WKCC

After some last minute arrangements I picked up Graham at just gone 6.30am and we headed down to Dulverton, some 130 miles south. It was about the same time last year that we did the Barle and the level then was very good, running a good grade III with bits of grade IV. … read more?

This weekend’s trip is on the River Barle in the Exmore National Park.  The trip will be from Tarr Steps down to the Bridge Inn at Dulverton (about 6 miles). It’s categorised as a grade 2 river with a few grade 3 bits that can be portaged but as it’s a 130 mile drive [...]

We had a very pleasant paddle this morning on the Avon. There was Caroline, Tony, Clive, Lyndon, Caryl and me.   
We were all ready on time and left PRSC at 9:30 and headed to Fladbury as planned only to be met with a really impressive water level downstream of the weir (see pics).  The usual part of the weir which is usually a scrape to go down had a deep stopper running full length so we all shot it on the right which had a nice wave train running through the middle. This was Lyndon and Caryls first river trip so they were already off to a challenging start.

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Fitz, John Heath, Caroline, Paul D and Graham had a good paddle on the Usk today from Sennybridge to Aberbran. Conditions were good with the river being up but not difficult although we did have one incident which is documented well with photos.  … read more?

Sunday 29th trip which will be for paddlers of approaching 3 star or above due to the levels being quite high at the moment. Current plan is Usk from Sennybridge to Aberbran with an early start. Please contact Graham by 12 noon Saturday at the latest so we can make plans.  Please watch this space [...]

We had a great paddle on the Teme today just doing the town section. The river level can best be described as high with a good flow which meant it was great to practice a whole range of moving water skills. The paddlers consisted of Adam, Clive, Luke, Graham(me), Wendy, Rita, Steve, Steve and Paul C.  John H decided not to paddle and kindly ran the ferry for us and helped at the finish.
We started off with a briefing, assignment of roles and buddies.  Luke and me to lead (supported by Adam) and Clive and Steve2 to bring up the weir and offer support at weirs.  This was folowed by ferry gliding, break ins and break outs for warm up and then off we headed to the first weir. Nice and easy start with a breakout by the island on the left. … read more?

This Sundays paddle will be on the Teme starting at Ludlow. We will probably just be paddling the town section and having some practice/coaching on the way. The river should be suitable for anyone who has done a river trip before however please contact Adam by lunchtime Saturday so that we can coordinate final [...]

Four of us went for a paddle on the Lugg on Sunday.We met at Leominster car park at 9:30 and were on the water at Lugg Green by 10:00.  A chance to get out on a river and use some of the lovely rain we had last week. Conditions were good with a good flow. [...]

We’ve just returned from our open boat weekend on the dart. The trip was designed so that you carried all of your camping equipment, food, clothing etc with you in your boat. We were planning to start at Holne Bridge on the dart and paddle down to the very basic campsite however record low rainfall for the past 5 weeks has meant that there was no water. Instead we had to spend all of our time paddling on the tidal sections of the estuary as this did have water. We started at Dittisham. The weather on Saturday was a pig with very strong headwinds making paddling very difficult for most of us. After taking nearly 1 hour to travel the first mile with the tide on our side but into the wind many of us wanted to turn back and find an easier route. But Yoda persuaded us all to be patient and just take our time and we would get through it. As usual he was right.
We arrived after about 2.5 hours and set up camp right on the banks of the dart at Sharpham.
We built a nice fire, tucked into our rations, had some medicinal beverages and enjoyed the well illuminated night views from the full moon.
Sunday we got up early, breakfast, broke camp and were on the water by 8:30. What a contrast with the weather with practically no wind. The estuary was like a millpond. We headed off from Sharpham and went exploring. First on the agenda was the Bow Creek up to Bow where we had to turn back when the water eventaully became too shallow. From here we headed back down the creek to the main estuary and headed into Stoke Gabriel where we decided it was time for a cup of coffee just as the local cafe was opening.
From here it was just a short trek back to Dittisham, load up the boats and head back home.
Many thanks to Adam and Brian for organising the whole event which was great fun. Your efforts are appreciated and we look forward to the next expedition.
Here are just a few of my pictures with some more to follow from Ed later. Anyone else who would like to write some comments on the trip then please send them to me.
Updated with the additional following version of war and peace set from Clive on his iPhone. Hopefully I’ve fixed the spellings but  you never know. Photos now follow this.

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We had a great paddle today with cracking weather. We got in at the bridge at Cressage and had a gentle paddle down to Jackfield rapids where we stopped for a bit of a play. Only one swimmer (me) when playing and hitting a rock sideways. See the few pictures I have so far [...]