Trip – Nomad Kayak Club

25Nov 2023 by Michael Quinn 1 Comment

St Patrick’s Stream Trip Report

When: Saturday 25th November Where: Reading Wokingham Water Centre (RG6 1PQ) to St George and Dragon, Wargrave (RG10 8HY), via St Patricks Stream approx. 5.5 miles Paddlers: Nigel Atkinson (Trip Leader/Organiser), Ian Walker (Organiser), Mike Quinn, Chris Brown, Britta New, Thomas Carrick, Conrad Chambers, Dan Wickham, Pierre Leon and Sue Leon (Report writer) We arrived at Wokingham Water Centre on a bright and sunny but very cold morning and unloaded just outside the locked gates (we were not going to be staying here and so it wasn’t worth paying £5 per person for entry and, in any case, the barrier height is such that those carrying kayaks on their roofs would have had to unload first). Cars were driven to the end point and Nigel acted as shuttle driver bringing…

14Oct 2023 by Nigel Atkinson 1 Comment

River Nene White Water Centre

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When: Saturday 24TH October 2023 Where: Nene Whitewater Centre Paddlers: Tony McKenzie (Organiser), Nigel Atkinson (lead coach), Graham Summers, Chris Brown, Conrad Chambers, Ian Walker, Martin Edwards, Aled Johnson, Paul Childerhouse (coach), Lleyton Fiordelisi, and Andy Slatford. On a bright October afternoon eleven Nomads made the trek up to the Nene White Water centre in Northampton for some Grade 2 white water shenanigans. It was a mixed bunch ranging from seasoned white-water paddlers to paddlers that had never previously paddled white-water. Not an issue as in true Nomad style there was plenty of help at hand in the form of both formal and informal coaching. The group split into two groups with the less experienced paddlers starting at the lower pools and slowly working their way up the course with coaching support provided by…

08Oct 2023 by Michael Quinn No Comments

River Ivel Trip Report

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When: Sunday 8th October Where: The River Ivel, Bedfordshire - 'Put in' Sandy to 'Get out' Tempsford where the Ivel joins the Great River Ouse Who: The Paddlers - Ian Walker (Trip Organiser and Report Writer), Tony McKenzie, Conrad Chambers, Sue Leon, Chris Harper, Sue Sleeman, Andy Slatford, Jason McNulty & Martin Edwards The section of the River Ivel that was paddled is generally Grade 1 to 2 with several different types of weir along the route, making it good for intermediate paddlers looking to get used to moving water. The route running approximately 6 miles downstream, took about 4 to 5 hours paddle including a lunch stop. The trip gave paddlers the opportunity to shoot a few weirs and practice some ferry gliding however the tallest weir (approx. 2…

25Aug 2023 by Nigel Atkinson No Comments

River Tees 26th-28th August- Cancelled

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Unfortunately there were no takers for this trip to the river Tees in County Durham so Nick and I decided to cancel. The river level goes up and down with the rain and dam releases but levels looked ideal earlier in the week so here are a couple of pictures of Low and High Force to tempt our white water paddlers to join us next time. PS: We don’t paddle the High Force!!!

01Aug 2023 by Nigel Atkinson No Comments

River Dee and Tryweryn 28th-30th July

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Just returned from a great weekend Nomad trip on the river Tryweryn. Three paddlers from Nomads and two from Suffolk canoe club enjoyed higher than normal release on the Saturday and Sunday.Weekend started on the Friday with a warmup at JJ’s on the Dee where Tony decided to practice his roll a few times. All survived the Tryweryn and we had no swimmers! Thanks for a great weekend to all.

30Jul 2023 by Dave Hillier No Comments

St Patrick’s Stream and Hennerton Backwater – Mixed Craft Trip

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St Patrick's Stream and Hennerton backwater Sunday 30th July This was a joint trip between Nomads and a group named SUP with Ana, organised by Dave Hillier. Twelve of us met at the St George and Dragon, Wargrave to make up a group of nine paddleboarders (one from Nomads) and three Nomads kayakers. The publican was quite happy for us to launch but we had agreed to park elsewhere as the car park fills at weekends at this time of year (and indeed it did). After a welcome and briefing from Dave, we set off at 0930, Westwards, against a steadily flowing Thames. This proved to be a good warm up and the one lock portage, a welcome break. We eventually arrived at St Patrick’s stream which was flowing steadily…

22Jul 2023 by Michael Quinn No Comments

Llangollen Canal

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Paddlers Dave H. Trip Leader Conrad C, Assistant. Hannah S, Report Writer, Rach H Jai A, Assistant 2. On Sat 22nd July 5 Nomads went to Wales. A trip that has been long in the planning. We finally made it to Wales ( to embark on a 3 night camping and kayaking adventure along the Llangollen canal from Llangollen to Whixall, approximately 31 miles in total. 11 miles of which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has been a dream to kayak over the famous Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (known as The Stream in the Sky); the highest navigable aqueduct in the world at 38m above the river Dee, and the longest aqueduct in the UK at 307m long. We also visited Horseshoe Falls, crossed the Chirk Aqueduct and paddled through…

09Jul 2023 by Dave Hillier No Comments

River Cam through Cambridge

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9 July 2023 We met in the Water Street car park. A very nice, quiet spot east of the town centre. The weather looked a bit threatening and the weather forecast was mixed but Dave assured us the it never rains on his trips and on this occasion he was right. It was a beautiful day throughout. Given that this was my first trip I have to assume that this is always the case since 100% of my experience proves it. After Phil got his dogs settled onto the front of his kayak and following Conrad's slightly unorthodox entrance to the river we headed off upstream through the suburbs of Cambridge and it was peaceful and calm beginning to our 5.4 mile journey towards lunch before turning around and heading…

23Jun 2023 by Dave Hillier No Comments

Thames Trip, Castle Eaton to Lechlade

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On a wonderfully warm and sunny day, we started out from The Red Lion in Castle Eaton. Get-in was from the pub garden, not forgetting to pay a £5 launch fee for each boat. The river was running with a gentle current and well below the flood level we experienced in the winter where the fields on the other side of the bank had become shallow lakes. This section of the Thames was entertainingly twisty with thick reed growth lining the river and relatively steep banks river right. Paddling with concentration was required to avoid getting tangled in the tree branches overhanging the water. A high-water paddle would make the first third of this section tricky but, as it was, the winding nature of the river made for an interesting…

15May 2023 by Dave Hillier No Comments

River Medway Trail Weekend

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On the weekend of May 13/14 Dave, Zoe, Jai, Hannah, and Conrad, met up at the pre booked Riverside camp site in Yalding Kent. The plan was to paddle the non-tidal river Medway from Tonbridge to Maidstone in 2 days. Day 1 would be a get in at Tonbridge and out at the campsite in Yalding, then day 2 would be from the campsite to Maidstone with a shuttle back to the campsite on the Sunday. We arrived on the Friday afternoon and as the tents, hotel and other structures went up the sun came out, as is usual for one of Dave’s trips, but there was a chill in the air, so once all set we lit the fire pit that had been supplied by the campsite. Just before…

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