musings

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

… more →

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

… more →

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

… more →