The Mychett centre is a popular starting point for paddlers, cyclists, walkers and runners, and in the summer runs boat rides. Our eight hardy paddlers, five club members (Dave, Liz, Cathy, Phil and Chris) and three guests (Cheryl, Annie and Geoff), arrived ready for a 10am start. Suitably briefed, by Dave, and watered (yes there were loos) we prepared to set off. However, we were approached by the CRT to ensure we were Paddle UK members and thus had approval to Paddle the waterway. We all did, although not sure about Phil’s four-legged assortment!
The canal is not deep but is very clean so it was easy to see to the bottom but there was a lot of loose underwater plant life which enjoyed catching on rudders. I was prepared for collecting plastic rubbish for the Reap-UK charity that recycles river plastic to avoid it going to landfill. However, in keeping with the water the banks were very clean too.
The initial canal section was flanked by trees and protected before opening out to a couple of lakes that have been known to be tricky because of wind on previous trips. But not today. Although not sunny it was pleasant and a great day to Paddle. As well as standard canal width the canal sometimes halved this for short sections making it quite tight. The scenery was very attractive with the mixture of colours as autumn is clearly taking hold.
We saw plenty of walkers, runners and cyclists with Phil and his canine trio getting most attention, as usual. There also seemed to be quite a number of fishermen. It was hard to tell whether they were fishing for sport or their dinner!
We crossed an aqueduct where the difference in craft was evident as the standing paddleboarders, like stately Giraffes, enjoyed a lovely view while the Kayakers, like Wildebeest, were only able to see the inside of the bridge!
At what was thought to be the ’halfway stage’ towards the ‘lock and lunch’, we planned to take a coffee break. Unfortunately the jetty was occupied, so we travelled on a bit further. We eventually found an area we could use with half the group disembarking while others relaxed on their craft. A pair of boarders arrived and asked what to expect further on. Dave advised that they would reach a lock (our planned lunch spot) in about 30 minutes and they carried on.
While parked, Phil took his veteran dog for a walk leaving the youngsters in his boat. Both were getting excited and clearly preparing to demonstrate their diving prowess so Dave had to quickly get them on to land.
Suitably refreshed with coffee and popcorn we set off again and reached the lock ten minutes later for lunch! So, with free picnic tables available we chose to lunch.
At this point Liz took over leadership as practice for her forthcoming assessment. A quick team decision was to carry on beyond the lock until we reached the halfway turnaround time. I did manage to get more plastic on the way back and, sadly, some of it was quite fresh and not there on the way out!
Liz led and encouraged us on our way back keeping us at a steady pace, together. Showing her leadership skills. We again disturbed the various fishermen and spotted a dead Carp the size of a football which may be why they were fishing. We passed other paddling craft and eventually arrived back to the start in good time and used the small coffee shop for a quick debrief before departure.
A nice trip with some craft lessons learnt. Geoff can make the sound of a bomb by belly flopping on his paddleboard. The views seen by the Giraffe like boarders over the aqueduct and looking forwards are better than the low level Widebeest like kayakers get to see. However, with paddleboards picking up water plant debris on their rudders they were slowed down. They needed help cleaning them as. Like Giraffes, it wasn’t easy to reach these nether regions safely themselves without laying down. So, Kayak cleaning duty to tidy up the rear ends was invaluable. Clearly a plus for multiple craft activity.
To summarise, a nice paddle on a beautiful canal with nice people. Another example of good feedback from Davepaddles networking with other clubs.
Write up by CRH.