Some days are excellent for a paddle and this was one of them. A sunny day with a cloudless sky, little wind and a warm temperature. Great conditions to tackle this beautiful stretch.
Originally planned as a Friday club Thames trip, in the end there were only two of us, so it became a peer paddle with a land based contact. from another club member for the two experienced paddlers.
It was necessary to set off early from Hemel as this stretch is one of the farthest away. Supported by shuttle driver Graham we headed to the Ferry Inn to start. The shuttle proved very busy so in the end we got on the water at 1100am.
Being a Friday, the Thames was very quiet so few boats or rowers to avoid. The paddle is scheduled as 19.8k with five, nearly equidistant, locks to negotiate along the way. The scenery was beautiful with few houses to affect the view. The only downside was that the Thames had little flow running to provide extra propulsion so all progress was manual!
The locks were self-operated so Dave enjoyed his paddle breaks operating four of them, while I paddled through pulling his kayak. This worked well as he needed the practice and the four locks had trickier get ins, as the water level was lower than normal making the drops higher.
Scheduled breaks were taken at locks two and four of this long paddle. We met the usual hikers and dog walkers as well as some swimmers along the way. As we approached Oxford, we saw far more younger people on or around the water but our biggest surprise was when a herd or cattle, 50+ joined us as they sought a drink!
We finished at 1700 having had a tough but relaxing day in a very quiet area; the effort was worth it. One interesting point was that the paddle logger showed the distance as 23k, not 19 as shown in the guide. This paddle took me past 100 of the 134 miles from Thames source to Teddington and got Dave close to 200 Thames miles, with the many repeats he has done. A good all-round achievement.
write up by CRH
Pic gallery below
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