Foreword
Rich Adventure
RICHARD HARPHAM
Musings from my world of adventure and paddling
The winds of change seem to be rustling in the trees as the weather has cooled . I think , like many , I am hoping for a burst of hotter temperatures to signal we did get a summer . Of course , as paddlers , the autumn and winter months often means water in the rivers and more epic paddling days . A quick recommendation for late Hendri Coetzee ’ s book ‘ Living the Best Day Ever ’, as a source of inspiration for your paddling adventures . His journeys make incredible reading with stories of running some of the biggest water on the planet dodging rapids and the local wildlife . I previously met his teammate from paddling the
length of the White Nile , Pete Meredith back in 2007 , aka the film ,‘ The Longest River ’.
The Olympics and Paralympics have flown by with a fantastic team effort from Team GB and medals for Liam Heath ( bronze ) in the 200m K1 , Mallory Franklin ( silver ) in C1 slalom , Emma Wiggs ( gold ) in the Paracanoe Outrigger , Charlotte Henshaw ( gold ) in the KL2 , Emma Wiggs ( silver ) in the KL2 , Laura Sugar ( gold ) in the KL3 and Stuart Wood ( bronze ) in the KL3 , Jeanette Chippington ( bronze ) in the VL2 and Rob Oliver ( bronze ) in the KL3 Incredible stuff , we salute you . I was particularly chuffed to learn that Mallory had attended the University of Bedfordshire , continuing our proud tradition of Olympic success from a small market town with a big river ( The Great Ouse ). Hopefully , it will inspire the next crop of Olympians , with Paris only three years away and slightly more local to us .
We have been out and about paddling some stunning locations on our travels in the southwest and north Wales which has included sea kayaking Boscastle to Tintagel , surf kayaking at Bude , Fowey harbour , River Dee around Llangollen , Ironbridge and Jackfield Rapids and the River Conwy , finishing at Conwy Castle . We have flipped from wave ski to SUP , from canoe to sea kayak , which is , of course , the versatility of the sport we love . Same , same but different .
TOP-DOWN KAYAK CHALLENGE While sea kayaking and SUP ’ ing from Boscastle , we met the lovely Roy Beal from Seaton , finishing sea kayaking from John O ’ Groats to Lands End in a wooden sea kayak , raising awareness for environmental issues and carbon-neutral travel . His Top-Down Kayak Challenge was undoubtedly an incredible undertaking and worth connecting with @ https :// www . kayakingforcharity . co . uk . We shared a brief time on the water , and it was clear we were kindred spirits . Well done , Roy !
As I finish this piece , it is a few days after the Bushcraft Show 2021 , a real feast of outdoor types enjoying green spaces . Normally our Canoe Trail team would be running the water sports activities , but blue-green algae put paid to that ☹ Instead , we spent time talking to people about our upcoming expeditions and customer trips around the UK . It was lovely sharing our passion for rivers , lochs and our stunning coastline .
I had two speaking gigs on the main stage sharing tales of my human-powered exploits , and I can honestly say it was lovely to be back with a live audience . I hope they felt the same way ! Other speakers included Jason Ingamells , Megan Hines and the rousing Ray Mears . Undoubtedly my highlight of the show was spending a few hours chatting with Ray about places paddled , adventures and the wilder side of life at the woodland banquet . Like minds and all that !
Let ’ s make this autumn and winter a time of paddling adventures .
Roy Beal
Richard Harpham , FRGS , is a human powered adventurer , coach and inspirational speaker who has completed over 11,000 miles of expeditions by kayak , canoe , SUP and bike
www . richadventure . com
Richard runs the award winning Canoe Trail watersports and adventure business with his wife Ashley . Thanks to BAM Clothing , Paramo , Valley Sea Kayaks , Palm Equipment and SilverBirch Canoes for sharing the dream .
www . canoetrail . co . uk
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