Saul to Slimbridge

 

We left Saul this morning and stopped off for diesel at ACP Fuels on the old Cadbury Wharf at Frampton, as we had heard on the grapevine that it was 65p. At the other end of the wharf is Shipton Mill which is used for milling flour.

Arriving at Patch Bridge, we filled the water tank, then moored here for the weekend. The Black Shed was originally built in 1911 for storing grain, but is now occupied by Glevum Boat and Cycle Hire. There is also a Cafe and a Chandlery/Shop here too.

On our wanderings we noticed that the Tudor Arms was doing a roaring trade, including Chicken+Chips in a basket for under £5. So on this cool breezy day we treated ourselves to some for dinner and very good it was too. There is a handy touring caravan site behind the pub which looks almost full up. Shepherds Patch is such a busy little are, we like it here with so much going on. We spotted Mick with his dog Rueben on their boat ‘Nell’ and stopped for a brief chat as he was just leaving for Purton.

This rather nice wooden sculpture is a signpost with two otters pointing to Gloucester and Sharpness. The Flamingo points the way to Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust founded by Sir Peter Scott in 1946.There are a variety of wild flowers hereabouts and there are supposedly water voles living along the bank thus restricting mooring spaces.