Day 32 and 33 Tewkesbury

Tuesday 30 and Wednesday 31 July moored at Tewkesbury

View of King John's Bridge from the 1920s

Nice take on a municipal flowerbed on the bank near our mooring
 

The abbey church tower

 

 Abbey church and graveyard

 The tiny Avon Navigation Trust (ANT) launch

 Bridge over the Avon leading to Healing's Mill

Tiny and very sweet cottages, with heraldic banners displayed of various participants in the Wars of the Roses and other events associated with the town

 The Old Black Bear, the oldest pub in Gloucestershire and sadly closed and run down - we hope it finds a good owner

Recently restored 15th century cottages near the Abbey
 

 Abbey church

One of two windows created by Tom Denny in 2002 to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the monks’ arrival at the Abbey, the theme being the Benedictine motto ‘to work is to pray’

We liked Tewkesbury, an attractive small city with an amazing number of old buildings of all types from small cottages to imposing townhouses.  Many of the shops are in old timber framed buildings one of which is the The Hide, a friendly cafe with a South African inspired menu which we enjoyed.  It's a pity though that there are some closed up and run down shop fronts, not least the Old Black Bear pub.  We couldn't help but wonder what would stimulate more visitors to this special place.

Avon Lock at Tewkesbury was our first contact with the Avon Navigation Trust (ANT) which is responsible for safety and facilities for boaters and maintenance for the whole river.  A charity, they have a mixture of paid and volunteer staff.  We were impressed with their guide and with the live webcams at various points on the river that allow boaters to check conditions before proceeding.