From a SUP perspective the navigation provides a
wonderful place to paddle and explore, being
both safe and sheltered and offering an amazing
variety of things to see over its 14 miles. It is best
to take your time and enjoy every inch of it as
you paddle towards your ultimate goal, be that a
large piece of cake and cup of tea at the busy
halfway point at The Old Stable Tearooms at
Paper Mill Lock or the summer campsite at Hoe
Mill Lock (you need to book) or the sea lock at the
quaint Heybridge Basin, where two pubs and a
tearoom await you. Or you may be training hard
in which case you will not have much time for
sightseeing or cake eating!
Starting our SUP journey we paddle downstream
from Springfield Basin in central Chelmsford,
where we feel a real sense of urban connection,
with the buzz of traffic and humdrum of daily
city life encircling us. Old wharf buildings have
been regenerated to create smart new residences
and shops and businesses thrive. Then, as we
glide through the water meadows on the edge of
the city, the cacophony starts to fade and we
ponder the route ahead. Paddling on we quickly
reach the lock at Barnes Mill, where corn was
milled since Saxon times. Further still we will
pass under Bundocks Bridge (a surviving John
Rennie design) towards Sandford Lock, next to
Sandford Mill which houses a museum
celebrating local industrial heritage. Sandford
Lock is home to an active boating club and a
small local business called Blackwater Boats,
whose owners have been taking day-trippers on
river cruises for over 20 years.
Heading downstream we will next portage our
boards at Cuton Lock and then paddle onto
Stonhams Lock. In our opinion this marks the
start of the most beautiful stretch of the
waterway as it runs through reed beds, arable
fields, past Ulting Church and through several
more locks and weirs to meet the tidal waters of
Blackwater Estuary. One of these locks is called
Hoe Mill and it is our beloved SUP teaching
home, situated in a very rural, tranquil and
beautiful stretch of the river.
Frangipani SUP beginners take to the water
after a safety briefing and land drills on an
island, to master knee paddling in the lower
mill stream. Once standing they paddle
gingerly downstream towards Sugar Bakers’
cottages, named after the sugar bakers’ holes
where sugar was first extracted from beet
using fire pits. These nervous and wobbly
paddlers are often rewarded with a startling
glimpse of colour as the resident kingfishers
busy themselves or we reach the beautiful
water lily beds.
Okay, enough about our office! Let’s paddle on
downstream from Hoe Mill Lock until we reach
Beeleigh Lock and Falls, an area of natural
beauty with wonderful reed beds, herons and
egrets. If the tide is right it is possible to leave
the navigation here and paddle on the upper
reaches of the tidal estuary to Maldon (a small
historical maritime town which is home to
many Thames barges).
But let’s stay on the navigation and enter the
very interesting Long Pond, a purpose-built
man-made stretch taking us to the sea lock.
As we arrive back in urban territory we pass by
Maldon Golf Club and then paddle past
houses, factories, shops and offices. Leaving
the town behind us the atmosphere changes
again as we head towards the salt marshes
and mudflats of the Blackwater Estuary.
Finally, a ́ݔ