Gloucester

Gloucester, like Wells, is also a cathedral city and equidistant from Bristol, so, a prime candidate for another day out. What attracted us to it is that it's also a historic port. Looking at its location on the map, you'd never think a port of any consequence was possible, particularly when access is by the very tidal Severn Estuary (second only in tidal height to the Bay of Fundy) and Severn River.

However, when the Gloucester and Sharpness canal opened in 1827 it enabled the largest sailing ships of the time access to the docks and warehouses far inland at Gloucester. The canal was once the broadest and deepest in the world. 26.5 km (15.6 miles) long, 86 1/2 feet wide, 18 feet (5.5 m) deep and could take craft of up to 600 tons. The port still houses the most inland RNLI lifeboat in the United Kingdom.

Today the canal can be used by boats up to 64m in length, 9.6m in beam and 32m in height. On arrival, we weren't aware of these facts and in addition to the expected narrowboats, we were surprised at the size and variety of ships to be seen at the docks, including the tall-masted Sceptre, an America's Cup boat from 1958 (she didn't win).

The historic dock precinct is surrounded by old grain warehouses converted to apartments and other uses. It has been renovated and is now a popular entertainment area with many restaurants and museums surrounding the mooring basins.It looked like there are also a number of workshops doing traditional boat joinery.

The locks are still active, although only used by narrowboats these days.

There were also a few sailboats moored, not as many as we would have expected. Gloucester is probably one of those 'inside knowledge' destinations. It looked like a very well-protected place to overwinter. There were the usual narrowboats moored-up, this one with a sunbather on its roof.

We walked for a distance down the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal.

This lightship looked in good condition (currently operated as some kind of Buddhist centre) and was for sale! Any prospective B&B owners out there? We thought it would make a great, colourful addition to the Bristol waterfront, where a barge is already being used as a floating hotel.

Uptown from the Docks area, the town of Gloucester still has a number of surviving medieval and Tudor period gabled and half-timbered houses although most of the rest of the town wasn't much to speak of.