Mill Avon fish belly sluice, Tewkesbury

The River Avon joins the River Severn in the town of Tewkesbury. A branch of the Avon, known as the Mill Avon, is a stretch of water that formerly turned the mill wheels of the Abbey Mill in Tewkesbury. Today it a haunt of small pleasure craft.

 In the 1990s the two old sluices at this location on the Mill Avon at Tewkesbury were replaced by a single "fish belly sluice". When in the "up" position this forms a weir: when "down", during a flood, water can flow freely. The control room for the new sluice was mounted on legs above the footpath that crosses the Mill Avon at this point.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Abbey Mill weir, Tewkesbury

The weir at Abbey Mill in Tewkesbury is a "fish belly" sluice that can be raised and lowered according to whether the river is at flood level or not. On the day of this photograph the sun was shining, the temperature was high and flood levels had been absent for several months. What was interesting, however, was the contrast between the water speedily rushing over the weir and the seemingly calm, reflective quality of it before it began its fall.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2