A Watery Graveyard

On Sunday (August 18th), marine historian Paul Barnett led a group of us on a walk along the river Severn to visit The Purton Hulks - boats deliberately beached in the early twentieth century in order to form a defense against erosion of the riverbank, and in so doing to protect the Gloucester-Sharpness canal which runs alongside the river at this point.

It was a lovely sunny evening and Paul was an interesting and enthusiastic tour guide, full of stories about the place and its conservation. The hulks looked atmospheric as they loomed out of the grass, or were almost completely submerged by it. Definitely to be recommended as a tour. As Kris pointed out, it was an appropriate time to be visiting a watery graveyard, with Saturn being in Scorpio and part of a grand trine in water signs!

After the walk most of the group drove a couple of miles to The Lammastide Inn at Brookend, where we enjoyed a tasty, good value meal and conversation. We caught a glimpse of Venus before she set in the west, and a hazy Saturn higher in the sky later in the evening.

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