It's getting there....

... Gordon is definitely doing it, Nigel is definitely doing it, Tony is hopefully doing it... it's on!!

We'll be canoeing across England in July.

Two past experiences melded together to form this plan. In 2006 the same four of us: Nigel, Gordon, Tony and me (plus Liz and Gary were numbers five and six) canoed the Thames (see here), then in September of this year I cycled along the Avon & Kennet canal from Avonmouth on the Severn estuary to Bradford on Avon then on to Thatcham, about 80 miles in total, following towpaths all the way (well apart from a couple of diversions!).

As a slight aside, I had a wonderful experience while riding along the towpath just past Hungerford when I went round a bend and saw coming in the opposite direction, a horse drawn narrow boat... yes, a horse drawn narrow boat... fantastic!

Anyway, while I was cycling along, various thoughts came to me: I hadn't realised until I'd started studying the maps for this ride that if you follow the river Avon upstream... and keep going via the Kennet... you broach the crown of the country and eventually meet the Thames in Reading. I didn't manage to get that far but it made me think... if the rivers meet up then it's possible to cycle from the Severn Estuary to the Thames Estuary... the Servern Bridge to the Thames Barrier... the west coast to the east... following towpaths all the way... it sounded good.

And then it struck me that if it's possible to cycle across the country following towpaths, it's possible to CANOE across the country... and thus the idea was born.

It's about 180 miles from Avonmouth to the Thames Barrier. The final route still needs to be sorted out as it's dependent on tides and landing places but I expect it will be from Severn Beach (by the Severn Bridge) to the Thames Barrier (we may need to go through it and back again to land by the Dome where I seem to recall there are jetties), anyway I expect the end result will be about a 200 mile paddle.

It's worth remembering that the two estuaries are at sea level and so we will have to canoe uphill for the first half of the journey!!! OK, it's not that bad, it's: flat bit, lock, flat bit, lock, flat bit lock etc. but look at this photo of Caen Hill lock flight on the way up to Devizes. A flight of 16 locks but a total of 29 locks that must be negotiated in the space of two and a quarter miles - that's going to be tough!!

I distinctly remember just how difficult it was when canoeing the Thames in 2006 (blisters, cramps, capsizes etc.), and sincerely hope the lessons learned then help this time around... we shall see!!