Belatedly…
Enzo & Luke report
Thanks to everyone for today, It was an amazing trip down the river and thanks for all the instructions a lot to take in, but was appreciated.
I will keep Nutquacker the duck safe until the next trip.
Have a good Christmas and a brill new year! Steve
Well, since I was first to swim (and didn’t waste any time about it!) I have the honour of Sunday’s trip report.
Att. Andy D, Dougie, Andrew, Jim, Jim, Sarah Mary, Paul, Steven, John, Stevie & myself
It was a miserable cold and wet day. We met at 10am close to the Riverside Inn. It was raining so heavy, everyone wished they had worn their dry suits leaving the house. Shortly after meeting, we got ready in the car park (which was a bit chilly). The rain had turned to a flurry of snow at this point and I definitely heard ‘what are we thinking’ more than once.
Soon enough, after our health and safety brief we all proceeded on to the river. It was at a good level and was flowing fast. My first attempt at crossing from the eddy across the flow resulted in me tipping upside down. It was a shock but the guys were all on hand to help me and Andrew managed to stop my boat from disappearing too far down the river. We then proceeded down the river and five minutes later I heard a splash and Steven had took the first of his two swims, beating me and earning him the rubber duck!
For my first time in a river I think it was perfect. There were plenty of exhilarating rapid sections with some calm sections in between to enjoy the scenery. I learned a lot in one stretch of river, keeping my kayak in a straight line is still one I need to master! Dougie said he saw me do a spin off a rock at one point (wish I could say I knew it happened never mind meant it). Just over half way down we pulled up on a bank for some lunch. By this time the skies had cleared and it was a nice clear day. After we set off again there was some ‘king of the wave’ action. I think everyone had a shot except me, it was impressive to watch but I sat this one out…until next time!
Towards the end of the river there was the impressive sized weir, and with the level of the water it had a torrent flowing down it. Once Andrew had marked the best spot to go down everyone went down successfully. After the weir there was one more rapid section that then opened out to a big flat calm section to end.
After we had all got changed and packed up we stopped by the Secret Garden Café for some coffee and cakes and to thaw out a bit. It almost proved too secret for Andy D but he found us eventually 
All in all it was excellent day out. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would like to thank you all again for the instruction and encouragement to us newbies going down the river. Already looking forward to the next one.
Hope you all have a great Christmas and new year!