The Dee
Oh, the great Dee tour we have all heard so much about but where are all the canoeists, where are all the spectators? Oh I forgot, the fishermen put a stop to all the fun, all the money to be made by local innkeepers, shopkeepers, cafes bed and breakfasts etc and where were all the fishermen? Nowhere to be seen!
However a small issue like the fishermen were not going to stop Bristol canoe club so one Friday evening 9 of us set off to Llangollen; Paul and Tim coming from Cranfield and bringing Lisa F with them, Tony, Dom and myself and eventually Rich G with Nick and Martin – apparently it took nearly as long for Nick and Martin to find Severn Beach as doing the remainder of the journey. Meanwhile Tony, Dom and I established ourselves in the Scout hut in the middle of the town and Tony then gave us a guided tour of Llangollen which included one really nice pub by the river with friendly folk, good beer, great atmosphere but in case we got too comfortable he then took us to the worst pub in Llangollen- bad beer, bad atmosphere and karaoke being sung alternately by large welsh lasses or 2 ancient men. The entire population of the bar. And made us stay there until closing time.
However, having recovered from this experience and Rich, Nick and Martin arriving in the early hours of the morning, we set off to the river. Down the Serpents Tail, roll at the bottom- the usual oh I have done the hard bit I can relax now- then over. Then on through Mile End Mill with lots of playing and despite it being freezing cold, Martin appeared to prefer his head being under the water rather than out of it. 10 rolls was it?! Then down through Town Falls with some discussion about lines but I learnt in France- follow Tim. Cranfield lines are more reliable than Bristol lines and sure enough we all got down in one piece with Paul doing a spectacular roll in the middle. Note, not one fisherman spotted.
Everyone except Dom and I then did the trip again despite it attempting to snow and a very laborious paddle up the canal. However it was all made worthwhile (for me and Dom as spectators anyway) watching the Bristol line of following Tony down the right on Town Falls- hitting rocks, walls, rolling, lots of splashing but sadly no swimming. I even had the camera but preferred watching the entertainment without a lens in the way. Then back to the Scout hut for lots of hot tea and chocolate followed by a trip to the cafe for more hot drinks, scones and cakes.
Nick was top chef of the weekend and cooked both breakfasts and our evening meal assisted by able seaman, sorry paddler, Martin. Saturday evening we went to pubs without karaoke. Hurray!
With great originality we decided to repeat the same trip again the next day. The next day being Remembrance Sunday we had to be out before the town closed its streets, then down the Serpents Tail, through Mile End Mill and with no noise in case the poppy brigade spotted us coming under the bridge. We crept down the err left hand line on Town Falls and managed to get to the bottom with no major incidents. Tim, Lisa, Paul and myself then carried on the next 6 kilometres which is a gentle grade 2 past lots of fishermen who did not seem half as scary as portrayed and generally ignored us- the fishing must be good because we had 2 huge salmon jump up right next to us. Obviously intrigued as to what these brightly coloured plastic things were.
So an excellent weekend, just wish it was open access and everyone could join in the fun.
Teresa Treasure