Tag: Non-Club Activity

River Thames: Tadpole Bridge to Bablock Hythe (write up by Sue Leon) Thames Section 3 - 9.6 miles/15.5km downstream, Tadpole Bridge to Bablock Hythe. The remotest part of the entire Thames. Paddlers: Dave Hillier (Organiser), Chris Harper, John Murray, Pierre Leon, Phil Gent (with doggie guests FiFi and Coco) and Sue Leon. Dave had issued a detailed briefing on which the information in this report is based. We gathered at the Trout Inn (SN7 8RF) which was where we had finished Section 2 last month. Equipment was unloaded and the drivers took the cars to the end point The Ferryman Inn (OX29 5AT). Dave’s good friend Graham (as usual) kindly took the drivers back to the start point. Logistics sorted! The Trout Inn opened at around 9am and they serve breakfast. Apart…

River Thames: Lechlade to Tadpole Bridge (write up by Pierre Leon) The project is to paddle the length of the River Thames in sections. This paddle, on Friday 29th April, was a section starting in Lechlade-On-Thames in Gloucestershire and ending at Tadpole Bridge in Oxfordshire. A distance of just over 10 miles on the river and nearly 8 miles as the crow flies. On the route there are five locks, four of which we passed through thanks to the volunteer lock keepers and one we bypassed via a lively canoe pass. So no portages – hooray! Our get-in point was from Lechlade Riverside Car Park.  After carrying the kayaks about 100m from the car park, the entry point is an easy step-in from the north river bank. The Team L-R…

Wolvecote Circuit Paddle (near Oxford) organised by Dave Hillier This paddle on Friday 1st April was organised by Dave Hillier to do the Wolvecote Circuit near Oxford as detailed in the Peter Knowles' Pub Paddles book. The circuit combines part of the Thames heading downstream, followed by a return to the start point, at the Trout Inn, via the Oxford Canal. As on his previous Medway paddle Dave, with his wife Zoe in tow, had walked the circuit in advance to undertake a risk assessment and highlight any potential issues. One issue was the recommended car park which had a height restriction which stopped van and roof rack access hence the change to the Trout inn get in. The only downside of the change, was that the loos were in…