Paddling down the River Wye

By Kat Smith

Kat, Harry, Elaine, Max, Stuart, Susan, Ian, Sue, Vicky, Carl, Sian, Carolyn, Chris, Matt. 

After a dreadful week of weather we were really lucky that the sunshine was out for us!We arrived at Wye Valley Canoe Centre and were faced with a scary introduction to canoeing.

 

We were told everything we needed to do to basically ‘survive’ and I think we were all a bit dubious (apart from the boys of course). We managed to get in our canoes and set off safely.

Personally I would have preferred being with a girl as the boys were trying to be rather macho!  We had to watch them ‘trying’ to do all sorts of challenges, the best challenge had to be Chris’ handstand in the back of the canoe! I really enjoyed Elaine’s and Matt’s trick when they paddled into the bushes!  Stuart and Max (who looked like they were from Indiana Jones) had a few tricks up their sleeve.  Not only did they capsize their boat but they also decided to go off route which ended in disaster!  Sian and Carolyn really shouldn’t have followed them as they all went straight into a large log and capsized!

The only other challenge we were faced with was stopping our canoes at the pub!  This probably would have been easier if Chris hadn’t decided to start a full on water fight!  Of course the girls were stuck in the middle and yes Chris did manage to stay particularly dry….. strange that! After a hard slog we managed to stop our canoes and get out, oh apart from Sian and Carolyn! They forgot to keep paddling and ended up being taken away by the force of the river!  But don’t panic Heroes Harry and Ian came to the rescue and saved the day! Oh and Max decided to jump in and help too! Sian and Max ended up walking back to the pub carrying half of the river with them!

A very wet Sian and Max 

After standing in the sun for a few hours trying to dry off we headed back to the River Café where we had a lovely huge 3 course meal.  Antipasti to start, followed by various pasta dishes topped off by delicious ice-cream.  Just what we needed to finish off our fun adventurous day!