This coming summer, I would dearly love to do some 2-night (friday/saturday)
canoe camping trips on rivers in the Devon/Cornwall regions. I will be in
Plymouth for some schooling, and will need access to a canoe (Indian-style,
not a kayak), paddling gear, and rivers that can be paddled by a skilled
class 2-3 open boater, with open shorelines for camping. I don't mind
portaging or crossing deadwaters, but I'd rather not spend the whole length
on the flats. I prefer moving water.

Do people DO that kind of thing in England? Are there boats and gear
available? And what rivers are recommended? The stretches of the Plym that I
saw last year seemed a bit boney.

Thanks, well in advance.

--riverman

On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 17:57:45 +0100, "riverman"
wrote:

This coming summer, I would dearly love to do some 2-night (friday/saturday)
canoe camping trips on rivers in the Devon/Cornwall regions. I will be in

See www.canoecampingclub.co.uk
and
www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk

Subscibe to the latter's forum & re-post your question there.

UKRBP is quiescent.

The ukriversguidebook website will give you some ideas of rivers but i
can't think of much that is mature enough in Devon/Cornwall to be worth
camping on.

The first challenge is that the season for paddling in the SW is
primarily the winter, followed by spring. The rivers are rainfall
dependant, and whilst we do get huge cloudbursts in the summer, which
run off the hard baked ground and cause the rivers to rise rapidly, you
wouldn't be able to plan a trip around such a freak event

The Dart and Tamar are the 2 rivers that spring most easily to mind. The
Dart does not have access on the whitewater sections in the summer (and
in the winter you need to book in advance and booking is currently
restricted to BCU members only), and AFAIK the rest is virtually flat.
I've only ever done one bit of the Tamar and the whitewater was provided
by weirs - one or two of which are quite nasty. I don't think this is
necessarily the case for it's entire length - the guidebook website does
have more info.

As for wild camping - probably not too easy on those rivers. You could
certainly camp wild on Dartmoor without getting hassle, but I can't
imagine taking an open down any of the rivers that far up, especially in
the summer.

A better option would be to head up to S Wales for a trip (2.5 - 3 hours
drive from Plymouth, being realistic). The Wye is frequently done as a
multiday trip, I used to know someone who guided open canoe groups on it
on multiday trips, but I lost touch a long time ago. The canoe camping
club would probably have information on it because it is such a
frequently used long distance paddle, and it will be possible in the
summer, if not brilliant. It doesn't have all that much whitewater but
is fairly fast flowing.

Unfortunately the UK is really a winter paddling destination, our
paddling is best when it's cold, dark and raining hard (or in the sunny
spells just after), which probably doesn't sell it very well - the
rivers are great if you can face the elements!

JIM

Nigel Crompton wrote:

On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 17:57:45 +0100, "riverman"
wrote:


This coming summer, I would dearly love to do some 2-night (friday/saturday)
canoe camping trips on rivers in the Devon/Cornwall regions. I will be in


See www.canoecampingclub.co.uk
and
www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk

Subscibe to the latter's forum & re-post your question there.

UKRBP is quiescent.

In article 4f08rb.9fc.ln@Eskdale, Jim Wallis
writes:

Dart does not have access on the whitewater sections in the summer (and
in the winter you need to book in advance and booking is currently
restricted to BCU members only)

We have now sorted out a temporary membership fee for non members - please see
our website www.dartaccess.co.uk for further details
Fiona

Icarus & Fiona Edmonds
BCU - River Dart Access
01805 - 623140
(Mondays 4 - 6pm & Thursdays 10am-1pm)
Information website: www.dartaccess.co.uk
Fax: 0870-121-8777
Postal address:
The Old Post House
St Giles-in-the-Wood
Torrington
DEVON

ojunk (Rivers Dart and Torridge LAO) wrote in message ...
In article 4f08rb.9fc.ln@Eskdale, Jim Wallis
writes:

Dart does not have access on the whitewater sections in the summer (and
in the winter you need to book in advance and booking is currently
restricted to BCU members only)

We have now sorted out a temporary membership fee for non members - please see
our website www.dartaccess.co.uk for further details
Fiona

Icarus & Fiona Edmonds
BCU - River Dart Access
01805 - 623140
(Mondays 4 - 6pm & Thursdays 10am-1pm)
Information website: www.dartaccess.co.uk
Fax: 0870-121-8777
Postal address:
The Old Post House
St Giles-in-the-Wood
Torrington
DEVON

i can't imagine having to ask permission to launch a kayak.
i know it is done in the grand canyon ,
but the concept flies in he face of what i thought
kayaking was all about.
we are lucky ,
the rivers are not crowded here and the ocean is always open.
Have a great paddel
Fiona... anohter one.

Fiona wrote:

i can't imagine having to ask permission to launch a kayak.
i know it is done in the grand canyon ,
but the concept flies in he face of what i thought
kayaking was all about.
we are lucky ,
the rivers are not crowded here and the ocean is always open.

The problem is that there are people who don't much care for what you
think kayaking is all about :-( The ocean being open isn't much use if
you can't access a piece of coastline to get into it...

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/