Martin's Mag.

The Gloucester Tall Ships Festival is held once a year. A number of tall ships, of which I know little, gather in Gloucester docks for a long weekend, which is spectacular and entertaining, if a little over-commercialised. Worth a visit, though, not only for the ships but also for some good “street food” and drink.

All the ships, and most of the smaller craft, arrive via the Gloucester-Sharpness canal, and it’s worth seeing them negotiate through the countryside along the canal during the days before and after the event.

Anyway, we did visit Gloucester on the Saturday of the event, which was good fun. There were, of course, many photo opportunities of imposing ships, but none different to all the others taken that day. So the following are here for different reasons:

First Big Saba, a boat often moored in the marina down the road from us and the boat S. would buy if we had the money;

Second, S.V. Ruth, a gaff-rigged Baltic Trader which I spent a few days on in 2006, with some drinking friends. We were going from Penzance to The Scillies, but the weather took a turn for the worse and we just pottered up the south Cornwall and Devon coast;

Third, a pre-war army ambulance, no particular reason other than that it’s not a boat, sorry, ship.

Big Saba.

S.V. Ruth.

Army ambulance.

Over a year ago we started walking the Severn Way, and did quite well, getting almost as far as Shrewsbury, from Bristol. There are some pictures HERE.

Because of the rotten weather last year, and this year, we never finished it. As we were in the area yesterday, and thanks to an invigorating night in the Wolverhampton Travelodge (motto: don’t knock it ’till you’ve tried it), we thought we would at least complete the path as far as north of Shrewsbury. Shrewsbury is very nice. It has the inevitable shopping area with all the usual chain stores, but the river follows a very interesting, and quite easy, meandering, walk around the town. We did about 12 miles, going downstrean to where we previously finished at Atcham.

Shrewsbury bridge.

Atcham, SE of Shrewsbury.

Cheltenham for a wander around the Leckhampton Road and Montpellier districts. Antique (i.e. expensive junk) and second-hand charity (i.e. cheap junk) shops, mostly. Also, lots of organic food shops. Lots in common with Bath – a bit “up itself”, but always nice for a visit. We decided that we could live there, at a push.

Cheltenham College crocuses.

Some local characters.

Cheltenham street market.

Spotted a small plaque (below) about Brian Jones which I hadn’t seen before.

Re Brian Jones.