Foreword
Rich Adventure
Autumn Magic
Autumn is upon us with its gorgeous , magical colours and a few seriously blowy days . Put simply ; we love the change of seasons and that raw connection to nature . There ’ s much to share from our world of adventure with big paddling trips , horse antics ( not white horses ) and even a new dream to follow the good life .
September and October saw us run two bigger paddling trips on the River Tweed from Peebles to the sea and a ‘ full-on ’ Tay expedition with the river in spate . The Tweed has always been one of our favourite rivers , weaving its course between Scotland and England , on the borders and finishing in the mighty and picturesque Berwick upon Tweed . Our customer group , organised by James and his family , met us in Peebles for this multiday trip . It did not disappoint , with plenty of otters , osprey and kingfishers as we paddled past Kelso , Coldstream and many historic border towns .
Our adventures then took a different path as we drove to deepest darkest Penzance to collect two shires , a mare and a foal , to continue our horse adventures and tackle horse tramping , backpacking and journeying on horseback . Bringing these magnificent creatures home has been an absolute honour to protect this rare and traditional breed .
October saw us back to Scotland to run a Tay descent with our friends at Woodland Ways , the market leader in bushcraft in the UK . The skies opened , and it rained cats , dogs and almost every other animal . We enjoyed a lovely paddle on Loch Tay after launching at Killin . It is like a home from home for us as Calum , aka ‘ Big Deal Steel ’, our activities manager , ran the water sports there .
Rich and Big Deal Steel on the Tay
As we entered the river system , it was clear it would be a test of our leadership skills with a relatively novice group . We could hear Ken Hughes , canoeing ninja and mentor , words in our heads “ go fast when you need to go fast , and slow when you need to go slow “. We already knew some sections , such as Grand Tulley and Campsie Linn , would need to be portaged by the group . Two key questions helped focus their minds ; Are you happy to paddle it ? Are you happy to swim it ?
Looking ahead , we have put all our chips down on the table and spun the wheel ; red 42 it is ! Our next big adventure is selling our house to live in a caravan to allow us to build a house and live more off the grid . Grand designs , here we come !
Autumn and winter offer more water in our rivers , making a new playground ; if you are new to paddling , there is no such thing as cold weather , just the wrong clothing . I hope you get some time on the trail this winter . Finally , don ’ t forget that winter ’ s a great time to train for bigger challenges such as the DW , Devizes to Westminster 125 canoe race .
Stay safe and paddle more . Ash and Rich
Richard Harpham , FRGS and Ashley Kenlock are human-powered adventurers , paddling coaches and leaders who have completed over 12,000 miles of expeditions by kayak , canoe , SUP , ski and bike .
www . richadventure . com
They run the awardwinning Canoe Trail , watersports and adventure business together , offering coaching , expeditions and canoe and camp in Bedfordshire .
www . canoetrail . co . uk
Thanks to BAM Clothing , Paramo , Valley Sea Kayaks , MSR , Palm Equipment and Silver Birch Canoes for sharing the dream .
ThePADDLER