Fathers Day on The Upper Medway
Well it was Father's Day wasn't it? That meant I got to choose what we did, and guess what I chose.
Anyway, it was about time we paddled the upper sections of The Medway, as we seem to keep heading back to the same spot again and again, but I guess we all do that with our favourite places.
Tonbridge to Eldridges Lock
So the plan was to put in from Tonbridge and paddle down to Oak Weir and back. But plans change as you will see. The put in is from the Tonbridge Swimming Pool car park, next to the ruins of Tonbridge Castle (sorry no photos, couldn't really see much from the river). The car park has a slipway into the river conveniently. It is a nice spot to put in, and probably worth an explore up river, even though the right of navigation runs out not far off. Lots of folk picnicing here.
We then paddled downstream, which remained nice for about four hundred yards. We wove through some hired rowing boats that did not look entirely under control, and headed under the high street bridge. From this point the river went rapidly downhill. It was really dirty, and a horrible (and I mean horrible) colour. Trust me, you don't want to swim here!
We then came up to Town Lock, out first portage. It was a very difficult take out. The landing stage was across the lock from the launching stage, meaning either haul the boat up a three foot stone pier or carry across the lock gates. We went for the former, picking up a nasty scracth in the bow right through to the foam core along the way. It was baking hot and tempers were fraying at this point. The hull was covered in who knows what, and frankly none of us wanted to touch it much. We then had to lower it down some steep steps to the launching stage, which was also rather tricky, as the stairway was too narrow for the boat, so it had to go down on one side (more scratches!).
We couldn't get away from there fast enough. The water stayed pretty grim all the way down to Eldridges Lock, where hot and tired, we put up a tarp, and stopped for lunch.
A Hot Padde to Eldridge's Lock
We then began to discuss our backup plan of heading all the way to Yalding, as we didn't fancy paddling back to Town Lock. In the heat though we weren't making very good time. We deferred our decision until we had reached a couple more locks.
Eldridges to Porters
The portage around Eldridge's was a bit easier than Town lock. Mostly because the stone pier was the more normal 18", which is much easier to lift a boat out of cleanly. The put in was still the same though. We looked for a bank to put in from but they were all overgrown.
Put In At Eldridge's Lock
From here the river improves vastly. It is quiet and very peaceful again, not to mention clean! A thin layer of cloud started to take the real heat out of the sun, making paddling much easier.
At this point Alice decided she wanted to paddle on to Yalding, and started really adding some power to our paddling. The trip to Porters is short and we covered the distance much quicker than we had that to Eldridge's. We portaged around quickly, exactly the same put in as at Eldridge's, stopping to chat with some friendly folk out for a walk in the sun. The lock island is quite large at Porters but we lacked the time to explore.
Porters to East Lock
The trip to East Lock was also very fast as it is one of the shortest sections. We passed under Hartlake Bridge and past a number of Anglers, all neatly lined up along the bank in designated spots. I assume it must have been a competion so orderly was it, but none of them seemed keen to talk.
Alice continue to add regular power input. It was remarkable how much difference she could make for an eleven year old, and we soon started to complain if she stopped. At this point we decided, we would head down to Yalding, and I would catch the train back to Tonbridge and fetch the car. After making that decision, we were all much happier, as it avoided a) the river at Town Lock and b) hauling the boat back up all those stairways.
All Hands to the Paddle
East Lock to Oak Weir
At East Lock we were met by a group of teenage girls swimming up and down the weir, and generally having great fun by the looks of it. They were very friendly, hanging onto the painter while we got the kids out. It makes you feel kind of silly, all done up in PFDs etc and in a boat, when they're happily in the river with nothing but confidence. East Lock also has a long Lock island, and there is a better put in on the weir side of the island than the usual steps, but it looked a bit tricky for the kids, so we did it the hard way (again).
East Lock to Oak Weir Lock
Ths stretch down to Oak Weir is possibly the prettiest, as the trees close right in and the river becomes very narrow. It really has to be paddled. At Oak Weir, we got our one and only break from portaging, as a friendly boatie whom we had passed along the river, invited us into the lock with him. I didn't need asking twice!
Feeling a bit small!
We stopped again for refreshment here, before the two longest sections of river, Oak to Sluice, and lastly Sluice to Yalding. I''ve covered these before so I won't dwell. We kept making good time with three paddlers, and when we got to Sluice the boat we had shared the lock with at Oak was still in the lock (and we had stopped for snacks!). By the time we portaged around they were coming out, so were actually holding our own time wise.
As we finally reached Yalding, I was worried about missing the train, and couldn't be bothered to haul the boat across the bridge to The Leas, so instead I slid it down into The Teise which comes out at Yalding, and stood/paddled across to the slipway in the weir pool.
Will and I then rushed off to the station to catch the train back to Tonbridge. Very cheap as it turned out. I tried to pay three times, but no one would take my money.
We had kept a pretty fast pace on (for us) and had passed many opportunities to stop and explore. Between Eldridges Lock and Oak Weir, there are many small creeks and weir bypasses, just begging to be explored. I will have to go back. I just need to find a handy put in. Hartlake Bridge is really the nearest spot, but it looks like its all angling there. I shall investigate further.
So there we are. 10 miles, 5 portages, 6 locks.
5 hours by canoe. 12 minutes by train. I know which one I prefer. No contest!
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Originally Posted by Chopper
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. Apart from insisting on some decent lessons and ensuring her swimming is adequate, I'l probably concede the point eventually. I'll just be glad if she stays enthusiastic for any kind of paddling!
