if you mess up!

Greg.

[gregandginas]

OK - general thing on navigation: within reason, rivers are nicer the closer you get to the source!

The Avon can be navigated from Rugby and is really nice all the way down to Stratford. From there to Evesham it's also agreeable enough. You do get weirs... but as I recall, all of them can be portaged easily enough.

The Cherwell is another great touring river... but if you want something really straightforward consider the Soar:

http://www.soartour.org.uk/

Lots of other options... but that should do you any time of year :)

[Randonneur]

I'd also add, that flooding can happen at any time of the year, in fact summer sees some of the worst and quickest changing conditions!
Just look at July 2007...
You need to check forecasts and water levels, both which are readily available online. 
In your boat you can lift out easily and scarper, an option not available to many of the bigger vessels that just have to moor up and hope for the best.
The Severn Locks are manned,  and they have no issue locking you through. Some of them are almost physically impossible to portage anyway :-)
Time to read Jack de Crow again??

:-)

PP

[Timmo]

The Avon from Stratford can be lovely all the way to Tewksbury. All the locks are portageable, some are equipped with bypass routes for canoes that you could use. 

It does flood. Water levels can rise by over 10ft. But unlikely to be flash floods. You have warning and time to change plans.

If you've never done the Avon then you should do it sometime.

It has it's own licensing scheme, though BCU membership covers it.

Tim.

On 10 Dec 2017, at 23:44, Randonneur [via UK HBBR Forum] <[hidden email]> wrote:

I'd also add, that flooding can happen at any time of the year, in fact summer sees some of the worst and quickest changing conditions!
Just look at July 2007...
You need to check forecasts and water levels, both which are readily available online. 
In your boat you can lift out easily and scarper, an option not available to many of the bigger vessels that just have to moor up and hope for the best.
The Severn Locks are manned,  and they have no issue locking you through. Some of them are almost physically impossible to portage anyway :-)
Time to read Jack de Crow again??

:-)

PP

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[Chris Adeney]

The Avon is a lovely river and when I rowed on it last week it was still very low and the water was crystal clear which is unusual for this time of year. Also it has good Riverside pubs. One thing to watch out for on the Severn is that it is fed from Wales so a considerable head of water can come down from there even if there has been no rain further down. Cruising on the Severn this Autumn we were caught out by how fast and high it was even thought there had been no rain round here for a few weeks. Chris A.

[John P]

Many thanks to those above who have given useful advice.  We have decided to give the Avon a try during the period between Christmas and New Year.  I am planing a four day trip from Stratford on Avon to Tewkesbury with daily distances approximately 12 miles/6 miles/12 miles/14 miles.  The location of the stopping points is determined mainly by the availability of hotel/b+b accomodation.  I have found a webpage (http://www.gaugemap.co.uk/#!Detail/47) which shows a graph of the water level at Stratford. As Chris says, it has been low for a while, but rose a bit during the past two days, it's still within the 'typical range' though. We will keep an eye on this webpage and the weather forecast, if it gets too cold maybe we tie crampons on the oars and go ice rowing.

Will let you know how it goes.

[simplesimon]

You'll get more information on river levels here

Simon

[Chris Adeney]

Good luck with the trip. I hope to be on the river after Christmas rowing the turkey off so might see you on the Strensham to Tewkesbury stretch.
Chris A.

[John P]

Our plan to row down the river Avon were thwarted by high river levels so we toured the area by car instead. Relying on accommodation booked in advance for a trip of this kind does mean that failure to complete just one day plan disrupts the whole schedule.

It does occur to me that a canal route would largely avoid the problem of high river levels. Even so we may well try the Avon again some other time.

John