Head for the Hills # 2

A few weeks ago Sean and I paddled and Portaged our kayaks from Stretford to Littleborough along the Bridgwater and Rochdale Canals. We will leave the 'Summit' section for another day. In the meantime Kirstine and I embarked upon the following section of the Rochdale Canal between Todmorden and Sowerby Bridge, to continue along the Calder and Hebble Navigation towards Wakefield.

We began our first afternoon's paddling a mile or so to the east of Todmorden with just a 4 mile section to go before meeting our friends Lisa and Frank with whom we would stay for the night at Hebden Bridge.

There were 6 locks to portage which was thirtsy work, thank goodness for canalside pubs!

The weather on the first day was pleasant enough but Sunday morning brought us sleet and drizzle and the prospect of 12 miles and 11 locks. The early start was painful but sadly essential.

The weather improved gradually throughout the day and by the time we arrived at Brighouse the sun came out an we celebrated our arrival with some good old Yorkshire fish and chips.

The previous day's rain had brought the river levels up beyond safe limits on the River Calder sections below the Brighouse Basin locks so we decided that this would be the end for this particular paddling trip. Instead I collected the car from Todmorden and we used our remaining day with some walking along the Yorkshire coast at Robin Hood's Bay and Flamborough Head.

The Leven Estuary - Brrrrrrrrr!

When it comes to paddling in nice scenery you cannot beat an estuary that hosts thousands of ducks, geese and wading birds; has a mysterious island and a backdrop of snow dusted peaks.

The Leven estuary is on the south Lakeland coast close to Ulverston. This may not be one of the classic sea kayaking destinations but has provided a wonderfully varied day out on the water.

I was shared my journey with:

Bill..........


....... and Royanne.

We waited for the notoriously fast tides to rise then beat a fast passage into the middle of the flow so that we could take a closer look at Chapel Island.

We saw one lonely Redshank.............


........... dozens of Shelduck..................


......and hundreds of Oystercatchers.


Leaving the island behind us we encountered more lively conditions caused by the northerly wind blowing against the rising tide as we approached the railway viaduct. In the higher reaches the Ulverston Inshore Rescue crew came to say hello before heading back for their base.

We stopped briefly at Greenodd where the River Crake meets the estuary for a well earned butty break. In the past I have paddled to this point from Lake Coniston, down the grade 2-3 rapids of the River Crake.

We started back shortly before the tide turned in order to minimalise the possibility of becoming grounded on sandbanks. Some scattered snow showers soon took the warmth of the spring sunshine away and brought cold squalls amongst which I was pleasantly surprised to see half a dozen House Martins dodging the flakes.

'Six swallows doth not a winter break.'

Our return was perfectly timed just as the first of the mudbanks at Bardsea were becoming exposed. After carrying our boats a short way up the shingle beach there was time to have a cup of scalding hot tea before starting the journey home.

There are some more photos of the day here.

Head for the hills - The Rochdale Canal

As a keen hillwalker I often head for higher ground in search of arduous challenges and breathtaking views. This trip would provide a different challenge. The aim was to get from my house to the Yorkshire border by kayak.

Sean and I wheeled our sea kayaks through the streets to the Bridgewater canal where it passes close to my house at Stretford in south Manchester. We Started paddling shortly before 8-30am.

Paddling through Stretford we passed the backs of terraced housing, industrial estates and container storage areas before making our way beneath the towering framework of Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium.

The architecture on the approach to the city centre is a stark contrast of old and new. Scrap metal yards with dilapidated mills remarkably remain beside the latest designer tower blocks with their balconies of pressure treated timber, stainless steel and shiny self cleaning glass. I can only imagine that the old buildings have been left as somewhere for the pigeons and rats to live.

Castlefield basin is where the Bridgewater Canal meets the Rochdale Canal. Residents of the desirable canal side housing are well served at the nearby trendy bars and restaurants. One such establishment takes its name from the lowest (final) lock on the Rochdale Canal. Dukes lock is the 92nd and marks the first step in our arduous uphill battle. Before long we began to see how the others live. The many tunnels and arches beneath Manchester city centre are used for overnight shelter by the homeless and the putrid stench of stale urine urged us to move swiftly on.

Our elation at escaping the city's claustrophobic confines was short lived. Within the city we portaged a series of locks known as 'The Rochdale Nine' only to find that this canal has an average of 3 locks per mile all the way to the summit! We were happy to use trolleys to portage flights of two or more locks whilst we carried our kayaks round single ones. The most irritating is a combination of locks with short stretches of less than 300 metres. Hardly worth paddling, difficult to portage.

On the north side of the city lies the suburbs of Miles Platting and Newton Heath. This stretch of the canal has recently been re-opened here. Boarded up council houses have yet to make way for designer apartments here. Feeding generous chunks of thick, square, white bread to the ducks and geese is as popular as ever but on our arrival amongst the Asian communities of Oldham the square white loaf of 'Mother's Pride' fame is replaced by last night's left over chapati and naan.

Soon after we passed beneath the M60 motorway we found more rural surroundings north of Chadderton and a gruelling flight of locks at Slattocks. (photo - Sean Jesson)

Further still towards Rochdale, low bridges gave us some limbo entertainment. (photo Sean Jesson)

Finally, at 4-00pm, having travelled 35km and portaged 42 locks we decided we'd had enough. We finished at Littleborough, 4km and 3 locks short of the canal summit and the Yorkshire border.

This week my friends Justine Curgenven and Barry Shaw have completed an amazing circumnavigation of New Zealand's South Island - I'd like to extend my congratulations to them!

A Windswept Isle of Man

This being the earliest Easter for many years I should have not been surprised at the weather we encountered on this kayaking trip to the Isle of Man. Having booked the high speed ferry from Liverpool the Isle of Man Steam Packet Co. contacted me a further two times to inform me of changes to the crossing due to forecast winds of up to force 10 in the Irish Sea. Peter, Glen, Chris and I eventually left on the overnight boat from Birkenhead and after a gut churning crossing we disembarked and took breakfast at 'The Caff' in Douglas.

The wind had not abated so we started our tourist trail with a look at Calf Sound. With huge waves breaking onto the jagged shoreline there was clearly no paddling to be done here today. It was unlikely we could have taken our kayaks from the roof racks without causing injury to ourselves or damage to the boats or cars.

The chilly arctic blast blew us to what would become our base for the trip. 'Ballabrooie' is home to the Tastagh family and the base for Keirron's 'Adventurous Experiences' kayaking, climbing and coasteering business. As ever we were given a warm welcome washed down with plenty of tea.

Eager to make the most of the day and to stave off inactivity we headed inland to view the Island from its highest peak. Snaefell stands 621 metres and offers splendid views over much of the Isle of Man, and beyond to Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales.

In search of more maritime entertainment we returned to the coast at Peel where we stumbled upon a bunch of surfers and kayakers relishing the arctic conditions.

Saturday brought a little in the way of change in the relentless north or northwesterly winds. With a decrease to force 5-7 we decided to have a go at some of the east coast. Following an aborted attempt to paddle south from Port Mooar we decided more shelter would be better found further south at Port Grenaugh. Peter and I paddled northeast to Port Soderick and beyond to Little Ness. The Rockhopping and squally down draughts from the tall cliffs kept us entertained for the remainder of the afternoon.

Easter Sunday Peter and I felt that the wind had abated enough for us to make our way around the low lying Langness Peninsula, across Castletown Bay and into Port St Mary. After an easy start with plenty of enjoyable rockhopping and some fun in the overfalls the finish was to become one of the coldest and most testing paddles I have done for some considerable time. Whilst crossing Bay ny Carrickey we were tenderised by squally force 6+ winds with sleet and hail. Relief at arriving in the comparative shelter of Port St Mary was marred by the painful procedure of removing my frozen fingers from my paddle.

Monday brought the four of us together to repeat the paddle from Port Grenaugh to Little Ness and back and indulge further rockhopping adventures. The wind strength and direction had not changed giving us precious little option and as the afternoon wore on gusty down draughts became an increasing feature in the day's entertainment.

Keirron had been kind enough to spare us an arctic survival course and rather than leaving us to camp in the field he allowed us to stay in what will be his new lecture room. This gave us the opportunity to get warm and dry, enjoy a reasonably comfortable existence and enjoy the results of Peter's culinary expertize.

Before leaving for the ferry on Tuesday morning we chipped in with some Polish style 'flying labour' to help out with the completion of the lecture room.

There are more pictures from the NWSK Easter trip to the Isle of Man here.

Double Trouble up North

Its all Glen's Fault!

He asked me if I would help him test drive a sea kayak that he had his eye on. Glen is planning to do some sea kayak racing in the forth coming season and believes he has located a suitable craft. This 'Orcadian 2' kayak needs two people! I sometimes paddle an Aleut 2 double kayak which is big, stable, maneuverable and forgiving.

I'm not sure if it was the adverse weather conditions, the unusual nature of the craft, Glen's inexperience at the helm or a combination, but our short sea trial at Newbiggin ended with a broken rudder cable and a sense of "Phew!" when we landed through the short dumping surf. Afterwards we were treated to a tour of the local lifeboat station where we gained a sense of, "Don't worry, we had you covered!"

We left the boat for the potential vendor to nurse back to health and headed even further north to the new bunkhouse at Chatton Park Farm. The bunkhouse comes well recommended, especially as there is a fine pub only 10 minutes walk away.

We failed to generate a substantial hangover so following a rigorous pre-breakfast constitutional, hearty breakfast and short drive to Boulmer we engaged the sea once more.

The morning's conditions favoured a journey north until lunchtime when the turn of tide would lead us to head south and finish where we started. Our first stop was Craster, famous for Kippers, but also has a pub and a quaint harbour.

Dunstanborough Castle stands mighty and strikes fear into the hearts of potential invaders. We moved on.....

Low Newton has a pub so friendly and well stocked with fine ales and food that we couldn't bear to stand in the lengthy queue. We settled for a couple of mouldy flapjacks from my drybag and some tepid coffee from Glen's thermos.

We made haste on the return to Boulmer for fear we might be ravaged by the approaching boisterous weather and the farmer had warned us that his cows like to nuzzle wing mirrors on the cars parked in his conveniently positioned field.

NWSK Pre-Season Meet

A Great way to begin plotting and scheming trips for the coming spring and summer months is to have a bit of a get together with your mates. The best venue to be found so far is the 'Anglesey Outdoors' centre. There are plenty of varying paddling areas suitable for different paddling abilities allowing for most weather conditions. There is also a homely bar called 'The Paddlers Return'.

The Paddlers Return Bar makes for a suitable rendez-vous for meeting up on the Friday evening. Following a hearty breakfast in the centre we split into 3 groups. One group went to the Menai Straits I paddled with another group from Moelfre on the east coast hoping for shelter from the force 7-8 winds. The remaining paddlers remained land bound with walking boots as their weapons of choice for the day.
I was indulging in some rockhopping on the return from Red Wharf Bay to Moelfre when I edged that bit too far on a sharp turn. My surprise at losing balance on flat water led to woefully inadequate attempts at high brace and roll. Whilst I was gasping for air and rapidly losing dignity my paddling pals were gathering with laughter and cameras.

The evening entertainment was splendid as ever! Snowie created a hearty 3 course meal for us, which was followed by an excellent slide show provided by Kev. Kirstine is to hold the 'Polish Association of Reluctant Paddlers - Award for Aquatic Excellence' for a lengthy swim near to Ardnamurchan last summer.

Before leaving Anglesey on Sunday some of us headed off to Bull Bay whilst others took the easier option of engaging some terrific surfing conditions a Trearddur Bay.

Expedition Planning

I spent the last weekend at the Paddlesports Expedition Symposium at Plas y Brenin. The weekend was a series of practical workshops and seminars covering the many aspects of planning an expedition that might escape the attention of event the more experienced canoeists and kayakers.
My first session was all about staying healthy on expeditions. Water purification, jabs, malaria avoidance and how to do what bears do in the woods were all covered in fine style by Loel Collins.
There were slide shows and talks and further workshops on expedition photography, first aid and even dealing with fatalities too. At an open 'experts corner' session in the bar I managed to corner Ollie Sanders and pick his brains on the subject of logistics as I am planning a return to Greenland in the next couple of years.
Day two was largely spent on the bushcraft sessions which covered the safe use of a knife and basic woodcraft skills. We put some of these skills into practice splitting and carving hazel staves into apparatus suitable for grilling fish.
Following a splendid demonstration we followed suit and gutted the fish and grilled them over a fire whist cooking small buns in a dutch oven.
The loaves and fishes proved too much and so the left overs were fed to the 5000 (or so) hungry paddlers nearby.There are some more photos from the weekend here.

Canoexpo 2008

The golden winter sunshine outside kept me longing to be outdoors but I had decided long before that I wanted to use Canoexpo as an opportunity to catch up with some old friends and hopefully make some new ones too.

My offer of help to Pesda Press with their shared stand with book distributors, Cordee was greatfully received and I got the chance to meet some happy recipients of the 'Welsh Sea Kayaking' guide. The Cordee / Pesda Press stand had an open and informal feel and was busy throuought the weekend with people taking the opportunity to browse over the huge selection of guides, maps and manuals.

Amongst the crew at the stand were other Pesda Press authors & staff, from left to right: Peter Wood (Pesda Press), Gordon Brown (author of Sea Kayak), Me (author of Welsh Sea Kayaking), Franco Ferrero (Pesda Press) and Derek Hairon (author of Sit-on-Top Kayak).

Arnside in the sunshine

This is the third time I have visited the pleasant seaside town of Arnside in as many months but until this time the weather had always been quite gloomy. This time the sun came out which makes a wonderful difference. Arnside is beside the estuary of the river Kent in the northeast corner of Morecame Bay. There is an abundance of wildlife to be seen here and the fishing is good here too. One of the famed activities here is barefoot flounder fishing. I have been told tales about wading around in the shallow water feeling for flounder in the soft sand and mud and cathching them by hand.

We Paddled from the promenade beach out with the gently flowing water from the River Kent. Heading out towards the outer reaches close to Blackstone Point we saw plenty of cormorants, redshank, turnstone and herons.

A disturbance on the still waters in the distance was the first sign that the 'bore' was on its way. The wave was less than a foot in height and moving a little more than a brisk walking pace. Birds that had been bobbing around on the calm waters took to the air everywhere around us as we turned to surf the surging incoming tidal wave.

After spending some time surfing the standing waves under the railway viaduct we headed north up the estuary in search of serenity in the upper tidal reaches of the River Kent before returning to Arnside on the early ebbing tide in time for fish and chips and a cup of tea.

Riverdance - biscuits on the beach!

On the way to Arnside I left the M6 and headed off towards Blackpool's North Shore where the ill fated ro-ro ferry 'Riverdance' lies stranded like a steel whale. I wandered accross the sands towards the bow and got closer than the coastguards and security team wanted me to. I have travelled by ferry many times to Ireland and France and these monsters seem so solid and elegant in their own way. To see 'Riverdance' half on her side like this seems quite surreal.

There was no further sign of the biscuits that were washed up along the shore but I have it on good authority that there are not likely to be any deaths due to starvation amongst the Blackpool and Cleveleys seagull population this month.