I was recently in the area of my birthplace, Gloucestershire, driving along the A38 parallel to the River Severn towards the Welsh border. This is an area much travelled in my childhood and I thought I knew it well. Passing Lydney I saw a sign to ‘Lydney harbour’ and, not being in a rush, I thought I would follow it. The road passed an industrial estate and turned into a pot holed track (not promising I thought) and then emerged into a quite delightful scene. Here a canal just one mile long joins the River Severn. There are three locks between the canal and the Severn; on one side the water is cristal clear with underwater plants clearly visible, and on the other are the muddy brown waters of the massive Severn which at this point is a wide tidal estuary. The information board tells of the time when this was a thriving harbour bringing the coal and iron ore mined in the Forest of Dean (reflected in the town names sych as Coleford and Cinderford) by train and then by this little canal to be loaded onto the cargo boats in the Severn.
The harbour was still in use carrying freight right up until the 1980s and then became derelict when commercial use ceased. It is now being restored for pleasure boating. I am very glad I made the detour. It is what we are always telling our customers – don’t rush from A to B, get off the main roads and explore!

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