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The September ’21 Wales Grand Tour Day Two
Canoeing
the mighty River Wye!
“Many
of the furnaces on the banks of the river consume charcoal which is
manufactured on the spot, and the smoke (which is frequently seen issuing from
the sides of the hills, and spreading its thin veil over a part of them)
beautifully breaks their lines, and unites them with the sky”.
William Gilpin’s ‘Observations
on the River Wye and several parts of South Wales’ (1782) - a description of this part of the country
‘relative chiefly to picturesque beauty’.
We’ve booked an
afternoon canoe trip down the Wye from Kerne Bridge to Paddocks hotel with Ross
on Wye Canoe Hire and whilst we know that the charcoal furnaces have long
since gone, we are hoping to see stunning scenery and a variety of river wildlife
on our four-hour canoe expedition.
We meet the
team at their centre at Symonds Yat East, parking in the grass field next to
their offices. Privately owned, the car park charge for the day is £6-00, coins
only. Fortunately, it isn’t wet (could prove interesting after a period of rain)
but watch the track road in because it is heavily rutted. A low exhaust outlet
pipe and you could hit the ground.
Having previously
registered and completed paperwork on line, we don’t need to queue and are
quickly kitted out with buoyancy aids paddles and a watertight barrel for our
possessions. As per instructions we bring spare clothes, lunches, drinks,
cameras and smart phones. (We suggest you buy a small roll top waterproof bag
to hold your phones, wallets and keys, even if you take the option of the
watertight barrel; it will always be useful somewhere else.)
One of us is very
much looking forward to canoeing the Wye. One of us is remembering her previous
experiences in previously hired ‘vessel’ with her husband; one in which, many
years ago, an anchor was lost, a China Clay tanker held up at the narrows in
Fowey harbour, a small car ferry skipper did his nut and a pilot boat skipper
got fraught as a ‘hire boat’ blocked everything! It matters not one jot that
since then I have obtained BCU canoeing qualifications and also RYA dinghy
sailing, day skipper and powerboat qualifications as well. She of little faith!
Into the minibus
with another family and 15 minutes later we disgorge at Kerne Bridge car park. There
follows a ten-minute safety briefing, we are allocated our canoe and we finally
make our way down to the water’s edge. Those of a nervous disposition have a
slight panic as the boat rocks as a crew member gets in!
The
magnificent River Wye. Two hundred and fifty miles long, one of the longest
rivers in Britain, rising high in the Cambrian mountains. It maintains a fast
flowing, rocky cascading channel all the way down to Hay-on-Wye before giving
way to a shallower channel with smaller rapids, riffles and deeper, longer
pools. By Hereford, it is meandering across broad flood plains.
But there is nothing to prepare you for the leg from Ross on Wye southwards. Spectacular views through deep wooded gorges but don’t go past Symonds Yat East, not unless you are a really good canoeist, for just a little way further down you will enter the renowned British Canoe Union owned rapids training ground, a series of canoe gates suspended from wires. Only for the brave of heart, the foolish and/or, of course, the most experienced.
It is a great
afternoon paddle and within five minutes of being on the water, I have already
promised myself to return with my grown-up children. A two-day camping canoeing
adventure is on the cards for next spring, I think! Conditions are ideal as we head downstream, low
flow in the river (it has barely rained for weeks now), cloudy skies with sunny
spells and temperatures of around 20C. We spot several kingfishers darting
across river and/or perched on collapsed trees at river bank margins. It is a
little-known fact that that brilliant blue flash you see as a kingfisher darts
off, isn’t in fact blue! Kingfishers are actually a dingy brown colour but
pigments within their feathers coupled with their light refractive properties
make the plumage look dazzling bright blue. Little streamlined Exocet missiles
they are. Extraordinary speed.
Sharp piercing cries and screeches alert us to the presence of peregrine falcons soaring high above. Wheeling and pirouetting back and forth from the towering cliffs on the left-hand bank, they are graceful aerial acrobats performing routines at breath taking speeds.
Swans,
Canadian Geese, ducks, coots and jumping trout. Buzzing dragon flies (nature’s very
own gazelle helicopters), voles and wary chub hanging out in deep pools under
overhanging trees, waiting for a tasty grub or two to lose their purchase on a
leaf above. There is so much to see and admire.
We traverse
several small gravelly riffles successfully (grade 1 waters) but come unstuck
on one of them by the first island.
“When you
approach the island, you must go to the left of it; if you go to the right,
there is a serious danger you will be swept broadsides and then trapped in a
fallen tree overhanging that main channel; remember at the island go left”.
With that
briefing instruction still ringing in our ears, we do head left when we arrive
at the island. Under normal circumstances, faster, deeper water will always
flow on the outer edge of a river bend and slower, shallower water will always
be found on the inside of the bend and around mid-river bank islands.
“Rock,
rock, ROCK!”
Maggie’s warning
comes too late. We opted for passing the island on the left and on the outside
of the bend. But this year, water levels are not what they should be and it is clear
that channel dynamics have changed the river bed depth. Before I can take heed
of the warning, we are grounded on a large boulder and in a precarious
position. Water flow is pushing us broadsides and if that happens, we will
capsize down the channel. I jump out in to a foot or two of water and discover
it is two large flat boulders we are rocking on, not one.
Time to be a
hero! With Mag still in the boat, I push and pull the boat off the rocks,
trying to keep the bow pointed downstream. Using the stern painter, I allow the
river to carry the canoe down the shallow section into calmer deeper water.
Real ‘African Queen’ stuff!
One of us is
rather wet. And, one of us isn’t!
It’s quite
the exciting adrenaline rush. In fact, all the little rapids and riffles are.
Nothing particularly dangerous, just enough to generate a little ‘frisson of
excitement and tension’ in the boat!
We make a
mental note to warn the canoe team when we arrive later. People must not go to
the outer bend. Bizarrely, they will find the deeper, safer water current,
closer to the island margins. It defies river channel dynamics but there we go.
With only
occasional canoe strokes and some nifty paddle steering at the stern, the
current carries us down past towering limestone and Devonian old red sandstone cliffs,
old floodplains between river cliffs (betraying the eons that this river has
meandered from one side of the landscape to the other and back again). Bedding
planes high up the cliffs tell the story of these rocks, some capped with thin
layers of well-rounded alluvial gravels. Every rock tells a story – geology and
geomorphology course 101.
We went on
the water at 12.30. We are off the water at 16.30 after a very sedate, relaxing
paddle. We canoed around 7 miles. Oh, keep an eye out for that medieval castle
on route and the pub access as well!
It is amazing
to think that along this river territorial disputes have been making their mark
on the river valley for well over 1,000 years; from the time the Saxon King
Offa, in the 8th century completed an extraordinary dyke building
effort in order to protect his kingdom of Mercia from the Welsh. Or what about
the special flat-bottomed sailboat ‘trows’ built to navigate from Hereford down
to Chepstow and Bristol beyond, servicing the paper mills, tanneries, wireworks,
wineries and foundries that developed along the river banks during the
industrial revolution? The gangs of men called ‘bow hauliers’, hired to wear
wooden harnesses and to drag the trows through the shallow river sections, soon
replaced by the opening of the Wye Valley railway in 1876; the death sentence
to all that river trade. The trains too have now gone, their old tracks now
part of the ever-growing national cycle network; the old industrial sites and
station halts since reclaimed by woodlands.
“If
you have never navigated the Wye”, Gilpin enthused, “you have seen
nothing.”
Some top
tips for casually canoeing the Wye:
1. On this stretch of the river, practically
anyone can do it. You don’t need experience, just a willingness to get wet
occasionally, a sense of adventure and a healthy dose of good old fashioned
common sense. In saying that obviously pay due attention to previous rainfall
and its effect on river levels. Do not canoe if the river conditions are
unsuitable for your level of canoeing experience.
2. Either paddle and get well ahead of
everyone else or drop right back and allow them to go well ahead after
launching. In this way the wildlife is either undisturbed or has returned after
being disturbed and you will have a better wildlife viewing experience.
3. Hold back before you enter any rapids.
If possible, watch people in front and see what happens and what line their
boat takes.
4. If you wear glasses, tie them on with
string around the back of your head.
5. Check your boat before you get in it
to make sure nothing is broken or loose.
6. Make sure your buoyancy aid is
correctly fitted. There is a tendency, especially in hot weather, to have all
straps loose. Trust me when I tell you a BA floating up over your face is a)
useless; b) as scary as hell and c) frankly a drowning hazard.
7. Check you have the canoe hire company
details stored in your phone.
8. Carry a small first aid kit with you
as well as your drink, lunch and snacks.
9. Wear shoes that can get wet. Don’t
wear flip flops as some of the stony beaches and rocks are actually quite sharp.
10.If you decide to go for a swim, don’t
swallow river water and cover any cuts or sores with gloves or waterproof
plasters before going canoeing.
We used Ross
on Wye Canoe Hire: https://thecanoehire.co.uk/
Some route
tips:
At the end of
your first meander bend, look out for the landing steps that lead up to the
hotel pub at Lower Lydbrook. From Welsh Bicknor youth hostel onwards, through
the next meander bend, look out for kingfishers and Peregrine Falcons.
Copyright: Ross on Wye Canoe Hire
This is the little laminated map supplied. Note the island hazard bit and what we said above, although by next year it will have no doubt changed again.
Only one thing for it really. Time for a meal out. We head up the road a few hundred yards to adjourn at ‘The Old Court Hotel’ for a meal in their outdoor garden.
The Old Court
Hotel at: https://www.visitherefordshire.co.uk/discover/old-court-hotel
Expenditure
today:
Car park
£6-00
Canoe hire –
for one canoe £60
Meal at Old Court
Hotel – for two with drinks and desserts £40
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Hi, we always look forward to hearing your comments, tips and thoughts. Drop us a line or two below. Take care now. Steve and Maggie