Our new friends

Last few miles

Giving ourselves the luxury of a lunch break at Triggs Lock just north of Guildford

lovely send off fron Neil's folks and their friends. Great breakfast and the best lunch of the trip - thank you Monica, Peter, Geoff and Ida. also really nice to see Mel and Alistair along the way ( no pun intended). They came out to find us which meant a lot and i look forward to seeing the photos.

the Wey is proving to be an ideal place to finish the trip - not too challenging, very scenic but still demanding enough in it's own way.

can't get too comforftable though as there's 9 miles to go. Soon be time for clean and dry clothes :-)

Leaving Addlestone

Last day

I cant quit believe it's the lasy day. I've got into quite a habit of gettig the day started which includes packing all my belongings into small dry bags wshich are swallowed by the boats.

neil's parents and their friends are very kindly coming to see us off and bringing breakfast. we have 17 miles to do by 4pm and we cant be late for our welcoming committee. The Wey will seem strange after the Thames - smaller, more friendly, less organised.

see some of you later and a big thank you to everyone who has sponsored us. It will make a big difference to peoples lives.

End of day 6

We arrived in addlestone at 6ish (early) and Neil found a sneaky backwater to deposit us in the pub garden. 120 miles done.

today saw us finish off the Thames and transition to the Wey Navigation. We had the luxury of riding through the last two locks on the Thames. So much easier than landing and carrying.

managing locks is always tricky but some are worse than others. The first one on the Wey was the worst yet. The process involved standing up in the kayak (never easy), making sure it doesnt slip out from benith you (as happend to me when i went for a dunk earlier im the week), climbing 4ft onto a wet and slippery metal walkway that was only 18 in wide. Finally, after carrying the boats along the walkway to safety we were told by the lock keeper that they usually recommend another landing place for kayaks!

Final day tomorrow. I'll be sorry to see it over but i am looking forward to being in dry clothes.

off to find food now.

Coming in to Dorney

Our two intrepid explorers arriving in Dorney (near Eton) last night.
Posted by Nicky

Back up and running

Hello from Dorney, close to Eton. 100 miles done, with a new phone but the same old end of day aches and pains.

We thought today was going to be an easier day - more fool us. We packed our smelly belongings and left Wargrave.

The Thames has been both a pleasant surprise and a hard task mistress. The surprise has been the number of deserted and lovely stretches. The task has been coping with what we now refer to as 'sticky water'. An example - we passed through Henley, paddling the measured and marked course. However it seems they replace the water with treacle. Some streches of water take so much extra effort to pass it seems like we are paddling through treacle. Neil is going to put his considerable engineering talents to work at solving this puzzle when we get home.

thanks to Nicky for bringing dinner (and a phone) tonight as we are in self catering. There's lots more to say but it will have to wait until we get home as it's late.

posted from my mobile.

Day 4 finished

Well they were obviously really in the swing of it by the end of day 4.  I'm hearing about "just stepping up a gear" and "efficient transfers round locks" etc.  All the talk of a pair of seasoned canal dudes.  The story of the day was about the canoe-friendliness of Kennet and Avon locks.  Well some seemed nice and easy with good launching spots, and then I heard the tales of other locks where the only way back into the water was down a 5 foot sheer drop.  Neil's seal launches were reputed to be reaching new heights (literally) while Jonathan even admitted to doing a few.  I heard of a near-swim experience for Neil and some distinctly dodgy moments around a traffic light system (I didn't know canals had traffic lights - did you?).  Anyway spirits seem high but though Jonathan's phone has made a partial recovery it is still not usable and is likely to be the subject of an eyebrow raising insurance claim.

Well I get to visit them tonight as chief supper provider and will get a better view on the effects 5 days of canal water can have on the human brain.
Posted by Nicky

Day 4

Neil and Jonathan are continuing their journey this morning.  They are leaving Thatcham near Newbury and heading on towards Reading and heading for tonight's stop at Wargrave.  Unfortunately Jonathan took an unexpected swim yesterday while getting back into the canoe after a lock.  He was fine, though very wet of course, but it seems that his mobile phone and camera were not quite so resilient.  So he is still hoping his phone might dry out and pop back into life but until such time I will post blogs on their behalf.

The news from last night suggested that they obviously are getting into the swing of the trip because they had large amounts of smelly soggy clothing hanging out to dry in the B&B room (not a nice thought).
Posted by Nicky on Weds morning.

Extreme seal launch

Posted from my mobile

Into the tunnel

So there it was, we went around a corner and came face to face with the tunnel mouth.

The reality is that a 500 mtr tunnel isn't that long. It only took a few  minutes to paddle through and then it was over.  The locks had been closed to big boats for the afternooon as there is a shortage of water so we had the place to ourselves.

In summary the day was dry, relaxing. and tiring. 9 hrs in total but abt 7 paddling.

Posted from my mobile

Getting back in the saddle

Steady start to the day. Shallow water makes it hard to padddle - like treacle. Quick stop at a swing bridge  for some of Sharons flapjack.. thanks sharon.

Plenty of wildlife especially ducklings and herons fishing thismorning
.
Posted from my mobile

Photos from the start

Well this is what it looked like yesterday at Top Lock in Bath as we waved goodbye to our intrepid (and very soggy) explorers. The rain had just come down in buckets, but then there was a chance meeting with some friends of Neil and Sharon's on a canal boat going through the lock at the same time which left us all in awe of how Neil and Sharon can conjure up a cup of tea in the most unlikely places. - Posted by Nicky

Day 2

Start of day 2.  It's amazing how curry and a good nights sleep can restore weary muscles.  I've still got sore shoulders but mainly from the long carry up Caen.

There seems to be a broad spectrum of humanity on the canal ranging from those escaping from the rat race to those making it part of their race.

We spent a large part of yesterday in contact with a hen party in two canal boats. Although we were faster than them we kept on meeting at locks.  Most of them had had enough with the rain and just wanted to be at home again. I suspect there were. Few hangovers as well. We also met a man who runs a mobile, water borne, tea shop. He's been doing it for many years and moves around the lock system as his mood takes him. He was clearly totally at home with his life and wouldnt want to be anywhere else.

The weather forecast is for rain and sunny spells today but hopefully lighter than yesterday! We paddle for 13 miles today in what seems to be known as the long pound - a stretch without locks.

Time to get the day started.

Posted from my mobile

Last hurdle of day 1 - Caen locks.  All I can say is it's bigger than it looks on the map.

Took us 1 1/2 hours to carry kayaks up but lots of lovely encouragement along the way.   Great welcome at the b&b and they even let our wet boots in the house!

End of a very wet day - wa had rain on and off all day.   Some really full on.  Thanks to family and friends for the send off in Bath.

Now it's time for food.

Posted  from my mobile

Who ordered rain!

Not just a bit of drizzle - the full works! Oh well - it all adds to the fun.

Time to launch :-)

Posted from my mobile

The night before:...

Nice afternoon in Bath . Climbed 220 steps to top of Bath Abbey tower, fantastic views then back down for tea. Both families separated this
evening - Neil, Sharon and Maisie to friends and us to our Hotel.

Meeting at 9.45 tomorrow for 10 o'clock depart. Can't wait to get under way when life all of a sudden becomes simpler.

Posted from my mobile.

Sorting out the maps

Today's big job was printing and laminating the maps.  Whilst the route is obvious it will help allot to have a good idea of where we are along the way.  This is especially important when trying to find the B&Bs as they all have directions by road but very few know the landmarks by water.

This involved printing and laminating 13 A4 maps (thanks Jo) which we will attach (one at a time) to the decks of our kayaks.  In addition to the interest of following our progress we will use them to measure distance & speed, and prepare for obstacles such as the Bruce Tunnel.

The tunnel is about 450 meters long and we go through it towards the end of on day 2.  We are carrying head torches and plan to paddle really really fast, hoping that any canal boat coming in the other direction is paying attention (don't worry mum it is safe - honest).

Trial run

Last minute fine tuning in Neil's garden. Water courtesy of Maisie and Dawn!

Keeping an eye on the weather

Bath Top Lock - our starting point.

The long range forecast looks promising with the met office quote of '...predominantly dry and often quite sunny weather with lighter winds, and it is likely to become warm, perhaps very warm...'


Who knows what it'll be like next Sunday when we get under way but if I can put in a vote for not too warm please. 


The weather has a big effect for me when I'm paddling.  If it's sunny I look outwards and my mind wanders where as if it's raining the hood comes up and I look inwards.

Rising level of excitement (panic)

Can it really only be just over a week away!

Caen Hill Locks lift the canal 237 feet

Need to start thinking about what to take.  Bare minimum only as there isn't too much space and every extra item means more weight to paddle and carry around the locks.

The longest portage seems to be the Caen Hill series of Locks at about 2 miles in total so some help with carrying might be needed.  Thinking about using webbing that can be turned into a shoulder yoke. My kayak probably weighs half as much again as Neil's but that disadvantage is somewhat offset by the extra volume (a bit like their owners then!)

Bank holiday Monday is the trial pack and review of final details.

Just Giving pages live

Our Just Giving pages are now live.  Please visit and help us achieve our target for Orbit Shed.  http://www.justgiving.com/teams/neilandjonathan

Accommodation sorted - at last

It took some doing, but we now have a place  to stay every night.  Having thought about (and rapidly dismissed) the idea of camping we set about finding places to stay.  Sounds simple, but they had to be roughly 20 miles apart and no further than a couple of hundred meters off the canal.

We managed to avoid the £720 per night option in Bray (home to the Fat Duck run by Heston Bloomingthingy).

The final itinerary is:

Kennet & Avon Canal
Day 1 - Bath to Devizes
Day 2 - Devizes to Crofton (nr Marlborough)
Day 3 - Crofton to Thatcham
Day 4 - Thatcham to Sonning on Thames (nr Henley on Thames)
River Thames
Day 5 - Sonning to Dorney (nr Windsor)
Day 6 - Dorney to Addlestone
River Wey
Day 7 - Addlestone to the finish at Farncombe Boat House near Gldalming

Last training paddle - 20 miles on the River Medway in Kent

What a great stretch of water



Neil demonstrating his perfect paddle action and Jonathan demonstrating he can't use the zoom!



Jonathan on one of the weirs

Neil - the master of the seal launch

On our first trip along the  the Medway we paddled a modest there and back 10 mile route between Teston Country Park and  Sluice Weir Lock.  A great paddle and I can highly recommend the Medway Canoe

Trail .

Just seconds after this photo was taken Neil (and his kayak) slipped gracefully into the water. 

The (crazy) idea and the great cause

It was Jonathan's idea. "How do you fancy paddling from Bath to Godalming?" Well, it's too mad to say no to, isn't it? We're off on June 5th, dragging ourselves by our arms 20 miles a day for 7 days. By the end of that we're going to look like Greek Gods. Or used teabags. It's hard to know. We've only paddled 20 miles once.
So to add a little sense, we'd love it if you could help us raise money for Orbit Shed.

Orbit Shed is a charity run by Neil's wife Sharon. It brings together lots of children of all abilities and backgrounds to work together, appreciate each other, gain confidence and create great theatre. Seeing the children, some quite profoundly disabled, acting, moving and supporting each other on stage is really quite moving. I’ve seen many a tear in the audience, and not just from the parents. And like all things, it requires money. Because they are so good there’s often a funder who will support the big events, which is great. But finding funding that they are allowed to use for the vital but dull things between shows that they need, like rent and insurance and materials for props, is proving nigh on impossible. Without money coming in for these things they can't keep going. We’d love to raise £3000 which will help them keep safe and growing. 

Basingstoke Canal in Feb!

It looks cold and damp - and it was!  Our second trip to the Basingstoke canal was not quite as magical as the first but still very enjoyable.  This photo shows Neil reversing (?) back over the aqueduct that crosses the A31 just outside Farnham.  I've driven under the bridge hundreds of times but never realised there was a canal flowing overhead.

First training paddle of the year - coldddddddd....

10 mile paddle on the Basingstoke canal.  An amazing day  to be out on the water, following the Kingfishers all the way.

So many layers it was hard to move

Into the sunset