Bristol, UK
Friends of Bathurst Basin met with Eric Dougall (Harbour Estate Officer) at the Basin on 6th May.
Eric agreed to have the name plate by the pedestrian swing bridge removed, refurbished and reinstalled at both ends of the bridge. The most likely name on the plate will be ‘Lower Guinea Street Bridge Footpath’.
The Cabot Cruising Club has been taking advantage of the lovely sunny weather and the easing of lockdown restrictions, with a couple of boat trips.
Our first venture of the season was up-river, to ensure that all boat systems and crews were functioning! About 70 people aboard 13 boats nosed out of the Basin on Saturday 3 April in glorious spring sunshine. Weaving amongst willow fronds, we pottered up the Feeder Canal, through Netham Lock and into the Avon, where we found groups of paddle boarders, canoeists and even swimmers! Read more “Carry on – Up and Down the Avon”
For two years Richard Finch, the chair of the Friends of Bathurst Basin, has been encouraging the Council to maintain the Basin’s benches which were in a very sorry state. Thanks to Bristol Harbour Estates officers Cameron Cheek and Eric Dougall one bench is now in fine shape (image above). Read more “Repaired benches”
The deteriorating condition of the banks of the Avon New Cut have been of concern for some time. Since January 2020, one lane of Cumberland Road has been closed because of the unexpected collapse of a section of the northern bank of the New Cut. This follows the closure of Chocolate Path because of similar New Cut bank instability. A section of the New Cut wall closer to Bathurst Basin is now showing signs of movement – as indicated in our image. If this section collapses, the effects on traffic movement into the city could be very serious. Read more “New Cut bank movement”