Doggy Paddle
The Doggy Paddle is an annual event organised by the Leamington club as a charity paddle in support of Guide Dogs for the Blind, and is the only opportunity to paddle the River Avon though Warwick Castle and Charlecote Park. This year HCC had a good participation with Dave, Dale, Martin Richard, John, Dave, Simon, Joe, Martin and Sam, plus friends Sam and Ben demonstrating how to do it in slalom boats.
Overall it’s about 17 miles with 4 weirs although the first at Warwick Castle must be portaged. The second, at Barford, is a good start as the drop is just a little more than you remember it is. The river speeds up beyond Barford in a winding section to reach the lunch stop at Hampton Lucy and the second weir. The weirs usually are for watermills and are to the right of the river, and all have a narrow winding section afterwards for a few hundred yards before the channel than came from the mill pond rejoins.
Soon after lunch we pass Hampton Lucy and negotiate the floating gates across the river at either end of the estate – pick a gap between floats and paddle like mad to broach the metal linkage. Then it’s a short distance to Alvaston weir and then the approach to Stratford past the caravan park and the nice riverside houses, past the Lido and then the final stretch under the bridges in the town centre to the finish of the paddle at the park.
Particularly well done to Joe Cooksey as this was his first distance paddle.