Yesterday, my daughter Hannah and I hired a kayak each from Wye Valley Canoes at Glasbury.  We had been talking about kayaking down the River Wye ever since Hannah broke up from school for the summer holidays.  She teaches Year 4 children at a Primary School in Newcastle upon Tyne.We had wanted to go on the Wednesday, but Wye Valley Canoes were booked up for that day so we decided to go on the Thursday instead.  Shame, because the weather on the Wednesday was glorious. Yesterday, the day we went, it was cloudy and windy.  At least the morning’s rain held off!I had a nice bright orange kayak.  Hannah had a bright green one.  Hers was of the more sporty type, where you can turn circles and play games, etc.

Reuben got us sorted and off we paddled …Five minutes later we stopped to take photos of some swans and cygnets.  The camera was in a drum in Hannah’s kayak.  She got some great photos.  Unfortunately, after that her kayak got grounded on the river bed and then after that it capsized.  She lost one of her flip flops and then had trouble getting the kayak sorted again wearing only one shoe.  I wasn’t much help because the strong current started taking me down the river.  I have kayaked before, but it was years ago!  Anyway, I soon got the hang of it.  Hannah  caught me up and we had a lovely time paddling down the River Wye from Glasbury to Hay.  Well, I did.  Hannah didn’t get all of the water out of her canoe after it capsized and it was wandering around as if it had a mind of its own.  She was getting pretty tired …We saw quite a few swans and cygnets during our meander.  They are so graceful …

About two hours after setting off we reached an area which is known as The Warren.  There is a weir at The Warren and had we stayed to the right side of the river we would have been fine.  Actually Hannah aimed for the left side of the weir and apart from a little bit of grounding, got through it fine.  I aimed for the middle and got well and truly stuck.  There were two men and a woman wearing swimming gear on the bank, and they kindly came in and helped me manoeuvre the kayak so that I could get over the weir without getting grounded again.  I don’t know what I would have done without them. Thank you friends, if you are reading this!!

Then, just the other side of the weir we stopped to phone Wye Valley Canoes, as requested.  Sam came and collected us and the kayaks from the shore near the bridge at Hay and delivered us back to Glasbury.Quite an enjoyable, albeit rather eventful afternoon I thought, and we are looking forward to another paddle down the river … oh, and if you are on the River Wye and see a pink flip flop, please let us know at Wye Local!