Marina reflections, Worcester

A relatively calm and sunny day found us walking through the cathedral city of Worcester near the Diglis Marina and the canal. I've photographed there before, trying to make something of the narrow boats, refurbished warehouses and the new flats that are meant to echo and complement the old buildings.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Gloucester - warehouse flats and narrow boats

Gloucester Quays is the fancy name given to the restoration of an area of Gloucester Docks. It includes a large shopping centre, places to eat, many flats (in converted warehouses as well as new-build), a college, ship repairers, museums etc. All this stands alongside the actual docks themselves which are home to sailing ships, motor boats and lots of narrow boats, virtually all being pleasure craft. The docks were originally built to connect the city to the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal and the River Severn, which they still do. However, their commercial purpose is no longer required and they have found a new purpose in the activities described above.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Rosie and Jim

Rosie and Jim were, in the minds of most British children, two rag doll characters in a T.V. programme. They lived on a canal narrow boat called "Ragdoll" in Birmingham, and each episode centred on their travels. The first two series were written and introduced by John Cunliffe (author of "Postman Pat"). It's no accident that two of the canal boats belonging to an excursion company in Skipton have adopted the characters' names.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Narrow boats, Skipton

The Leeds - Liverpool Canal is, at 127 miles, the longest canal in Britain built as a single waterway. It came into being two hundred years ago and is today a typical, leisure-boat filled canal, with the towpaths used by walkers and cyclists. Its dimensions allow the passage of boats no larger than 62 feet long, 14 feet wide, 7 feet high, and with a draught of no more than 3 feet 7 inches. Most boats seen on the canal are of those whose design derives from the canal "narrow boat". Like those at Skipton, North Yorkshire, seen in the photograph, they are often brightly (and sometimes ornately) painted.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

River Avon, Tewkesbury

The subject of today's photograph is one that I have returned to on several occasions over the years. Here, here, and here are just three shots that illustrate my previous attempts to get the best from the riverside scene. For this one the cow parsley provided a different foreground, the narrow boats an interesting middleground, and the Abbey Mill the usual background. However, the sky didn't co-operate quite so well as it might have done.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100