The Avon takes a very circuitous route from Stratford to Tewkesbury: places that seem a long way apart on the river are a surprisingly few number of miles as the crow flies. Leaving Evesham just after lunch on Saturday, we’d hoped to make Pershore late afternoon, as indeed we did, after a pleasant wander: it’s as bad as the summit pound of the South Oxford canal for changing direction. The river’s very pretty around here away from the towns, although you need to beware of traps like the rope ferry on the way out of Evesham. Three blasts of the horn several hundred yards from the rope, and a chap scurries out, winds a big wheel frantically, and lowers the rope onto the river bed so you can pass without decapitating anyone. Guess they can’t get that much traffic around here!

We managed to get moored up right at the end of Pershore recreation grounds, where it turns into meadowland. A highly convenient spot: no more than a hundred yards from the football club, the high street and an Asda.

The view out the back was splendid: these pictures were all taken from the back deck of Song & Dance on Sunday morning. The Captain scored this overnight spot very highly indeed; the crew slightly less so, as a local mate-seeking cuckoo and a family of sedge warblers were extremely vocal both during the dawn chorus (at about 04:30) and the dusk chorus as well (at about bedtime).

A complete contrast to Evesham, a sunny Sunday morning and the high street was humming, the coffee shops full of happy looking people: a nice place to wander for a bit.

In the Abbey grounds we came across a well carved tree.

The Abbey itself (or what’s actually left of it) is now a parish church. The industrial strength buttressing suggests it had seen difficult times in the past! And we can’t recall ever seeing a complete village war memorial inside a church before.

With a side trip to Chippenham Folk festival looming closer, and a date with a marina in Tewkesbury, we could only stay the one night, so a light lunch, and some more meanderings beckoned: hardly a chore in such pleasant weather.