ThePADDLER 124
SO , WHAT ' S THE ACTUAL PADDLE LIKE ?
It ’ s a fair old distance , and the river changes character massively over the two days . You start under the 16th-century packhorse bridge in the Shugborough Estate to whoops of encouragement . At times , the river is shallow , narrow and fast , with small gravel rapids , overhanging trees and water obstacles to navigate around . The river gets progressively bigger throughout the challenge , with several checkpoints to check in to ; some you float by , others you stop to refuel on water , Red Bull and Haribos ( and before anyone says it , Tangfastics are amazing , and if you don ’ t like them , I ’ ll have yours ).
There are a couple of portages to negotiate , but nothing too extreme . Several hours after the start and after passing the Willington cooling towers for what seems like 50 times , you ’ ll get to camp for a welcome rest . You ’ ll understand about the towers when you ’ ve been there !
The next day you paddle into Nottingham down a much bigger river ! The river is much wider and deeper . There are still the odd shallow patches , but the main obstacles are clumps of weed and other water users as you near Nottingham . Swarkestone rapids are great fun , and there ’ s no shame in kneeling on the way down !
In previous years , there was a lap of honour , or possibly pain , to add 3km onto the distance to make it up to 100km – paddling upstream from Trent Bridge and then back may have caused a sense of humour failure . Let ’ s see what ’ s in store for us this year ! It ’ s a great sense of achievement crossing the finishing line , with all teams cheering each other on .