On Sunday 13 March 2005 Diane, Beth, Dan Jones, Dan Halpern, Richard,
Chris, Alex and Luis
went for an 11 mile urban paddle from Yeading in West London to Chiswick via
the Grand Union
Canal and Thames.
The get-in was the pleasant Willow Tree Marina
on the Paddington Arm of the
canal where there was ample secure parking. On leaving the Marina
we turned right (South) onto
the last couple of miles of the Paddington Arm. A rather monotonous
section, it was distinguished
only by a very strong aroma of coffee coming from Nestle's Hayes
factory. At Bull's Bridge
junction we turned left (East) joining the main Grand Union canal and
passing numerous
houseboats and industrial premises. Along this stretch we could
smell another strong and not
unpleasant aroma from a food processing plant - this time of toffee.
We
soon came to a pleasant
almost rural section where the canal runs through Osterly Park and
arrived at the attractive Hanwell
flight of 6 locks. On completing the portage we stopped at
the bottom lock for a rest and something
to eat. At this point the River Brent flows into the canal and the river
flow seemed to make for easier
paddling for the remainder of the trip.
A little further on, to avoid portaging
Clitheroe's lock, Richard,
Alex and Luis decided to shoot a weir only to find that below the weir
the stream soon became a
sluggish, choked, jungly backwater which was completely blocked at one
point. At Brentford the
three intrepid explorers eventually caught up with the main group.
The
final twisting section between
Brentford Lock and Thames Lock was one of the most attractive and interesting
of the whole trip.
Getting in after carrying the boats round Thames Lock was exceptionally
inconvenient, involving a
seal launch which competely submerged Richard's boat and, for the
rest of us, a precarious climb
of about 2 metres down a metal ladder. We paddled out into the Thames
in failing light and made
rapid progress on the ebbing tide as darkness fell past Kew Bridge,
Oliver's Ait and the City Barge
and then along the very familiar stretch from Kew Railway Bridge
to Barnes Bridge.
All images ©2006 CSCC Chris Stephens / Alex Skinner / Luis Trevino
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