My third paddle in 6 days, after a great paddle around Looe Island last weekend and a chilled out mid week dusk paddle on the River Lynher, this morning found me in a car park at Calstock with 4 friends for a river Tamar explore.
High tide was 09.17 so we had to make an early start to make the most of it and get as far up river as we could. With this in mind Rich arrived at 06.15 for the drive to Calstock, getting there quicker than Google suggested we were already inflating boards when Russ and Maz arrived with Maz' new Red Paddle Race board. Very nice.
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| Russ, Maz and Rich ready to go |
Paul had been a little delayed, trusting Google to get him there via back lanes.
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| Pump faster! |
The slipway at Calstock is a lot steeper than I expected and launching from it was done carefully, all the while ignoring the rowing boat crew making very original comments about big waves on the river.
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| Starboard Allstar, Red Paddle Race. |
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| Calstock viaduct |
A glorious morning with a slight chill in the air making kit choice tricky as autumn approaches. Some mist hanging over the river adding to the atmosphere as we started off upstream.
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| Maz, Rich, Paul and a yacht. |
The current was a lot stronger than I'd expected and progress, even for the two short boards was easy. Once we'd left Calstock and rounded one bend it was incredibly still, hardly a sound other than that of our paddles and birdlife. There's a lot to be said for starting early and it's always worth it once there.
In no time we were passing Morwellham Quay, a restored river port that served the copper industry in the valley and is now a historic tourist attrition, with a big boat that made Rich very excited!
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| The Garlandstone, very exciting. |
Assistance from the tide was now greatly reduced as the river slowed, high tide was approaching and it was now slack water. This didn't slow us down but the detritus in the river did, always keeping an eye out for larger branches just under the surface that would catch a fin or paddle.
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| Maz, new board. |
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| Paul, old board. |
About an hour into the paddle Paul sadly had to turn around. Parental responsibilities were calling but before he left us he picked up a hitchhiker.
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| Kvakas the hitchhiker. |
Unlikely to be one of
those plastic ducks that are making their way around the world, he took his place on the front of Paul's board, keeping him company on the way back.
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| And then there were 3 |
After our goodbyes we continued on, not really knowing much about the river ahead except that there was a weir somewhere and a stretch of bank that was definitely off limits, owned by an angling club that made sure other river users knew not to use their land.
It was a bit of a surprise to find the weir, and dozens of signs, less than 10 minutes after Paul turned around.
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| Signs out of shot. |
The comprehensive and clear signage on the bank did not extend to the weir and assuming that access above this obstacle was OK Rich used his initiative, checking the fish ladder to see if it could be used as a SUP ladder.
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| SUP ladder |
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| Easy up with a SUP |
Above the weir the water was perfect for paddling, glassy flat, no obvious signs of obstacles and very picturesque, a steep sided valley with trees to the waters edge.
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| Gunislake. The 'New' Tamar Bridge |
Progress here was brisk with Russ testing my board speed, I'm sure he wasn't going flat out but fast enough to really push me on my somewhat slower board, good practice for next week. With an eye on the time and already past high tide we decided that Gunnislake bridge was a good spot to stop, refuel and then turn back.
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| Picnic spot |
Back to the weir and time for another walk, carefully if you're carrying an expensive hard board. It was here that I saw my first
Dipper of the year feeding on the weed on the lower part of the fish ladder. A small bird that never fails to bring a smile.
Then back the way we came with an outgoing tide and slight headwind. A great morning paddle in a new location for all of us, 18.4 km in just over three hours.
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| Morwellham Quay |
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| Russ passing the mine workings |
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| Back to Calstock |
