And Then There Were Two
Wokingham Canoe Club Trip on the Upper Thames
In the beginning there was just me. I got on to the water from a convenient pub car park just by the bridge in Lechlade at about 8am on Saturday morning, intending to paddle upstream to fill in time before meeting up with the rest of the group at St Johns Lock, barely half a mile downstream. I worked against the current, and turned round in plenty of time to make the rendezvous. As I was passing back by Lechlade Bridge, I stopped to admire what looked like a car club rally in the recreation ground - dozens of vintage MGs and Triumphs. Very pretty they looked in the sunshine.
I went through St Johns Lock, where the lock keeper was very keen to see my licence, and very keen that it should be easily visible for all the other locks. Having explained that I was meeting the rest of the group, I paddled round the moorings, into the weir stream, and back to the lock. Marion rang to say that actually everyone else had decided that it would be easier to go back to Lechlade and paddle down to St Johns Lock, so I tied up my canoe and sat on a convenient bench and dozed until they arrived.
And then there were 9 - Marion and John in her canoe, me, Brian and Tim in canoes and the Lucas family in four kayaks. We paddled on as the sky got greyer, and ended up eating lunch while some sheltered in their boats under a little wooden footbridge and some braved the rain (oh yes - the kayakists had to get out to stretch their legs). The rain through the afternoon was pretty persistent, and there was much putting up of hoods. Landfall was at the Trout Inn at Tadpole Bridge - about 10 miles and 5 locks for the day. The Lucas’ and Tim left, leaving the rest of us to pitch camp. And then there were 4. Happily it had stopped raining by this point. Some cooked and ate al fresco, some ate in the warm, dry pub.
Sunday morning dawned warm and sunny, and the Cascarini’s joined us with their brand new, never got wet before, canoe. As we got sorted and shuttled cars, we were overwhelmed by Weybridge Skiff and Punt Club on their annual childrens outing - about 15 canoes of varying shapes and sizes (and ages), with matching paddlers. They were finally sorted and off just before us. We took things gently, stopping for some coaching along the way (How do you make a brand new canoe go in a straight line?). And then there were 8 - one kayak, one solo canoe, and 3 tandem canoes. We swapped around a bit, with the younger Cascarini’s showing their independence - what’s wrong with baling from the river into the boat? Why can’t I do draw strokes to bring us into the bank when I want to? We stopped at a convenient bit of bank for lunch in the warm sunshine, and Brian’s stove proved it’s worth once again. Steph and Zoe and the boys left us at Bablock Hythe Ferry where they had left their car - and then there were four. We saw the Skiff Club here, who mentioned that they had only had one capsize! We paddled on to Pinkhill Lock, where there is a campsite on the island between the weir and the lock. There is no public access by road, and we had the very pleasant wooded site to ourselves. We sent the oldest member of the party to sort out camping fees, which is probably why we got such a good deal - including use of the recently installed shower in the wooden hut.
One of our number was up at his usual early hour on Monday morning, but the rest of us weren’t much later. Not having cars to shuttle, we were ready and on the water just as the lock keeper came on duty at 9 o’clock. Marion and John left us at a boatyard a mile or so downstream as they apparently had better things to do. And then there were two. Brian and I paddled on towards Oxford, observing how the river had suddenly become much wider, and the weather apparently much windier. We could hear the noise of traffic, and all too soon we were in the town. We went past small terraced houses, smart university buildings, modern offices, lots of university boathouses, and arrived at Donnington Bridge at about midday.
In total, we paddled about 35 miles in 3 days with 11 locks. The weather was as good as could be expected, the company was pleasant, and the organization superb as always (thank-you Marion!). Now when are we going to paddle the rest of the Thames?
David Palfrey
27th - 29th May 2006
