Symonds Yat Trip (Bank Holiday Weekend)
We will be holding a rather special trip over the bank holiday weekend; aside from the usual white water paddling and camping we will be bidding a fond(?) farewell to James “Jam” Fletcher (aka the “Dinosaur Man”, “Cool James”, “Flipper”, “Dorkosaurus Rex”, “Sir”, “Mr Fletcher” and a few other names which cannot be mentioned in a public forum) who departs for Oz next month. Apart from obviously being the coolest paddler in the club, James has spent many hours assisting within the club, providing (albeit sometimes unreliable) transport to just about everyone, acting as local tour guide (particularly in the Symonds Yat area) and generally being the “font of knowledge about all things”.
Date: Saturday 24th to Sunday 25th August 2013
Meet: 10am on Saturday at the Symonds Yat East car park (by the canoe hire centre; nearest postcode is HR9 6JL) or at the campsite by 9am. We will aim to leave Symonds Yat by 3pm on Sunday. Parking is about £4 per car plus £2 per boat per day.
Equipment: Club boats and equipment can be hired for £5 per day paddled, so £10 for the weekend and will need to be collected on Wednesday 21st August at the latest unless other arrangements are made. Unfortunately the club does not provide transport for boats, but I will try and find out of there is someone willing to transport the bulk of them. Alternatively I suggest that you speak to fellow members / coaches at the club sessions. Please note that you will need a helmet and spraydeck as well as appropriate clothing (expect to get wet) and should preferably have some experience of moving water under your belt.
Camping: We will be camping at Rushmere Farm (http://www.forestofdeancamping.co.uk) which costs £6 per person per night. I will book us in this week. If you intend to travel up on Friday and camp, please contact Rushmere Farm directly.
Rushmere Farm
Crossways, Coleford, Forest of Dean
Gloucestershire
GL16 8QP
If anyone would prefer to stay in a B&B I would recommend using Tripadvisor (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk) which has many reviews of accommodation in the area.
Meals: Basically everyone brings their own meals. We usually take lunch with when paddling and eat on the rapids; however, the car park is just 5 minutes paddle upstream so it is easy to get back. There are a number of hotels close by and shops within driving distance of the rapids, food tends to be fairly pricey in the hotels. On Saturday night we will be having a farewell dinner at one of the local pubs:
The Old Court Hotel
Symonds Yat West
Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, HR9 6DA
There is a small kayaking shop at the put in for the rapids which does have surprisingly good deals on some equipment, so if you are in the market for some gear it may be worth a look. I would price check before coming down though.
Any other questions please post on Facebook or contact one of the coaches.