This was a three day trip, with most people arriving on Thursday afternoon or evening. As in previous years, we stayed at Lucksall Caravan and Camping Park a few miles south of Hereford. It is a large campsite with excellent facilities and plenty of space and, of course, being right on the river it’s a perfect spot for a paddling trip.

On the Friday morning we split into two groups, with one lot going for a hike and the other going for a play on the river. I was going to go on the river but it was such a sunny morning the temptation to just sit in the sun relaxing was too great. I did manage to stir myself in time to help with carrying the boats when the others got back though.

On Friday afternoon we went for another trip on the river and headed upstream towards Hereford. This was a lovely relaxed paddle with beautiful scenery. There was a small rapid to play in at the halfway point which was lots of fun. After a leisurely paddle back to the campsite it was almost time for dinner and an evening of relaxation.

On Saturday we headed off to Monmouth Canoes at around quarter to eight in the morning. The folks at Monmouth Canoes got everyone sorted out with gear and soon had us on the road to our launch point at Kerne Bridge, where most of us set off for the 14 ½ mile trip downstream to Monmouth at around 10am.

Myself, Ivor and Steve H left around half an hour after the others as we discovered we did not have enough paddles so had to wait for some more to be driven over from Monmouth. We had thought we would catch up with the others sometime before lunch but, in the event, it was much sooner than that as they really were not going very fast. We even had time for a chat with a couple of other groups of canoeists we passed along the way who were on multi-day trips down the Wye.

The paddling was fairly easy and relaxed and went through some stunning scenery as the river meandered its way downstream. We stopped for a quick rest break and a snack after around 4 miles and then headed on down to Symonds Yat. At Yat Rock Toby did his customary seal launch off the rock to wild applause from the rest of us. It looks a bit scary but, I promise you, getting up to the top of the rock is way harder than getting down again. You can see a video clip here.

At Symonds Yat, after a quick briefing on the line to take we went down the rapids in single file. The water level was much lower than last year so it was a fairly easy ride down.

A mile or two after Symonds Yat we stopped for our lunch break at a landing stage belonging to an activity centre. Unfortunately, a whole gang of kayakers from the centre arrived back before we’d finished lunch so we had to launch pretty sharpish to get out of their way. A few people got left behind on the bank so we had to go back for them once the way was clear.

The rest of the journey down to Monmouth was pretty uneventful although, as the current wasn’t that strong so not giving us so much assistance, I was getting pretty tired towards the end. It was a very welcome sight when Monmouth Rowing Club came into view at around quarter to 4.

After driving back to the campsite we arrived just in time for our dinner in the Café, which was very enjoyable and very reasonably priced (I paid just £23 for a main course, dessert and a beer). Ivor had his usual Lemon Meringue Sundae, which left him looking like the most contented man on the planet!!

I was totally bushed afterwards and went to bed before 9 o’clock but most of the others stayed up chatting for a bit longer. Sunday was another beautiful sunny day so I took my time packing up before the drive home. Quite a few of the others went back to Symonds Yat for a play on the rapids, with some of the others going along to watch before also heading home.

All in all this was another fantastic trip, with fun paddling, absolutely stunning scenery and great company. I’m looking forward to next year already.

You can watch a short video of the trip to Monmouth here, with an extended version here.