Wrapping up...

Well, it's a nearly five months since we finished the canoe trip and it all seems like an eternity ago. I realised I didn't update the blog with the final figures for the sponsorship so I wanted to do that before I start the next blog (Tow Cycling, cycling all the canal tow paths in mainland Britain, about 2,600 miles) so, here we go.....

I'm very pleased / proud / grateful to say that....

You sponsored us to the tune of....

£1,238 in total for: Cancer Research UK, Help for Heroes and Parkinson's UK....

Thank you from all of us, and the sufferers and carers that benefit from you generous donations,

Colin, Gordon, Nigel.

Putting things in context….

The following video was taken by Tina (Nigel's better half) when we were on the Kennet and Avon canal. It looks calm, it looks sedate, it looks very relaxed and generally ‘pleasant’, and you’re right it was all of the above.

Now, picture that same boat, with the same people, in central London with the wind whipping up a swell and being pushed around by huge pleasure craft and high speed ferries carrying tens - or hundreds - of passengers (there’s a short video later in the blog). It was far from: calm, sedate, relaxed and the last thing it was is pleasant. Having said all that, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world!!

After the event…

Well, it’s all over now. The three of us successfully paddled our open canoe from Avonmouth on the Severn estuary to the O2 Arena and on to the Thames Barrier.  It’s now time to get back to normality: Nigel has taken the canoe back to Brookbank, Gordon has given the throwlines back to NCKC (Northampton Canoe Club) and I’ve started working again :-(

We’ll be updating things over the next few days as we get all our photo’s etc. together so please do pop back here but in the meantime this link is a Google Earth view of our route over the whole 8 days – it’s a large file so may take a little while to download (when prompted, either ‘Save’ it or ‘Open’ it straight away with Google Earth). The picture below is what you’ll see but you can zoom in and out and ‘fly’ our route if you open the link in Google Earth (oh, I know it’s sad but I love it!!).

If you want even more detail (and let’s face it, who could resist), click on the individual links pasted into the entries for each day, mind you, don’t let anybody know you did this as you’ll immediately be branded a geek – or worse – but I don’t believe there is yet a register you have to sign so, go on, enjoy yourself.

If you still have the will to live when you get to the bottom of the page and you wish to read even more, please click on ‘Older Posts’ and it will take you off to earlier days of exciting adventures… yawn…..  :-)

If you can afford to, it would be good if you could support any of the three charities we’re raising money for (Parkinson’s UK, Cancer Research UK and Help for Heroes), you can do so by clicking on the links at the top left of the page. If you don’t have much money, no problem but please do a good turn for somebody – there’s always someone less fortunate than us.

Some of the trip factoids are:

Trip length:	8 Days
Distance:	182.22 mi
Avg Distance:	22.78 mi/day
Max Distance:	28.43 mi
Total time:	60:30:58 h:m:s
Avg paddling time per day:	7:33:52/day
Avg Speed:	3.0 mph
Number of locks:	128
Avg locks per day:	16 /day
Max locks (one day):	43 (day 3)
Elevation gain:	869m
Elevation loss:	854m
Max elevation gain (one day):	242m
Max elevation loss (one day):	243m

Day 8 - - afterwards!! – 25 miles, no locks

The link for the final (very scary) bit is…

Day 8, Isleworth to Thames Barrier

We stored the canoe on the roof of the Swan Inn, Isleworth (these photos show us getting it back down in the morning). Dean, the Landlord, and Chef thought it was great fun, I suspect we’ll be the talking point of the pub for weeks to come!

 

 

Champing at the bit – waiting for high tide (1:30pm) so we can ride it down to the Barrier, note how steep the slipway is.

 

 

Craven Cottage (Fulham FC) from the back – a view most people don't get to see

 

 

So Mr & Mrs MP, about these expenses you’ve been claiming…

 

Here’s some video Nigel took while we were desperately hanging on to the boat, unfortunately we couldn’t video when it was really scary as we were busy squeezing any remaining sap out of the wooden paddles.

 

 

it really was very scary, the pleasure boat captains just want to do their job… ferry passengers from A, to B, to C, etc. they have no real interest in people that are on the river for their own enjoyment. Some of the boats are very large and very fast and create a wash that is really hard to ride, it’s even worse when it reflects off the walls or mixes with other boats’ wakes , it’s like paddling a matchbox through a washing machine.

 

These raisins lasted us all week and were a great buy. Here we were holed up having a bit of a rest under Festival Pier, just after Westminster bridge.

 

This needs no introduction

HMS Belfast… very poignant for Nigel… coming from Nor’n Ireland

 

A bit closer now

 

Hey, if we’d been 5 minutes later we could have gone under the open bridge… hmmm, I think not

 

A little while later we came across the Greenwich Observatory then…

The O2 of 72o2 (Severn to O2)!!

 

Finally(ish), the Thames Barrier and THE END………

 

 

 

Just before we went through the barrier, the VTS (Vessel Transit Service – they manage the shipping for the Port of London Authority) announced over the VHF to an approaching high speed ferry, “A canoe is heading through the barrier – keep a close watch” – hey, we’re famous!

 

Here’s the video…

 

 

Looking back towards Canary Wharf, you can see the Thames Barrier silhouetted against Docklands…

 

 

The real end…. a mile down river at Barge House Causeway (Victoria Gardens).

 

But first, there is something, somehow, perverse and voyeuristic about this photo Tina took of us using the self timer to take a photo of ourselves…

 

… what do you think?

 

 

Finally, I have to say this has been one of the scariest days of my life… but it’s amazing how much sweeter is the taste of achievement…

 

 

Day 8… before we go….

We’re just sitting in the Swan Inn in Isleworth where we stayed last night, waiting for high water so we can set off and ride teh tide rather than fight it.

I must confess to being a bit worried: paddling through central London with all the pleasure craft on a hot, sunny, July Saturday will, I suspect, be quite stressful, especially as we’ll be travelling quite quickly by the time we’re there as we’ll be assisted by both tide and current… hey, it’s why we do it I suppose.

We’ve changed our plans as well, rather than staying over tonight in Docklands we’re going home as we just discovered our getting out point is further away from the hotel than originally believed and we’d have been carrying the boat for a mile and a half along fairly busy roads – going home’s a better plan!

Day 7 – Chertsey to Isleworth – 15 miles, 4 locks

To see the route we took today, please click on this link

72o2 Day 7 - Chertsey to Isleworth - 15 miles

 

My artistic side trying to get out

I love the bell on the side of the ferry sign for calling the ferryman over

The special rolling portage points on some locks are fantastic!!! No carrying, just roll the boat up, over, down.

 

Two fine figures of men and no mistake… this is where we ran over the dead magpie

“Now you see, Gordon, our ankles and knees wouldn’t hurt half as much if we were just a bit younger”

This one’s for you Dutch!

It’s the Met Police… well, I thought it was funny…

Some of the houseboats that line the Thames. I believe Lilly Allen lives on one of them, probably not these though!

Hampton Court Palace, lots of small ferries scurried around taxiing people across the river to teh palace entrance… it was mayhem.

Swans to the left of me, swans to the right, here I am stuck in the middle with you

Teddington Lock, after here we’re on tidal water. It’s a bit difficult to see but there are three locks, to the left is the rolling lock for skiffs and canoes, the middle is the barge lock and other boats use the right hand one.

Thankfully we were being watched by a heron rather than a buzzard…

Richmond Half Tide Lock (the lock’s under the right span) has a barrier that lowers from the bridge 2 hours before low tide to form a weir, I really wouldn’t want to be underneath when it comes down.

Day 6 Hurley to Chertsey - 28 miles – 12 locks.

The GPS track showing our route for teh day is here:

72o2 day 6 - Hurley to Chertsey

WE pulled into the Rowing Club at Bourne End to change around and let Gordon and  me rest our ankles, the trouble is there’s goose poo everywhere, it’s horrible.

How does the heron manage to perch on that branch at the top of the tree?

 

Going down the portage ramp… oh it’s so easy, why can’t they all be like this?

 

 

We were going to pop in and see Liz for a cup of tea but thought better of it.

It’s not a bad pad though, is it?

28 miles today has really taken it out of us

 

Just to backup my earlier comment about the towel Gordon very kindly got for me… please compare my towel with the one he bought himself!

72o2 day 5 - Woolhampton to Hurley – 26 miles – 17 locks

The route we followed is here…

72o2 Day 5 - Woolhampton to Hurley

Ready for off after too many beers the night before while watching Spain get through to the World Cup final..

You see some odd things on the river… such as….

… dancing reeds…

… well, paddling all day long can cause the mind to wander… especially when it had been exposed to too much beer the night before!

Our first view of the Thames as we left the Kennet and Avon canal at Reading…

… it came as a real shock after the flat waters of the canal, especially when the first boat passed us… ooh, eeeh!

Sonning Lock… it’s a bit skanky: I’m glad it was Nigel holding the chain.

 

Some of the boats we’re seeing nowadays are very nice….

 

Approaching Henley bridge we braced ourselves to fly down the one mile race course….

On your marks….

 

And we’re off…

… we went the wrong way down the course, hence we finished at the Start.

So then… just how did we do…

 

Oh, we’ll be in the race proper next year, I’m sure.

And finally for today…