Well actually just an afternoon, but what an afternoon!

Collected by my good friend Mike we headed down to the River Severn at Purton. By way of a change no walk was planned but I’d determined that we should go and take some photos of the boats down there. These ships, to be more exact were rammed into the banks of the Severn there to help counteract the erosion of the banks by the river back in the 1930s. Now these hulks are a venue for people like Mike and I who consider them to be major works of natural art.

In the light when we arrived and at very low tide we could get the whole feel of the place.

Before we got to the hulks we walked passed a guy looking after his fire engine! An old Gloucestershire County Council four wheel drive little fire engine that was his pride and joy. He waxed lyrical about the beast as he tended to the doors of his “Fire House” garage, putting in extra insulation to keep it warm, no doubt. Walking on past a now empty pub by the riverside, sad to see the place like this. Last time I came this way a couple of years ago, it was overgrown but then still occupied, and as I understood it, the landlord used to open now and again when he felt like it. A bastion of pub landlord independence. Now it looks empty and to be honest, a bit desolate. There never was much passing trade in these parts.

Then to the ships graveyard. Some metal like this one and others wooden and rotting gently into the bank. With the view across the river, the plethora of birds and wildlife, there are few better places to while away a couple of hours with a camera. Back to base afterwards and chauffeur driven by Mike in his fancy car we both agreed it had been a grand day out indeed.