A Voyage of Discovery on the Florence Edith.

This is a departure from my normal kayaking adventures, but a trip on a narrow boat in the heart of England provided a real voyage of discovery. True it was not action packed, the water was not rough and we were protected from the wind, no matter how hard it blew. Even so, it was a very rewarding experience. Welcome to a short voyage on the Florence Edith, a 54ft narrow boat ..........

First night mooring in the middle of fields in the English countryside.

Starting at Stockton we headed towards Warwick, with an over night stop just after the Good Hope pub, in a tranquil part of the canal, that seemed to be in the middle of no where. After picking up two further crew, we headed back past Stockton and stopped at the Bridge at Napton. Did I say it has a pub close by? We headed north to Braunton, a delightful village with yet another canal side pub.

Each barge proudly displays their name.

Undoubtedly,  narrow boating is not a speed activity. Instead, it is something to savour and a joy to watch the world pass by slowly. So speed is irreverent, part of the experience of canal travel is taking in the scenery and enjoying the company of other canal folk. This is a world within a world, almost cocooned from the reality of everyday life happening just over the hedge or field, but seemingly a universe away.

The Cape of Good Hope Inn, a long way from South Africa.

A delight of canal cruising is the canal side public house, not just the location but the hospitality, food and of course beer. It is possible to plan your journey to lunch and dine at a wayside pub, but we decided to restrict our imbibing to dinner time only.

Locks are a part of canal life.

No gain without pain, well canal boating has locks to keep you fit. A necessary evil to smooth out undulating countryside, they have to be "worked" to move across the country. 

Idilic or what?

Gill enjoying the serenity of canal travel.

No doubt we will return to complete another voyage, next time to spend some time enjoying the slower pace of life and to spend some time exploring some of the heritage of the canals and barges.

Paddling the Dramatic Jurassic Coast.

The Weather Gods were with us. Over looking Studland Bay, it was hard to believe we were in England. The sea was calm, the wind light and the sun was shinning. There were already yachts moored in the bay and the Isle of Wight was just visible in the heat haze. The wind forecast was for light and variable breezes which would make for a perfect days  paddling. 

Approaching Old Harry Rocks.

This coast is known as the Jurassic Coast and starts in Studland Bay, near Poole, Dorset and stretches to Exmouth in Devon. Well known for its fossils and magnificent cliff formations, it is a World Heritage listed area. Kayaking this coast is not without it's hazards, with strong tides, limited "get out" areas to land and often with moderate to strong SW'ly breezes, making it a lee shore. However, the scenery is magnificent, especially from seaward.

We paddled the Esky 15's towards Old Harry Rocks, with Dan Scott from the Studland Sea School, our guide for the day. Having sailed past Old Harry years ago I was keen to see the magnificent chalk formation up close. Even at low tide we were able to move in and out of the rock columns and really explore the formations, towering above us. With a calm sea we were close to the cliffs and columns and the small Eskys were perfect for turning in tight spaces. With clear water we could see rocks and identify seaweed, we even saw a fish ( probably a wrasse).

Following the chalk white cliffs westward, we kept a safe distance off, it is surprising how fragile the chalk is and there were many examples of significant rock falls along the coast, and large slabs in one of the many caves, that only months before had been the roof.

Out into the bay we headed for Swanage with fishing lines trolling behind us. The Esky's proved very stable kayaks and were surprisingly fast for their size. Half way across we surfed the wake of the local sight seeing boat as it ploughed it's way towards Swanage. Landing by the slipway, we enjoyed a remarkably good pasty from one of the local kiosks for lunch , while sunning our selves. Was this really England? Our Guide Dan was keen to ensure we had hydrated properly and applied sun screen, I don't think he has paddles with many Aussies before, it's second nature to us. His attention to this sort of detail showed what a good Guide he is.

After lunch we headed West past the Lifeboat station towards Peveril Point, hoping the weather would at least allow us to poke our noses out into the ocean beyond. As I said earlier the Weather Gods were smiling on us today, we paddled West in a gentle breeze and slight sea. Closing the headland across the bay we regrouped and pushed on towards the famous Anvil Point.

    Leaving one of the caves near Old Harry ...... Gill & Dan paddle out to the ocean.

Following close to the cliffs, the scene was different, with Purbeck Stone cliffs, dark in colour and almost menacing in appearance. With a little swell and an increasing flood tide against us, it was at times quite bumpy, but hugely exciting. At Anvil Point we stopped and savoured the scene, with ragged cliffs and a lighthouse looming over us, we felt quite insignificant in our kayaks. The Tourists peering down at us from the cliff tops must have been scratching their heads as to why we were kayaking in such a rugged area. We were there because it is a truly magnificent scene, only really appreciated from the sea and really close to the amazing cliffs.

The tide was starting to run towards Poole and the sea state was becoming a little confused so we turned our kayaks with bow draws, and headed down tide and started the return trip. There was no need to paddle as the tide was taking us, we soon reached Swanage, but stayed offshore to avoid any tide race at Peveril Ledge, passing close to the red marker buoy at the far edge of the ledge. We were soon into Swanage Bay and Dan had a tug on his fishing line, he hauled it in and brought up two Mackerel for tea.

To keep out of any adverse tide at Old Harry, we tucked in close to the chalk cliffs which towered above us. With the tide higher we were able to paddle in and out of the arches at Old Harry and play in the rock garden, fantastic fun!

    Gill at one of the Stacks .......

It was only a short paddle back to Middle Beach and even the annoying jet ski's kept out of our way, to end a most perfect day. We saw a lot of bird life, including Guillimots, Cormorants and Gill and Dan thought they heard a Peregrine Falcon. Dan has a real interest in the environment and gave us an insight into foraging from Nature's Larder, with seaweed being his speciality. He gathered a crop of seaweed to accompany his Mackerel dinner. 

Distance covered 18 Kms.

Some paddlers ask why, as experienced sea kayakers, we bother with a Guide when we go to destinations we are unfamiliar with? Easy really, it takes the hassle out of finding all the good places and of course they know their local area, so are really aware of local hazards and conditions. A good Guide is worth every cent.

So if you are in the Poole area contact Dan Scott of Studland Sea School.

    Dan close to the cliffs at Anvil Point.

  

   Through the arch on the Jurassic Coast.