Flatwater trip ideas
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This page lists suggestions and resources for flatwater trips. Members of the club are likely to have some of the offline resources mentioned - please ask on the forums.
Contents
General resources for flat water trips
- Pub Paddles is a great resource for planning flatwater trips in the south of England, though the trips are quite short.
- BCU 100 Paddles book is an old book now, but is online and can help with ideas for trips.
- Canoe England Canoe Trails
- http://www.canoedaysout.com/ has lots of good recommendations
- http://www.canoetrips.co.uk/ looks to be a lovely site with lots of well photographed and described trips
Suggested paddles
The Lee and Stort offers easy flat water paddles - some are pretty, some are a little grim. Griff Rhys Jones' book & TV series 'Rivers' has a chapter/episode on the Lee Navigation and tells its history.
Starting at Limehouse Basin (The Limehouse loop)
- Local to the club. You can walk boats over in about 10-15 minutes.
- Paddle a loop though the navigation and the river, with lunch in Victoria Park
- The Limehouse Cut water can be a bit dirty and smelly.
- A hire option is MooCanoes
Hire boats on the Lee at Broxbourne
- Lee Valley Canoe Hire are situated in Edmonton, (a little north of Lee Valley WW Centre)
- Connected to public transport, on a train from Liverpool Street or Tottenham Hale.
- offers a prettier area of the Lee Valley, outside the M25. There are backwaters that can be explored offering a nice loop back to the hire centre as well as a number of riverside pubs.
Hire boats on the Stort
- Whoosh Explore are situated in Bishops Stortford.
- Connected to public transport, on a train from Liverpool Street or Tottenham Hale.
- A pretty paddle, that runs along side a train-line allowing one way trips with the hire company picking up the boats.
Hertford and the Lea North of Enfield
- Pretty section of the Navigation, beautiful scenery with lots of options for trips
- Looping trips are possible using the river and the canal, starting at Hertford, parking and putting in near the leisure centre.
- A couple of 'canoe safe' weirs may require helmets
- Trips blogs from Hertford in 2011 and 2012
General Resources
- lots of maps/leaflets of the navigation available
- Lee and Stort Navigations map covers the whole area (and includes parking and pubs): ISBN 0-86351-131-7
- fairly short flatwater paddles
- canoes can be hired: http://www.farncombeboats.co.uk/rowing.htm
Resources:
- National trust has book/map of the navigations (only sold at the site - no ISBN)
- http://weyriver.co.uk/theriver/wey_nav_1.htm (and a map)
- Nicholson Guide ISBN 0-7028-3302-9
Basingstoke Canal
The Thames
Non-tidal Thames including backwaters: St Patrick's stream, The Loddon
- the non-tidal Thames offers many paddling opertunites and trips. Using the various backwaters you can make looping trips
- the club had a trip there in 2009, and again in 2010 and 2011
- We've hired boats from Thames Canoes for a few trips on the Thames between Henley and Marlow
- Canoe focus covers part of the same area: [1]
- Marsport appears to hire out Canoes for the day: [2]
- The Oxford Circuit is another great paddle with an easy get on. Also includes options of exploring some backwaters.
Upper reaches of the Tidal Thames
- good put in at Kew Bridge (ramp + parking + old skool caff)
- tidal, so needs planning
- lots of potential stops down stream
- central London traffic can slow down journey to and from put in.
- upstream towards Richmond is a nice simple paddle with a little tidal flow
The River Medway
- there is loads of information about the Medway online. Get Googling.
- for starters see : http://medwaycanoetrail.co.uk/
- EB Adventures hires boats on The Medway: http://www.ebadventures.com/
Norfolk and Suffolk Broads
- a map : http://www.richardsonsboatingholidays.co.uk/media/img/common/area_map.jpg
- offers many opportunities for flatwater paddling
- many places to hire canoes
- can be busy with other watercraft
River Waveney
- leads to Oulton Broad, giving a trip with different areas to paddle in
- the club had a trip here in 2009
- mildly tidal and more than a little windy, its a beautiful and remote area
- Waveney River Centre offers camping and other accommodation, and good put ins (and might have a few canoes to hire)
River Stour
- A favourite paddle of many, offering some simple run-able weirs and a camp site halfway along
- The rive runs away from towns and roads for a lot of its length.
- well supported canoe trail with managed portages and passes being improved.
Rivers Ant and Bure
- you can pass through different waters such as Barton Broad
- The Canoe Man will hire out canoes and a few kayaks and recommend wetsuit friendly B & Bs (he'll also drop you off at the starting point)
Other options
- you can hire canoes to paddle on the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation: http://www.papermilllock.co.uk/canoe.htm
