Sunday June 1st River Thames-Cricklade to Lechlade

8 am: An unearthly hour on a Sunday for some of us. We met at the lock-up and sorted boats, kit, cars etc then set off for Cricklade. Helen wanted to spend the day exploring in the area, so we didn’t have to do a car shuttle before we could set out on the river, so we quickly launched the boats and were off and were off well before 11.

A day of firsts. First River Trip for Katy. First River Trip with PaddleOn! for Steve. First River Trip for Kyle’s new boat which had spent rather a long time on their kitchen table having gunwales and thwarts crafted. Also first trip on the river Thames for some of us.

The River Thames is beautiful and narrow at this point. Also trees spanned the whole river in many places so within 20 yards of the entry point we were ducking under low branches. We also had to get boats over fallen trees at various points, and paddle through reeds. Some of us reputedly saw otters; we also saw herons, a cormorant, kingfishers, cygnets and ducklings, sand martins, and a tremendous wealth of wildlife. We also only passed one open canoe in the whole day, so it was extremely peaceful.

Lunch was an adventure- Ruth attempted to step back in the water while getting out of her boat- thinking it was a couple of inches deep- and it turned out to be almost waist height. The bank was incredibly muddy and slippery and everyone (apart from Dave who was too busy with the camera!!) was laughing so much it was hard to get out. We all ended up coated in varying degrees of slimy mud and stung with nettles. Then Vicky cooked bacon for her lunch, and Dave boiled the kettle for hot chocolate with cream, and we had a very enjoyable break.

In the afternoon we continued along the meandering river to Lechlade. Katy and Ruth swapped kayaks for open boats, leaving Andrew to tow two kayaks. Andrew also acquired a lilo which was caught in a tree fully inflated whilst Kyle tried to catch crayfish with remaining bits of Vicky’s bacon.

We were all ready to stop by the time we arrived at Lechlade, and were glad to see Helen with the car, flapjack and dry clothes. We cleaned the extremely muddy boats (especially Andrew’s); sent Dave and Steve to collect the trailer and other car; then after having another freshly made cup of tea or chocolate, set off back to Bristol tired but happy and relaxed after a great day

Thanks particularly to Helen for relieving us of the need to do car shuttles at BOTH ends of the day. Thanks to Dave for organising the trip, Steve and Dave for driving, Vicky and Dave for support and tuition, Andrew for towing the boats, Kyle for enthusiasm and attempting to catch crayfish, Katy for smiles and cheerfulness, and keeping going even when tired and a little scared.

(Paddlers: Andrew, Dave, Helen, Katie, Kyle, Ruth, Steve, Vicky )