Sharpness - Gloucest Dock

Captains Log Canal Date 8th August 2009 Travels 16Miles (Loads of manned swing bridges) Current Location Gloucester Docks (Again) OS Ref SO 827 – 184 Lat – Lon 51.51’49.3N 2 15’07.5W Sharpness is a strange place. It is where the Canal joins the river Severn and is still a working dock. There is a wealth of industrial archaeology in the form of redundant warehouse buildings rusting and disused cranes, old rail & tram ways, old disused locks and dry docks. This must have been a busy place in its hay day. It is not the prettiest place in Briton but it does have a charm of its own. Once you move a few hundred yards along the canal to the visitor moorings the view of the tidal Severn is magnificent. So much so that we could have stayed there for a long time. BW has other ideas (7 day moorings) so time to move back along the Gloucester – Sharpness Canal. I am more than a little worried that without Pam & I supervising the river coming in and going out again it may forget altogether. It’s a hard life! I do like this canal, as I have said earlier; it is wide, deep and very quiet. I do like the feeling of power and importance one gets from seeing the swing bridges opening for you and the lines of road traffic patiently waiting whilst we majestically glide past. We made the mandatory stop outside the most covenant Sainsbury store in the world to do the shopping. (Not many super-stores have their own moorings) We are back in Gloucester Docks now, almost the same berth as before. It is a little strange to see so many people about. The other strange thing is the amount of Gulls here, much more than we ever saw at Sharpness. The next leg of our world cruise will be travailing up the Severn and heading for Stourport on Severn and then on to the inland canals again.