UW Coronae Borealis (UW CrB) is a low mass X-ray binary that shows both Type
1 X-ray and optical bursts, which typically last for 20 s. The system has a
binary period of close to 2 hours and is thought to have a relatively high
inclination due to the presence of an eclipse in the optical light curve. There
is also evidence that an asymmetric disc is present in the system, which
precesses every 5.5 days based on changes in the depth of the eclipse. In this
paper, we present optical photometry and spectroscopy of UW CrB taken over 2
years. We update the orbital ephemeris using observed optical eclipses and
refine the orbital period to 110.97680(1) min. A total of 17 new optical bursts
are presented, with 10 of these bursts being resolved temporally. The average
e-folding time of
19±3s for the bursts is consistent with the previously
found value. Optical bursts are observed during a previously identified gap in
orbital phase centred on
ϕ=0.967, meaning the reprocessing site is not
eclipsed as previously thought. Finally, we find that the apparent P-Cygni
profiles present in some of the atomic lines in the optical spectra are due to
transient absorption.