The cars assembled in the small side road adjacent to the field which lead down to the River Tame, the expectations of a cold February trip were dispelled by the sunshine in a clear blue sky.
The flood on the river had gone down leaving a quick flow on the water, ideal for an inviting morning’s paddle.
The intent was to paddle from the Warwickshire village of Kingsbury down the Tame to Tamworth but the warmth of the day persuaded the paddlers to extend the trip to the small village of Hopwas ending at the Tame Otter Pub where the lure of an post-paddle pint awaited, adding another five miles to the trip.
An added bonus for the day was to have new member Joy performing the duties of shuttle driver and local guide (on road only though) as she could not be persuaded to come with us on the water.
Following a quick and successful launch by everyone we were about to set off when a certain young paddler decided to demonstrate his rolling skills, he assured the rest of us that the “Water wasn’t cold” we decided to just take his word for it.
After a short distance the same young paddler managed to find a small standing wave in which to balance his boat, surprising to find on the placid Tame. Further on the river meanders past an ancient priory in the process of being restored to a very impressive home for some well heeled patron to live in.
As we left the village of Kingsbury behind we paddled under the large concrete bridge of the M42 motorway crossing over head but this was soon left behind and we entered into a very rural setting with Kingsbury Water park on our left shortly followed by Cliff Water skiing club and lake on our right.
The river after this passes through the Middleton RSPB wildlife preserve where it is interspersed by a number of small islands dotted down its length creating some small eddies and channels between inviting to explore but a bit shallow as Chris discovered nearly to his cost just managing to skim over one and narrowly avoiding a “walk” midstream. Best to stick to the main channel next time.
Passing under the bridge of the Coventry Canal we came all too soon into Tamworth where the river is bordered by houses and further on Ventura Retail park where one of the group had to leave. The rest continuing into the town centre where the Tame is joined by the river Anker under Lady Bridge overlooked by Tamworth castle high up on its mound. Its at this point that the Tame splits into two channels, the left falling over a wide weir with a small drop, the right continuing on to what was once a large paper mill now long gone.
The mill has left a legacy for the more adventurous paddler though in the form of a sluice with six arches offering a fun descent back into the Tame where the two channels meet up again. This chance wasn’t to be passed up especially for some members of the group who enjoyed the chance of a quick play. Dave was definitly pleased with it.
Beyond this it was a relatively short distance to Hopwas through a picturesque part of the river and the take out point. A small inlet off to the left of the main river onto a gravel “beach” and a short portage up a wooded bank onto the canal for the last leg into Hopwas village itself and the finish at the Tame Otter pub where a few well deserved pints ended a pleasant day on the water.