Return to Canal Cruising

We had a good run up the River Avon into Bath today.  The river was running slowly which afforded both ‘Tacet’ and ‘Chance’ an easy passage.  But first, ………

…… a photo we forgot to show yesterday.  We thought this was one of the best performances on the dockside in Bristol. (and yes it is a real man sitting down in thin air!)

The Space Shuttle is safe and well on the River Avon!

The dramatic Keston Park sitting high up on the hill overlooking the river.

When we reached Bath we thought we ought to do the “Pulteney Weir” thing – i.e.. cruise up to just below the weir for a tourist pic.  The lovely Pulteney Bridge, lined with the quaint little shops either side, is seen just above the weir.

Entering the Kennet and Avon Canal from the River Avon soon had us experiencing Bath Deep Lock again.

With the locks out of the way we left Bath behind.  The leaving is as lovely as the entering with all the Georgian buildings and bridges we passed.  The bright sunshine made it all the more enjoyable. On our way out we were pleased, at last,  to meet nb ‘Marpessa 2’ with Nick and Emma moored up and enjoying the views across the city.  We had a nice chat to Emma for about 1/2 hour – forgot to take a photo – sorry!

Ian and Karen on ‘Tacet’ stayed behind in Bath to do some more sightseeing and we carried on along towards Dundas.  The scenery along this stretch is very nice indeed.  We stopped and bought another bag of coal from the local coal boat. We didn’t get his name but he was very helpful, both with the coal purchase and to hold ‘Chance’ steady while James got down in the weed hatch to retrieve a bed sheet from around the prop! 

On arriving at the Dundas Aqueduct we decided we’d had enough travelling for the day and we found a nice mooring on the other side.  We had a walk down the Somerset Coal Arm, which has a very narrow entrance!

The terrific view south from the aqueduct.
The Dundas Aqueduct, like its’ twin at Avoncliff further along the canal, was built by John Rennie in 1805.  It’s a Grade I listed structure and, in 2003, had a £1 million refurbishment carried out.

Every piece of Bath stone used in the construction (except a few recent repairs) has a masons mark which allowed the mason to be paid for his work. 

Our mooring for this evening.  We’d been settled for a couple of hours or so when Ian and Karen from ‘Tacet’ came up for a chat. They’d called it a day and moored further back but came along for a walk with Jumble their dog.