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Information about
the River Avon at Bath and Bristol and it's natural inhabitants!
History
The name
Avon derives from the Celtic word “Afon” meaning river. River
Avon therefore means “River River”. There are in fact 9 river
Avons in the UK and our River Avon
flows from its twin sources near Sherston and Tetbury, on the
South Eastern slope of the Cotswolds to its confluence with the
River Severn at Avonmouth.
It travels some 70 miles in total, travelling through Malmesbury,
Chippenham, Melksham, Bradford on Avon, Bath and Bristol on the
way.
Until 1727 the River Avon was not navigable to Bristol – it used
to be a series of streams broken by swamps and ponds, with
serious flooding onto surrounding land every winter. The flow of
the river is managed by a series of weirs and locks to control
the river at different levels, and has a well defined route.
The river was a busy route for transportation through the 19th
century, with its strong links to London through the Kennet &
Avon canal and Bristol along the route we take on our cruise.
The Route
The cruising time between Bath and Bristol is between 5 and 6
hours, travelling some 16 miles, and navigating our way through
7 locks on the way, at Weston, Kelston, Saltford, Swineford,
Keynsham, Hanham and Netham (Bristol).
We are able to enjoy the ever changing scenery along the whole
of the route, from the Georgian architecture of Bath to the
bustle of the historic docks in Bristol, and the countryside and
small villages along the way. Every cruise is unique, seeing
different boats and wildlife as we travel.
In BATH we leave our moorings at BROADQUAY, which was a busy
industrial area in the 19th century, handling Bath
stone quarried nearby, textiles, engineering, etc. and travel
into the centre of Bath to Pulteney weir, where we can get a
close up view of the city and the famous bridge.
Heading downriver we travel through the first lock at Weston
Island (sometimes called “Dutch” island, where Dutch workers who
were skilled in brassmaking came to work in the early 18th
century).
Then on past Bath marina at Newbridge (look out for the herons
and kingfishers) and through lovely open countryside to Kelston
lock, seeing the many different type of boats at Saltford
marina, Mill Island and Saltford lock.
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Pulteney
Bridge and Weir |
Abbey and
Empire Building |
Newbridge,
Bath |
Moorings
near Kelston |
Continuing through the Avon valley, and after the next lock at
Swineford, we pass the country park (can you see a llama?) and
the boatyard where our boat was built in 1988.
We are well on the way now as we reach Keynsham lock, the extent
to which the river is tidal from Bristol, past the chocolate
factory and old paper mills, and to Hanham lock (wave to the
people in the pubs) where we now take the final run down into
Bristol.
We travel through Netham lock – is it John or Phil (the lock
keepers) on duty today? – and along the feeder canal into the
historical Bristol harbour.
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Saltford
Brass Mill |
The Weir at
Swineford |
Arial View
of the Avon into Bristol |
Bristol
Floating Harbour |
BRISTOL has a long maritime history dating back to the 12th
century, and became one of the main ports of England, with
strong trading links with S. Wales, Ireland, Scandinavia and
later with the Americas and W. Africa in the 16th and
17th century. The expression “shipshape & Bristol
fashion” was used to describe wooden ships which were capable of
withstanding the strain of repeatedly being stranded in Bristol
on low tides, where the river would rise and fall some 30ft.
Bristol’s “floating harbour” was created by William Jessop
between 1804 & 1809 to be non tidal and controlled by lock gates
at either end, but ceased being a commercial port in the 1960’s
and is now thriving in the centre of the city for leisure and
business interests.
We will see much evidence of the city’s history and new
developments, with the famous “SS Great Britain” back in the dry
dock where she was originally built by Brunel, maybe the
“Matthew” sailing around the harbour, and the many new and very
smart apartments around the harbourside.
There is so
much to see in just a few hours – cruises can be arranged in
either direction – why not consider using the train for the
return journey?
We can arrange an itinerary for you, whether it is business or
pleasure.
Please
telephone us on
0117 904 3671
or 07854 870508
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