Wednesday January 10th - cheeky weekday paddling

Bright, blue skies, sunshine - what more could a man want except some more water maybe? The Greta was at a perfect medium - high level, but today was about coaching Chris and trashing his confidence wasn't on the agenda (long swims on the Greta are mandatory if you have no roll!). Instead, a fun poodle down the upper Derwent - fabulous scenery and nothing too testing on the water.

Straight forward run down from Seathwaite to Longthwaite where we spent a good while considering lines and moves on the only real rapid (G2+). The plan suggested that four strokes to control the boat were enough; it was, even if Chris ran a completely different line!!

Good day, must do more of this "skiving off to paddle" stuff!

Saturday January 6th - Big and bouncy on the Leven

MarkB and Andrew enjoyed an early breakfast before getting on the Leven. Lots of overnight rain left the river looking meaner than I had seen it for a long while and the memory of the thrashing that Backbarrow Weir had dealt to me at our last meeting was foremost in my mind. Still, since this paddling lark is a headgame, it was time to let the game commence….

The brickchute wave was working but very fast and not easy to get on, then down through the weirs and bouncy rapids to Buckbarrow Bridge. Get out, look, decide, walk – easy! Down to the weir and check that out. No mistaking the line or hiding the fact that I was shaking. Back in, close eyes, see the line, line up and go. One big boof later and I was down, grinning but still shaking! I think the river won that time but next time will be mine. Andy and Mark looked at me with quizzical expressions but I didn’t let on… Andrew still had the Fisherman’s Gorge to deal with.

The graveyard section was great – big, wide stoppers and haystack waves to enjoy the view from… a blast which was over too soon. Fishermans Gorge was looking big – and all that you can see is the entrance… it turned out that crunching through overhanging branches from the RR eddy and rolling up from the subsequent capsize is not the best approach. A new line, which I’d never seen water in before, extreme right was my claim to fame. As long as the boat stayed straight it’s good; otherwise you will end up jammed across a 5’ wide channel… Andrew found his line; ran it like he meant it and, I think, finally banished the demon that has been with him every other time we ran this rapid. A good days work – pity about losing the car key though (Andrew!!?)

Andrew styles Fisherman's Gorge (unlike his dad!)

(Click the play button twice...)

Sunday 31st December - Hello Sonia, goodbye Hurley

Andrew had pleaded and Sonia broadcast an invite, so it was back to Hurley, breaking our journey back north to the Lakes. On 2 gates this time and I was feeling much fresher so we all got stuck in for a couple of hours fun.

Thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and good to meet Sonia who clearly can - and wants to - paddle more. Just a pity that the rest of the drive home took forever, typical M6 but good to be home and start to arrange 2007.....

Saturday 23rd December - Mecca on Thames - Hurley at last

Our first visit to Hurley, the famed playspot on the Thames and Mecca as far as Andrew is concerned! Arranged to meet Chas on the M25 who was going to guide us in; well, we meet, overshoot and agree to let Andrew and the map do the rest! Soon arrived and changed in a carpark with no river in sight…

We shouldered boats and a 5 minute walk brought us the bank; in, across, down a little weir and there it was – Hurley on 3 gates. Andrews face said it all; I rolled my eyes, paddled across the jet, climbed out and started filming – way too tired from the previous hell-week to contemplate throwing myself at the wave. Pity ‘cos it looked like fun and Andy certainly enjoyed himself!

After a couple of hours Chas began to tire and Andrews nose exploded so it was time for me to take my quick spin in the hole before heading back to sunny Dagenham...

"I laughed so much I bled!"

Sunday 17th December - way oop North...

An early start (still dark!) after an even earlier start on Saturday (Christmas shopping) - am looking forward to a lay-in on Monday before going to work...

We were off to meet some of the guys from the Bluebell group, open boaters all but with a great attitude and up for a laugh. Just as well as it turned out...
The Borders Esk runs through Langholm and Canonbie and has very good access and egress; grade 2 - 3, we were lucky to hit it at an optimum level on a fantastic day. Blue skies, sunshine and no wind to speak of. The shuttle was quickly sorted and we kitted up on the bank at Langholm with various comments regarding relative sizes of tackle being shared...

Little and large?

The river was sweet but not challenging until quite a way down where short 2+ / 3 rapids were inspected or played upon depending on your viewpoint. The highlight of the trip, a weir about 30 minutes above Canonbie, was checked out and a number of lines chosen and run. Andrew ran an audacious line, riding a boil between two 20m wide stoppery drops as if on rails; it's great to see the youth go for lines like this, so full of confidence and self-belief. Yours truly attempted to follow him, but ended up dropping into the slot halfway along and having to surf and blast back out.... No problem other than a lack of boat control!

Boofing at the start of the interesting section....

Further mini rapids followed and a rather interesting game of spot the swimming canoeist followed... watching Andrew (in a 7 foot long playboat) shunt a swamped canoe, weighing upward of 3 tonnes, into an eddy was a joy to behold. No damage, just chilled bodies forced a change of pace and everybody belted off down to the get-out. Fun day, great fun with the "big boats" and an ideal wind down towards the madness of Christmas.

Stuart - almost on the plane!

Sunday 10th December - Because we're worth it

Simon and Mark were coming up to play, but late on Saturday Simon had to pull out. No worries, Mark was still "on" and a trip into Eskdale was in order. It rained on Saturday night; Metcheck suggested ~25mm between midnight and 9 am; it was still sheeting down as we started the kilometer or so walk up to the first main falls at 11:45...

Surprisingly the level was in-between, too little to clear the pinny rocks, too high to chance sliding between them and the hole under the first proper fall. While avoidable, it would have taken a difficult launch, paddling the drop individually and with lots of safety faff, then out of the boats to portage the sharp rock-littered cheese grater sections below. Mark had decided early to walk (making his point by dropping his boat 400m earlier).. a no brainer really, so the youth and I sealed in just below the grater and headed back to where Mark had dropped his boat. Mark saw us coming and joined us on the river and we continued down through the gorge and Doctors Bridge sections to the usual take-out by the King George IV pub; a good run, making up for the lack of water higher up and a first for Mark.

Saturday 9th December - And the rains came....but stopped again!

Friday 8th December and the sun shone all day. For the whole week leading up to Friday it had rained with Flood Watch warnings from the EA in force for most Cumbrian rivers. Then it stopped...

Me and the youth headed over to Keswick on Saturday morning with sunshine and a following breeze; no bike but the expectation of blagging a shuttle on the Greta - we weren't to be disappointed. About 8 paddlers were getting on and a further 4 arrived as we finished changing. A quick chat later and the shuttle was sorted with the late arrivals offering a lift back from the Pencil Mill get-out. The level was about 4" above the mark at Threlkeld bridge, putting us well above the minimum "agreement" level; certainly enough water for a fun, bouncey run, but nothing approaching what was to go off later in the weekend.

We took our time running down, really working the technical sections with cross river ferries into ever smaller eddies and surfing anything that looked surfable. Unfortunately for Andrew the Mill playwave was too grabby for fun though he did enjoy spinning his boat from a rope swing just before we got out....

Pity that our new found shuttle bunnies didn't know where the get-out was, two hot chocolates (Climbing Wall vending machine, 50p required) later and they waved us a cheery "hiya" as they paddled on past towards Bass Lake, signalling time for me to call a cab! Oh - and no mention made of a technical swim after getting off the river, eh mate?

The river had fallen, possibly by a good 8" while we were on, down to the bottom step at Fitz park - probably not worth running at much less than the white bridge marker.

Friday 8th December - Surprise, surprise!

Both the boys over tonight and out for a meal at the Royal Oak. Donal bought a DVD which we sat and watched later on... Really enjoyable evening all round with the big lad seemingly relaxed and genuinely happy to be home. He should have headed back to Manchester in the morning, but overslept ('til lunchtime!) I found him when I dropped in on the way to the dentist and gave him a ride into school instead...

Still more rain, flooding in Dumfries and central Lakes.... looking good / crazy for the weekend!

Wednesday 6th December - More good news...

Andrew's drysuit just arrived back from Palm; it had leaked from new in both boots (Sidewinder suit with fitted, fabric boots). UK Canoes fired it back to Palm, they retaped all the seams in each boot & returned it to us at home. No hassle, let's just hope it no longer leaks (and that he'll start treating it a bit better !)

Most W Lakes rivers on Flood Watch status still, even the Calder! With more rain forecast for the rest of the week, things could be interesting for the weekend. Must get some more painkillers.....

Sunday 3rd December - A blast from the past...

Earlier this year Andy & I blagged a shuttle with a couple of paddlers at the get-out on the river Leven. Right out of the blue one of them, Simon G, rang on Saturday night to say that his mate had done his shoulder in and were we looking to paddle this weekend.... 5 minutes later we had arranged to hook up on Sunday morning depending on where the rain fell during the night.

Now, Andrew was dead set on playboating at Wookie Weir and we had thought about the Greta, then back to Wookie on the way home. However, Simon's mate had done his shoulder on the Greta the previous weekend, so we settled for the Duddon since it had rained like mad all night and it promised to be at a high to bankful level...
Sunday morning and off we go, still raining hard and with big tides and hard on-shore winds, all the rivers were out of their banks on the way down. None of which helped with my nerves (and bruises) hanging over from last weekends swimming session...

Good reasons not to swim the Glaslyn Gorge!

Still, I had been down the Duddon with Tim and Aimee a couple of weeks back so felt reasonably happy about a revisit. Soon we had the shuttle sorted and into our boats. Simon ran the top section of Tarn Beck; we didn't fancy it in little boats / big water but jumped on below the grade 5 bit and down to the Duddon proper at a good lick.

Simon on the middle drop, Tarn Beck

Really good levels made it a fast trip, despite strong head winds - we had to ferry both the river and the wind at times! The first rapid was "snuck" river left, just because we could, rather than the river right line, then rapid followed wave followed rapid....

I was a bag of nerves at the top of the gorge, still feeling sore (especially if I tried to lift my left edge!) but a quick look, photos of A and S, then my turn. A cinch at this level, far easier than I'd ever run it, just point and go - big waves and boils, but nothing to upset any of us, just a blast through a boily gorge. Good fun or what :)

Andrew kicking the entrance rapid into shape...

The last drop under a fantastic old packhorse bridge came too soon. Once again far less technical than previously; unfortunately I was surprised to find the others lurking in an eddy just above the drop which upset my concentration; what were they doing there!? Waiting for muggins to find the line through the double drop I guess! No problem though, a quick sweep put me back in control, into the eddy below the rapid and wave the others on down. Sweet. On to the take-out just upstream of Duddon Bridge; the playwave looked fine but we were too cold to bother; there will always be another day.... Great to be back home after sorting kit, in front of the fire, bowls of homemade soup inside us. Content until next time : )