A couple of years ago Dave decided that he wanted to paddle the 138 miles of the non-tidal section of the Thames. Starting at the source (Cricklade) and finishing at Teddington from where the tide takes over it can be split into bite sized chunks. So begun a quest for several people including me. I did many of the sections with the group but missed several by being out of the country. Dave, Phill and Sue completed the task in the first group. Since then, Dave, Phil and I have picked off those sections I missed while at the same time as starting others, like Tony and Benny, Antony and Graham on their Thames challenge.
Today was the last, and longest section covering 12.7 miles from Chertsey to Teddington, and was the final section I needed to complete the whole journey. Some excellent shuttling from Liz, allowed Dave, Phil, Tony and I to set off from Chertsey at 0950 in a variety of craft. Dave in his usual Pyranha kayak but using a prototype of a newly designed paddle that improves the response and power; it looks like a gamechanger. Tony was using Phil’s long narrow Perception kayak that cuts through the water speedily. Phil was using his new lightweight Kevlar canoe which likewise cut through the water speedily. I used my Pyranha Everest and normal paddle which in comparison to their kit was like paddling the craft sideways!
The weather was good, varying from sunny to cloudy but still very pleasant. We did see rain but it was very light and for only a few minutes, defying the threatened weather forecast of heavy rain and thunder. This is a very busy part of the river and we saw many different craft right up to a replica paddle steamer as well as eight men and women rowing teams and along with smaller craft and sailing yachts. The variety of dwelling spaces including bungalows, posh upmarket houses and two storey house boats as well as woodland made the scenery interesting.
We were met near Hampton Court by Liz on her paddleboard and she joined us for lunch just after the halfway stage of journey and stayed paddling with us for quite a while before returning to her car.
We had to go through three locks, sharing with some very large craft. The boat owners and lock keepers were all in good spirits and quite chatty. Of course, Phil and the dogs, sadly missing Coco who passed away several weeks ago, were the main attraction despite their canine attempt to fight every other dog, no matter the size!
The length of the paddle was quite taxing and we were all tired when it competed at 1600. Packed up we went to the nearest pub for a pint and a debrief. It is likely that in future this section will be split into two to make it more manageable. So ends my initial Thames challenge but there are bound to be more opportunities as others take it on.
Thanks, Dave, for kicking this off.
Write up by Chris H.
From all at DavePaddles.co.uk, Well done Chris!
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