Herons on the Medway....

Well I did it on Friday. I refused to be sucked into the media mania about the Royal Wedding and paddled off down the river in my new canoe. No offence to their royalnesses but sitting in front of a TV watching choirs sing and people waving flags just wasn't for me and, in any case, there were bound to be constant TV re-runs later in the day as indeed proved to be the case. Now I have canoed a little bit in the past but it had been a while so I opted to test my new toy out first by going around the so-called park loop. I wanted to make sure that it was safe (and most importantly didn't leak) before being more adventurous and sailing off downstream. Even around the park, which I have known so well for over 20 years now, you can get that feeling of being all alone and in the wild; this is especially so because the steep banks don't allow you to be able to see across the fields. You are suddenly confronted with obstacles such as over hanging branches and the occasional other craft. In fact not long into my epic voyage I had to shout ahoy (actually more like oi!!) very loudly to a large barge called Abigail which was coming around the bend in the river at the far end of the park. Luckily I'd remembered that you go on the right hand side of the river so I managed to avoid an early disaster. It was a close shave though I have to say. I paddled on as far as the bridge before the flood barrier and then back towards where the barges and house boats are moored alongside Barden Road then around by the weir and back towards the castle and the slipway next to the swimming pool. After an hour and a half and a quick coffee from my flask it would have been sensible to have called it a day for a first time out. But my appetite for adventure was quickly coming back to me and I just had to sail on.
Feeling more confident in my craft I now pushed out and climbed aboard Tallulah, as I've decided to call her. Tallulah in Native American means "Leaping Water" so the name seemed seemed appropriate (if a little dramatic for the Medway.) Not far from the slipway I approached the Big Bridge were where I couldn't help but notice the bunting hanging outside the Castle Inn; I also got a blast off Beyonce's "...should have put a ring on it...." and wondered how many other wedding-related records the DJ had managed to scrape from the bottom of the barrel. Luckily I was soon past this last bit of civilisation as the Town Lock was fast approaching. I'd been looking forward to going down the fish gate which I'd heard all about. These clever little inventions allow fish to swim up so that they can breed up river and, more importantly for me, they mean that you don't have to get out of your vessel to carry it around the lock gate as they are wide enough for a canoe and designed for the purpose. I was a little nervous about going down and especially since a man on the quayside said that he wanted to watch some one (I think he probably thought: some fool) go down. However within a few seconds I was down the other side, still afloat and relieved that the next obstacle was Eldridge's Lock quite some way down steam. Soon I'd be under Canon Lane Bridge and out into open countryside. Beyond that point the river becomes a little narrower and calmer except for the occasional gust of wind as Friday was a little on the blowy side. By this time I was starting to relax and really get into my stroke which meant that I could start to enjoy being surrounded by all that beauty. I couldn't believe that it had taken me this long of living in Tonbridge to explore the very river which had given the town it's life for over a thousand years, crazy really if you think about it. Canoeing, I soon discovered, is a peaceful way of getting around as well, you hear very little except for the occasional bird, a buz of an insect or a leaping fish and, of course the constant gentle noise of your own paddle and boat as it gently glides through the water. I did have a couple of scarey moments though when I nearly capsized getting back aboard after Eldridges Lock and then going down the quite steep fish gate at Porters Lock when I took in a fairly large gush of water but, by and large, I felt safe and stable. I was feeling well pleased with Tallulah on her first outing. After Porter's Lock I phoned through to my support vehicle (my wife) and issued instructions for her to meet me at Hartlake Bridge, where I knew that there was a canoe platform. Somewhere along that stretch of the river I noticed the best sight of the day. A huge bird flying low just over the river with a wing span almost as wide as the river was at that point. It was a Heron. I didn't even know that they were common enough to see one that easily but there was no mistaking it as, just further down stream, I saw it only twenty yards away standing on the bank. It looked just like one of those wooden ones which people buy to put next to their pond but this one suddenly and dramatically decided to take off and continue its majestic flight. By the time my wife helped me up at Hartlake Bridge I realised that I'd been canoeing for well over five hours; and it had seemed like nothing such was my enjoyment of this new experience of seeing Tonbridge from a different perspective. Once the canoe was safely strapped on the top of the car I could reflect on a day which had certainly been enjoyable, active and (almost) totally Royal Wedding free....