Rapids, rain, riverside lunches and a few unexpected swims
On the weekend of 13–14 September, six Nomads headed to the beautiful River Wye at Symonds Yat, Herefordshire, for a weekend of kayaking, camping and, inevitably, a little adventure.
The group was Nigel, Mark, Thomas, Britta, Bryony and Ankit, with Nigel leading the trip. For Bryony and Ankit, it was a great opportunity to build confidence on moving water, with the more experienced paddlers keeping a watchful eye and helping us through the trickier sections.
The plan for Saturday was to paddle roughly nine miles from Kerne Bridge to Symonds Yat, enjoying the Wye Valley scenery before taking on the Grade 1/2 rapids at Symonds Yat. Sunday would be decided depending on how everyone was feeling after day one.
Day 1 – Saturday: Kerne Bridge to Symonds Yat
After the usual shuttle logistics, we finally launched at Kerne Bridge around 11am, heading downstream towards Symonds Yat.
The Wye was looking beautiful – wooded hills, open meadows, sandstone cliffs and, apparently, every canoeist in Herefordshire. The early part of the trip was relaxed, giving us time to warm up, practise a few strokes and enjoy the scenery.
Around 1:30pm, we stopped for lunch beside the river. Perfect excuse to eat, chat, take a few photos and enjoy the views before heading towards the main event.
We reached the rapids around 3pm.
The build-up was probably worse than the reality. Everyone made it through nicely, helped by some excellent guidance from Nigel, Mark and Thomas, who were always keeping an eye on the group and helping with the lines.
Then, having successfully negotiated the rapids, we apparently decided that staying upright was overrated.
A bit of playing around in the moving water resulted in Ankit, Bryony and Thomas all having brief but memorable upside-down swimming experiences.
Nothing serious – just enough to remind us that kayaks have a very different definition of fun!
A special mention to Bryony on her first Nomad club trip, who took on the rapids brilliantly and didn’t let the occasional swim get in the way of the fun.
By around 4pm, we were tired, happy and ready to call it a day.
Day 2 – Sunday: Going With the Flow… Then Against It
After Saturday’s paddle, nobody was particularly keen on another epic day, so we opted for a shorter trip downstream towards Biblins Rope Bridge.
The downstream bit was easy.
Then we turned around.
Going back upstream against the current was considerably harder. There were a couple of sections where the river really made us work for every metre.
At one point, Ankit found himself paddling hard for what felt like a full minute…
…only to look up and realise he was still in exactly the same place.
After a deep breath, following Nigel’s line and putting in a bit more effort, the current was finally beaten.
Somewhere along the way, we also discovered a rather entertaining riverside slide, which Nigel, Mark and Thomasnaturally felt compelled to test.
Because apparently kayaking wasn’t enough.
We eventually headed back towards Symonds Yat. By this point, the place was absolutely packed with kayaks, with boats everywhere and plenty of activity around the rapids.
We spent some more time playing around and doing a few more runs through the rapids.
This time, remarkably, nobody went upside down!
With everyone starting to feel the effects of two days of paddling and the crowds making things a little less enjoyable; we decided to call it a day around 1:30pm.
● Nigel – brilliant trip leader, keeping everyone safe, organised and pointed in the right direction.
● Mark – always ready to help, navigate and, apparently, test every riverside slide he could find!
● Thomas – great support on the water and somehow managed to fit paddling, swimming and sliding into one weekend.
● Britta – calm, steady, fun and great company throughout the trip.
● Bryony – first Nomad trip and straight into the rapids — handled it brilliantly!
Two days, plenty of paddling, beautiful scenery, a few rapids, three unexpected swims, one stubborn current, a questionable amount of sliding and lots of laughs.
Most importantly, great company and a brilliant group of people made the weekend what it was.
A big thanks to Nigel for leading the trip and to everyone for making it such a fun weekend.
Definitely one for the memory bank. 🛶🌊
Same time next year?
