Trip Report – Leamington Loop – Saturday 5th December – Marc Corbett
The trip was originally supposed to be for around 24 people from the club, but plans were changed thanks to Boris, with Warwickshire and Leicestershire being put into Tier 3. Not to worry though as Club leaders were quick to re-arrange another trip for the Leicestershire people. The Leamington Loop is approximately 7 miles, starting on the River Leam, onto the Avon for a short stretch, up onto the Grand Union Canal then back on the Leam for the return leg to the start point.
It was great to be back on the water as it was my 1st trip for a couple of months, it was also my birthday, yay!! It’s always nice to finally meet other paddlers for the 1st time and always good to see some old familiar faces! There were 6 of us on this trip and Dave Clarke was our leader. Once Dave had lent Phil all the kit he had forgotten, we were ready to go!! The get on was at Princes Drive weir. We have used this get on many times and I’m sure everyone at the club is very familiar with this place but I have never seen so much water going over it as there was that morning! We usually get in from the top step of the weir but there was a deluge of brown water making this impossible, so we opted to get in further downstream. We would normally shoot the weir on the far side but we had no way to get on due to the high water. Still, plenty of time for a birthday swim when we did the weir on the way back.
The 1st section of the trip takes you down the Leam for just under half a mile until we meet the Avon. It’s a beautiful stretch of the Leam, winding through the trees and usually a very good place to spot the odd kingfisher or 2, but it’s a much different river in winter with the high water towing through. It was a very cold day but we were blessed with blue skies. Before long we reached the Avon for our short leg to the Canal for our 1st portage.
There are a total of 2 portages on this trip, the 1st of which involves some steep steps from the Avon up to the Grand Union Canal. We had an audience of 1 dog walker watching us seal launch into the canal, but it all went well! The canal stretch is around 3 miles and takes you through Leamington town centre. We still had nice blue skies and once we got out of town the canal enters some nice countryside before out next portage back onto the Leam. Portage number 2 is near the village of Radford Semele, where the canal and River Leam pretty much meet up. A quick slide down the hill, perfectly demonstrated by Phil Riley, and we were all back on the Leam. Once again, this stretch of the Leam is very scenic but the water was quite high and rather brown! Surprisingly there weren’t as many trees to worry about as we thought there may be. After passing by Newbold Comyn, then past the boat centre, we came to Mill Bridge Weir. Bigger than princes drive weir, it became apparent we would not be shooting this one!!! However, on our river right, there was a small off-shoot / ramp down to the river that we went down. With all the grace of a plank of wood, I shot down there and into the wall at the bottom!!!!! Lots of fun though and still no birthday swim. Once all down there we carried on, through the parks in town and back to our start point.
Back at Prince’s weir, we now had the chance to shoot the weir on the usual point on the left hand side. As I mentioned, I have never seen that much water over this weir but we were almost home so why not!! Once again, with all the grace of a plank, I shot down it and crashed straight into the wall to the left! Loads of fun though and the rescue party were ready for me!! No swim though, a perfect end to the day. A great day out, cold but beautiful day and always a pleasure to get out on the water.
I would like to thank Neil Smith for organising the trip from the start. I want to thank Dave Clarke (Leader) John Spooner, Phil Riley and John Reidy for looking after Ewan and I on the water, it’s always good having experienced paddlers on the water! Thanks all, we had a great day. Looking forward to the next one!! Cheers