Glasbury to Hereford – three day trip (59km)
Two South Africans are our guides on the Wye in February
“Anyway, we set off to paddle from Glasbury to Whitney-on-Wye with all our gear, including a mini BBQ, charcoal and some light wood in watertight barrels. After stopping off to gather some essential provisions, namely food and alcohol, we got to the river at about 15:00. This in itself was quite entertaining, when we tried to buy food supplies at a Wilkinson store in Abergavenny. I say adventurous, since it is a store that sells mainly pet food, or garden supplies, and all in bulk, but then how are two South Africans to know this! We did look a bit suspect trying to find the food section!”
Well it's been some time now that I have harboured a desire to travel down a river, camp wild along its shores and embrace adventure, whilst being self contained – just for the hell of it. So I did some research, pleaded my case and got my good friend, Andre to come along for the paddle. I assured him it was easy, and no prior experience was needed. I mean how else do you get someone to paddle nearly 60kms down a wild river in winter? The massive canoe strapped to my car completed the cool look we were striving for.
We left early on Wednesday, 14 February for the river Wye, in South Wales, and apart from a small detour courtesy of the latest satellite navigation gadget, there were no other mishaps.
Day 1
Start Glasbury paddle to Whitney-on-Wye – 16.5km (2.5-3 hours)
Camp facilities: toilet, basin, shower.
Mr. Huxtable. Tel: 01497 831669
Whitney toll bridge
On left just before wooden bridge, steps pay £3 each at toll bridge if you arrive before 5pm, otherwise he will collect in am. A pub is within walking distance.
Anyhow, after parking and changing next to an occupied police car (politely, mind) we launched without a hassle. The weather was perfect and all I paddled in for the afternoon was a Helly Hansen thermal vest and buoyancy aid. There was even a need for sunglasses as we meandered down this age old river. All went well for the first 2kms, until we clipped some shallow rocks, turned sideways and nearly broached. I must say it is hilarious now, but at the time, we had just set off, needed to make 16 kms before dark to an unknown campsite, and were almost at one with the fishes. Anyhow, we adjusted the trim, changed seats and set off with renewed vigour. Quite close to dusk, we chose to scout a rapid before plundering on, and through experience we made it unscathed. However we were shortly summoned to the bank by a slightly bedraggled Kiwi female, I say bedraggled since at first we actually thought she was slightly inebriated, as she was quite frantic, barefoot and screaming at us from the side! Anyhow, she asked us to look out for her canoe, which had not ten minutes previously been capsized by two people she had rented it out to. These same two were also trying desperately to look interested but I did have a slight feeling that they weren't really bothered, since they were shivering in their wet jeans, and close to hypothermia, kind of told me so!
We looked for it along the rest of our trip, but it wasn't to be seen. As the light began to fade in earnest, we finally found our landing point, or so we thought! We were in the right area, just not on the right side of the river and a little further downstream from where we were supposed to be. We quickly paddle slogged upstream, and ferry glided under the old railway bridge to river left, and our camp site as the dark settled over us. I say this with trepidation, since our camp site, was literally a patch of grass next to a toll bridge, with running water and a toilet. Nothing else. Ray Mears would have been in his element with us. We soon had our tent pitched, a great fire going, well a smoky flame at least!
The BBQ meat spicing was well handled by Andre, and my home made flat bread and a few beers rounded off a nice evening for us.
Day 2
Paddle from Whitney-on-Wye to Preston-on-Wye – 26km (5 hours)
Pub address: Ploughfields, Preston-on-Wye, HR2 9JT
Camp: (camp site) Mr. J. Price, New Court Farm. Tel: 01981 500349. No facilities, only a pub a mile away – Yew Tree. Tel: 01981 500 359. Camp site sign on right after Monnington falls near electric lines (£3 a night each).
Day two dawned and with a five hour paddle from Whitney to Preston-on-Wye ahead of us, we set about breaking camp and repacking. We soon found that the mild day had some wind in store for us. The weather itself was fine and sunny yet again, but the wind just seemed to come at us from all angles, except from the rear. Paddling was hard going, and at times we were paddling to a standstill in the middle of the 75 metre wide river. We also made plenty of stops for dry firewood that was in abundance, and by the last third of the day’s paddle, we had both just about had enough. We saw a lot of sheep, some grey heron and lots of long, straight, mundane grass banks on this second day. The only excitement came when we approached the most daunting rapid of the trip, only to realise after we had passed the landmarks, that the water levels were so high, the rapids had been washed out. A blessing in any weary paddler’s book. Our second campsite was even more basic, if that’s possible. We had a grass verge and nothing else, not even beers for the night. I was glad to have researched where the nearest pub was and had soon procured a bottle of brandy and some cans of coke, even if it did involve a two mile walk. As dark came over our little campsite, we sat and watched our wood supply dwindle as we chatted long into the winter’s night. By 9pm we were ready for some shuteye.
Day 3
Preston-on-Wye to Hereford – 16.5km (4 hours)
Finish in Hereford at around 2:30/3pm
Bus transport back to Glasbury: 01452 527516
Day three woke us with some heavy sounding rain against the tent. As so often is the case when you sleep in a tent, the sound is always more intimidating than the actual weather. It was hard drizzle rather than a pelt, but nevertheless we packed in record time, since we only had 20kms or so left to paddle to Hereford, our finish point. The rain wasn’t always heavy, but it was incessant! We soon found a steady rhythm and just kept going, even passing by the odd fisherman having his morning tea. Due to the unpleasantness of the weather, we didn’t stop to take photos, eat or drink. We just kept our head down, and paddled. After two hours, we knew we were near the end, as we began to see groups of fishermen and lifebuoys along the banks of the river. We reached the end after paddling under the old railway bridge in Hereford, and none too soon either. We managed to haul our canoe and kit over a locked gate and into a deserted courtyard. I do not recommend anyone else does this, since the owner was not impressed to find a five metre canoe in his parking space! It would be prudent to pull out before the bridge on the river left, at the Hereford Canoe Club, although you best ask them as well! Since we knew we had a two hour wait for the bus to shuttle us back to our start point in Glasbury, we had some lunch at a local pub, in front of the open log fire. Arriving back at the car, and being from South Africa, it was a blessing to see the car undamaged and not broken into, even though it was parked outside a public amenity.
In all, a good three day trip and I look forward to paddling more rivers with friends. One feels a completely different aspect of travel, and you are reminded that nearly 60kms on a river, might only be 15kms by car, but the adventure is far greater. I had not paddled this section of the river before, and Andre had not paddled a canoe. He never got his feet wet once, and my Wellington boots were infallible. We were also relying on a map and route card that was produced in 1994. I made sure that I only told him this after we had launched! I think we made a tremendous success of the trip, and both thoroughly enjoyed life away from the rat race for three days, as well as generating numerous war stories! Well done Andre and thanks for the great company, Scotland anyone?