musings

At 7.30 we went off for a pre-breakfast walk to the top of Symonds Yat Rock. It was a lovely morning and we had the place to ourselves. It’s a steep climb up through the woods, where we bumped into a regular from the White Lion in Ross-on-Wye. There is a walled viewing area at the summit with a perfect view of the rocks where peregrine falcons nest. You can also see the vast sweep of the river as it doubles back on itself – something you are not aware of when canoeing.

Dave and I were ready for breakfast by the time we returned, but once again we were frustrated; breakfast at the Saracen’s Head was served to residents only, and the landlord refused to be persuaded otherwise – even though there were plenty of empty tables.

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Woke to another fine morning with noisy house martins busily flitting back and forth to their nests in the eaves of the White Lion. We had an excellent cooked breakfast there on the terrace, watching swans gliding back and forth along the river before Mark Simons from The River Wye Canoe Hire Company arrived to issue us with our equipment.

He also gave us a safety briefing and instructions for dealing with various hazards and features along the river. It was a lot to take in, and one person in another group was so fazed she changed her mind and decided not to canoe.

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Our adventure down the River Wye from Mordiford at the end of July had been cut short at Ross-on-Wye due to the dangerously swollen river. But Dave and I were still keen to do the second section, from Ross down to Redbrook.

This time I took the train, a direct service from Stockport to Hereford where Dave picked me up. We drove to Ross-on-Wye and pitched our tents at the White Lion once more.

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We had a much better night’s sleep and the river level had actually fallen overnight. However, we still couldn’t get anyone to hire us a canoe for a downstream trip, on safety grounds. So after making breakfast we got a walking guide from the Tourist Information and drove to Goodrich for a walk which took us south along the banks of the Wye. Symonds Yat towered on the other side of the river, with birds of prey circling and screeching above us.

We were rather frustrated to see parties of canoeists – school trips I imagine – safely enjoying the stretch of river denied to us.

The walk took us

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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

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A three day canoe trip down the Wye River, Herefordshire. What could be more idyllic? Dave and I met at Lucksall Caravan Park, Mordiford where a nice bloke called Ady runs Hereford Canoe Hire.

It was pouring with rain which – if that weren’t bad enough – meant that the river Wye was full and fast, and getting worse. Our original plan had been to canoe down to Monmouth over three days, but Ady felt that would be too risky. We could do a day’s canoeing to Ross on Wye and, weather permitting, carry on the following day but the campsite at Ross was full.

We debated giving up altogether but

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