‘I don’t think I can go on much longer,’ says my girlfriend, as we drift along through the wilderness, desperately looking for somewhere to land. It’s about lunchtime, and after a couple of unsuccessful attempts to beach our canoe on a sandbank, stomachs are rumbling and tempers are beginning to fray. There is bickering in the air, I can feel it.
Thankfully, salvation appears around the next bend in the river in the form of a conveniently placed small wooden jetty – ideal for those of us with questionable paddling skills. We cruise in alongside it, wrap a couple of ropes around a nearby tree and step back onto dry land.
We’ve been on the water barely an hour, but it feels like days. Strange things happen when you take to the River Wye; strange but good. Clocks almost stop, as time slows to a wonderful crawl, and the only sound you can hear is the intermittent ‘splosh’ of paddle on water. That, and the occasional quack from an amorous mallard, getting frisky among the duckweed. Forget airport queues, scrambling for a seat and stupidly early starts – this was my idea of getting away from it all.
Less than three hours after leaving London, we’d arrived at Great Treaddow Farm in Herefordshire for a quick safety briefing, before heading straight to the river. Over the next two days, we meander our way, slowly but surely, from Hereford to Ross-on-Wye – a distance of around 30 miles in total – spending our nights at pre-determined camp sites along the way. By ‘camp sites’, I mean idyllic spots just a stone’s throw from the water, which we have completely and utterly to ourselves. What’s more, we are sleeping in tipis. Viewed from the river, all you can see are the tops of poles silhouetted against the sky; but up close, these things are huge – easily big enough to accommodate three couples or a family.
Continued...
This is camping at its uncomplicated best: instead of faffing around with tents and lugging huge backpacks of equipment, our essentials are carried on ahead; all we have to do is paddle. Or not, as it turns out.
The River Wye is a lazy paddler’s dream. The downstream flow is sufficient to keep you drifting in the right direction if you really can’t be bothered, but shallow enough to just about cover your shins if you do accidentally end up in the drink.
Having successfully docked for lunch, we sit on the bank munching ham sandwiches, watching the occasional canoe paddle past – first comes a father and son team, followed by another young couple and then a group of guys chilling in their boat, sipping from a keg of beer. All of them wave and smile as they disappear around the next bend.
Wye is the fifth-longest river in the UK, covering a distance of nearly 200 miles as it rises in Wales to form part of the border with England. It’s also one of the most beautiful, threading its way through spectactular rocky gorges and rolling green fields. It’s teeming with wildlife, too. Salmon come here each year to spawn, reaching the climax of an amazing journey that takes them from the vast open space of the Atlantic Ocean, to the heart of rural Britain.
Although the camp sites are well hidden from the river, we’ve been handed a booklet of key landmarks and told to keep an eye out for the river splitting around a small island. This is where we’ll find our tipi. It takes us just three leisurely hours to get there, and after hauling our canoe out of harm’s reach we have the rest of the afternoon to potter about in the fresh air.
One of my usual gripes when it comes to camping is the cold, but as I open the flap of our tipi it is clear that this is not going to be an issue: the floor is covered in cosy sheepskin rugs, with futons arranged around the edge to create a sociable circle. In the middle is a ready-made campfire; all I have to do is get it lit.
This is my opportunity to impress Maria with my hunter-gatherer skills – a task I fail miserably, drawing frustrated sighs and rolled eyes. Even if you do lack the ability to turn a spark into a flame, the tipi is kitted out with enough firelighters and kindling to keep you going for days. You’ll find everything else you need as well, including pots, pans and plates – plus a big vat of drinking water.
Continued...
With the campfire finally lit, and roof-flaps open to let out the smoke, I throw a few sausages in the frying pan and sit back to watch them sizzle. My image of life in the great outdoors is complete. With no television or pub to distract me from bed, I enjoy the best night’s sleep I’ve had in months and wake the next morning to find a welcoming committee of sheep outside. More importantly, while the rest of the country is apparently being doused in showers, here in Herefordshire the sun is shining. Feeling suitably blessed, and armed with a bagful of snacks, we head back out on the water, bound for Ross.
This is the most scenic part of the journey so far. Around every bend is yet another jaw-dropping view, with meadows stretching into the distance and trees audaciously displaying their new leaves. As we navigate our way through flotillas of swans, the only sign of civilisation is the occasional cluster of houses sprinkled over a wooded hillside.
All too soon, however, we are arriving in Ross – a moment that is heralded by the return of rumbling tummies and hints about lunch. This time, though, there is a handy pub nearby…
Paddle up: more info on matt’s trip
Tipi Adventure offers a two-day overnight canoe trip from around £130 per tipi. Each tipi sleeps up to seven people, and there’s a £50 discount on every extra tipi booked. Canoe hire costs around £80 per canoe for a two-day trip.
Three other easy paddling rivers
River Severn, Shropshire
Sun Valley Canoeing offers paddling along the Severn from the town of Bridgnorth to nearby Arley, as it winds its way through the Shropshire countryside. After lunch in the Harbour Inn, take the Severn Valley Railway steam train back to Bridgnorth.
River Looe, Cornwall
Spend the afternoon paddling a traditional-style, hand-built canoe through the Cornish countryside with Floating Leaf Canoes. Swans and kingfishers accompany you for much of the route, before you turn back and stop for tea and home-made cake on the bank.
Kennet and Avon canal, Wiltshire
Grab a boat from The Lock Inn and make your way along the river to the outskirts of Bath. You’ll head over an aqueduct and past various riverside cafes, before ending up in the village of Bath Hampton, eight miles away. Pull up for a pint at the George Inn, and watch narrow boats pootling past.
