Cruise to Nafford Lock – June 2025
On 9th June 2025 twenty Pershore Civic Society members boarded Motor Vessels Corsair and John Grantham for a cruise from King George’s Field through Pershore Lock to Nafford.
The trip was blessed with partly cloudy skies and light breezes on the water. This was exactly the right weather for a trip of this nature. The cruisers met at 11.00am and were welcomed aboard by Avon Navigation Trust skippers Alex Mellor and Kim Bonk.
Upon embarkation, each member of the party was presented with a copy of PCS member Keith Goddard’s black and white slideshow showcasing Pershore’s Avon in years gone by. The passengers could not help but be struck by how little this pleasant part of our town has changed. Yes, the Watergate is no longer there, the deep lock is a different shape, and the Mill has been replaced by a new housing development but the meandering “S” shape of the river as it approaches first Birlingham and then Great Comberton is unchanged.
Picnics were opened and shared upon arrival and disembarkation at Nafford Lock. The lock itself was looking immaculate having only been re-opened by the Trust following extensive works over the Winter.
Residents and visitors to our part of the World alike very rarely have the chance to see our lovely town from the water (unless they bring their own boats!) and so this very special one-off cruise was of special significance to those lucky enough to partake.
We are grateful to Wyre Piddle based Avon Navigation Trust (ANT). Since the granting of a Royal Charter by Charles 1st in 1635, the 47-mile navigable part of the Avon has been the responsibility of ANT and its predecessor bodies. Stretching from Alveston Weir all the way to Tewkesbury where it joins with the Severn, ANT cares for 17 locks and weirs. The charity receives no public funding. Volunteers gave almost £100,000 worth of hours to the Trust in 2024 to allow it to remain the viable and successful charity that it is. A future visit to the fully restored and iconic Evesham Lock House, which is owned by ANT, is planned for 2026
