THAMES TRIP 13th July 2008

PUTNEY BRIDGE TO WOOLWICH FERRY

History of the Thames:

The length of the Thames 215 miles

Thames froze in 14th to 19th centuries, last being 1814

Sunday

Lots of kayakers have paddled the Thames before but not much literature on it. I contacted the port of London and local canoe clubs about it, and thought it would be good to paddle the Thames to take in all the sites, got a date with the tide at London Bridge 09.30 plus 30 for Putney. I walked the whole route for get in and out and other places to get out if needed. Maps etc needed.

We left Peter’s scout hut in South Woodham Ferries at 7.45am to drive to the get in at Putney bridge, where there is a slipway to slide in. We decided to have tea in McDonald’s then began kitting up. We were off by 10.15 with the tide soon to turn . Whilst people adjusted their clothing, as it was a hot day we soon got into a rhythm. Elle found the short boat she had borrowed from Richard to be hard work with the tide not turned in our favour yet, so Mr Duck lent Elle his long boat for the trip. Once the tide flow was with us we began to move under Wandsworth Bridge past Battersea heliport. At this point we met a couple of lads on a home made inflatable raft neither with buoyancy aids on. I asked what they was up to and much the same as us was the reply, I soon left them to their own devices and wished them all the best to our European cousins. Then under Battersea Bridge and Albert Bridge, Battersea gardens with the temple in it.

We had lots of onlookers, great for camera vultures. On to Chelsea bridge under Grovesnor railway bridge past the old Battersea power station (how many bricks to make Battersea power station?).

Then on to Vauxhall Bridge where on the info before hand we should keep 15m from the south bank. The old Tate on the other side hidden by the trees along the road. No trouble here today. Keeping to the right going down steam we came under Lambeth Bridge and on the left the Houses of Parliament. Big Ben struck mid day as we arrived. We went Under Westminster Bridge with the London eye on the right and the old GLA building to the side. At this point we had to contend with other water users such as commercial catamarans which do move fast causing a wash ,dodging the boats as we went under Hungerford Bridge which is a railway bridge. Royal Festival hall on the right and views of the Gherkin and the old Natwest tower now tower 42. Moving on to Waterloo Bridge which I cycled over many times as an ambulance cycle response unit. On the right the National theatre and the LWT building with the OXO Tower overlooking the Thames.

On to Blackfriars Bridge past the Tate Modern and the Shakespeare’s Globe theatre, then under Southwark Bridge and London Bridge. On the south bank we went past City Hall and on the water HMS Belfast which we all got quite close to and I touched the massive anchor chains holding her there. Then under the centre section of the lifting Tower Bridge, the currents behind this were quite strong. We got out on the south bank, on a little beach and had a beer and a pie, met the drivers as well. When we got back on the water at 2.15 (to our surprise the inflatable raft we saw 2 hours ago was on the same beach but no one was there. I hope they made it) the tide had dropped quite a lot and the going was much harder, we paddled past the Cutty Sark or what is left of it after the fire, Greenwich Observatory ,the walkway under the river then on to the Dome now the O2, David Beckham football academy.

It was getting harder now and soon the Thames Barrier was in sight we all went through the barrier gate 8 together. We met up with the drivers and said we will meet them near the Woolwich ferry .The drivers got out and got shuttled back to Putney by Linda whilst the others went to the north side with the boats to save time later. The journey back to collect the cars and return to collect the other paddlers and boats took just under 2 hours but we were nearer home and I think they were getting cold. Once loaded and back onto the A13, most were at home by 9pm.

Conclusion

This was a long day, a good day with good weather but to do it again it needs to be slightly shorter or turn round as the tide turns. Total of 24km paddled and under 19 Bridge and over 50 major London land marks seen. Well done all and thank again to Linda for the shuttling.

Paddlers

PETER BROOKES, PAUL DUCK, PETER FROST, RICHARD MOORE, ELLE CHILLCOT, RYAN MORLEY, JIM ALLEN, LEE EMMETT.

Drivers

Report by Lee Emmett