Canoeing plans torpedoed

By the morning it had stopped raining, and there was even a bit of sunshine breaking through the clouds. We took the opportunity to lay out some clothes to dry off a bit while we made coffee and ate some cereals, a little bleary eyed. Then Ady rang and gave us the bad news. The river had risen still further overnight and he wouldn’t let us continue.

So we packed everything away and waited to be collected, a bit despondent. Back at Lucksall where we had left the cars, Ady didn’t want to charge us anything, although we insisted.

We picked up a walking leaflet from Lucksall Caravan Park reception and set off on a 9 km walk. At Fownhope we didn’t fancy either pub so we pressed on through Cherry Hill and down into a large old orchard. At Mordiford the only pub, the Moon Inn was shut (our own fault – we had been warned they were moving) so we ate crisps bought from the old post office whilst sitting in the Norman churchyard.

Back at the caravan park we broke out the stove and made some noodles, thinking we had better have some food before setting off for home. Dry for the first time, in the pretty caravan park setting with lunch inside us, our spirits began to lift. “If only there was a pub near here, I’d be tempted to stay tonight.” I said. So Dave rang the White Lion pub in Ross on Wye to see if its campsite was still full. Luckily, they had spaces so that’s what we decided to do.

The ‘campsite’ is in fact a grassy riverbank beyond the beer garden walls. Actually a great spot provided you didn’t imagine the river rising still further in the night and washing the tents away. The landlord and landlady were friendly and the food good, washed down with local cider.