We went to Symonds Yat October the 5th. After a difficult early wake up, we were happy to see that the 4 kayaks were strongly hold on the roof, we were a bit anxious as it was the first time we carried some, but the journey went very well. It was quite cold when we arrived at the Yat, but then luckily the weather was nice all day, and even though it wasn’t sunny, it was reasonably warm and dry for October.
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It was our first Wokingham Canoe Club trip and we really were going into it blind not knowing anyone who was going or what to expect.
We arrived at Symonds Yat with a certain amount of trepidation as we were looking forward to the day but at the same time we didn’t want to hold back the group as we all had limited experience. However, we shouldn’t have worried as the make up of the group included an equal number of juniors and adults with a mixture of abilities. (more…)
Friday
Being a person that does not have a boat to call my own the first order of business with any of these club trips is to carefully select the boat most suited to the weekend paddling. After looking over the boats in the shed I finally settled on the G-Force as it’s shape most resembled a boogieboard. After Johnny arrived and our boats were strapped to the roofrack we finally set off to Lobbs Field campsite.
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Paddling the Teifi without a boat
On Friday 9th February the Wokingham Canoe club went off to Camarthanshire for a trip on the river Teifi. We stayed at a bunkhouse a few miles away, paddled about 10 miles on the Saturday, paddled around about ½ a mile on the Sunday and came home.
That is what happened over the weekend if you are looking for the bare facts, but perhaps a little more detail could be added. (more…)
Saturday - it really wasn’t all about the swims!
Twas a wet, rainy and strangely mild January weekend when an intrepid group set off to paddle the Dart Loop. The eleven kayakers split into two groups, led by Roger and Marion. The water level was middling to high after all the rain, so some swimming was anticipated by some.
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This was my first trip since joining the club in the Summer. For me it was an opportunity for father & son to practice the skills we learnt over the summer.
30 paddlers turned up in Newbury with canoes of all shapes and sizes. There were families with young children and adults of mixed abilities. As a group we paddled to Woolhampton and experienced the “fun” of portaging the numerous locks on the route. It was a pity that the Rowbarge Inn at the finish point was closed as we were all in need of refreshment.
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Sunday 17th was a cold, crisp December morning. We dragged ourselves out from under the duvet and peered through the curtains. The sky was blue, so we thought “Drat – even the weather won’t provide us with a get-out. Better have breakfast and get going.”
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On arrival at the Stone Barn we had the unenviable task of trying to light the woodburner. Steve Finch showed his pyromaniacal misspent youth and managed this with relative ease.
People then started to arrive, dump their gear and head down the pub. Lindsay though that Marion needed a SMALL drink so brought her back a couple of LITRES of Scrumpy cider!!!
Saturday morning saw us meet with the boats at the top of the Loop.
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On 7th October a group of 18 from Wokingham Canoe club travelled to Symonds Yat on the river Wye for an introduction to moving water. After a week of heavy rain the river level was high but the weekend itself was dry and mostly sunny.
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Sunday 2nd July 2006 a group of 16 of us paddled down the river Thames. We met at the centre at 10:00 and left at around 10:30 in a mixture of kayaks and canoes. So we set off at a leisurely pace.
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