Category: Reports

          Ten Nomads braved fog, weed and pathetically mild temperatures for a Christmas trip up the Thames at Laleham and down the Abbey stream. We stopped half way for an impromtu Christmas dinner enjoyed by all before carrying on to Chertsey weir for some lively moving water practice. By common agreement the prize for the year's best piece of seasonal paddling kit went to Richard Hilson's fluffy snowman 'willy warmer' on the front of his boat.

On the 13th of  November Ian Walker led seven nomads to the Ivel in Bedfordshire. They had a great time and some who hadn't been there before enjoyed their first experience of the 'high' weir without looking over first. Well done John, you're braver than most. Thank you to Ian for leading this trip.

On the 5th and 6th of  November Nick Moore led four nomads to the Dart in Devon, which they found at a very low level. Despite the lack of water, they paddled the loop section and played in the bigger rapids before bouncing down the riverbed to the Dart country park get out. Any more appropriate photos from this trip would be appreciated! Thank you to Nick for running this trip.

On saturday ten Nomads led by Peter Scott went to the Thames at Hurley to learn and improve moving water skills. It was a great trip, everyone loved it and got on well with the water and each other and there was sun to make it a lovely day out. Thanks Peter for running this trip.

On sunday seven Nomads and two friends enjoyed a beautiful sunny day on the Thames between Boulter's Lock and Cliveden led by Peter Scott. The river was flowing very fast making the upstream paddle a real workout. We stopped and explored a couple of backwaters on the way up before deciding to call it a day and have lunch opposite Cliveden house. The way back was much faster and we stopped by a raging Boulter's weir to have coffee on the island before finishing.            

Seven Nomads including Cathy, Myles and Peter on their first club trip had a great time last sunday paddling the Ivel and playing in the weirs. It was even sunny. Check out Peter's video above. The next trip is 13th/14th February to the Dart with Nick. His contact details were included in the email about this trip and are also on the sign-up sheet in the clubhouse and you should contact him directly if you're interested in going.

Despite the forecast for rain all day, 4 nomads member and a friend braved the elements and set out from Laleham on the Thames this sunday. Paddling upstream to Penton Hook lock against a slow stream the sky slowly cleared and it became quite a decent mild day without a drop of rain. Above the lock we turned into the narrow Abbey Stream and passed the mobile home park into wooded countryside with kingfishers and herons keeping us company. The stream was largely clear of weed with only a couple of fallen trees to limbo and we continued under the M3 to the site of the old Abbey where we had a pleasant lunch on a handy picnic table. Continuing refreshed we passed a couple of farms and country houses…

Four Nomads led by their President made the long trip to Devon on the 6th of November to paddle the Dart. It was raining on the way down and continued to rain overnight, leaving the river dangerously high on the saturday morning. We somehow managed to contain Ian's enthusiasm to paddle and instead did some safe sightseeing around Totnes. Sunday morning saw the river down (by 1.6 metres!) at a perfect level as we paddled the loop from New Bridge down to the country park taking plenty of time to play in all the features.