The PaddlerUK magazine December 2015 issue 5 | Page 9

George Holmes and, later, the likes of Albert
Strange. But more than that even, he was among
the first, if not the first, to see the rivers, canals
and lakes of this world as a playground.
MacGregor was such a singular figure, with such
a strong legacy; what a worthy foundation stone
to the sport we practise today.

Future issues

In future issues, we will move beyond the
‘wooden kayak’ era to folding boats, the
dawn of whitewater river running, the
first serious expeditions in the GRP era
and the indestructible age of plastic
boats that we know today.Thank you
David Lawrence and Graham Mackereth
in researching this article, particularly
David, who was good enough to ply me
with wine and pasta in his flat on a cold
winter’s night while relating his
enthusiasm for all things MacGregor.
Further reading: John MacGregor, A
Biography by Edwin Hodder (1894