Sometimes the name Teignbridge Canoe Club can seem something of a misnomer. Standing on the banks of the fast flowing River Wye was one such time, as we surveyed a mixed bag of canoes, sea kayaks, white water kayaks, sit on tops, paddle boards and a couple of cross over tourers. We had assembled at the riverside campsite at Luxton, and waited a while as one of our number got lost and headed for Luxor, via a Northerly service station on the M5. Our first night’s stop was to be at Hoarwithy, some 8 miles downstream so we set up a shuttle and left most of the cars and vans at the far end. The Wye turned out to be very well set up for paddlesport adventures with a custom built shoot leading down to the river and our various craft were soon on the water, and after rounding up the group’s pair of over excited Spaniels,  we were off towards our waiting vehicles and camping gear. With the river running at around a couple of knots, and an unexpectedly glorious break in the weather, it proved to be a delightfully leisurely drift/paddle, with only a stretch called hole in the wall providing a moment of excitement. Hoarwithy turned out to be a superb little campsite, right on the river banks, although the river’s extremely high level had reduced its rumoured beach to little more than a few metres wide. Ellie and Georgie had invited the paddlers for cocktails at 6.30, so things got messy before we headed off to the pub for some of the slowest service in recent history. The next day dawned with lovely clear skies, and it was shorts and T-Shirt weather while those of us who had avoided the cocktails sniggered at those that hadn’t. The day’s paddle was 11.5 miles to Ross on Wye, where we were staying as guests of the rowing club. After another leisurely day afloat, we had our only rain of the trip as we came round the last bend just before our campsite. We were sharing the field with around 100 Duke of Edinburgh award seekers which made for rather crowded facilities, but the view from the pub high above the campsite was truly amazing, as was the full English at the local pub the next morning. Day three was the longest of the trip, with 14 miles to cover to get to Symonds Yat. Some of the guide books proved to be hilariously inaccurate as to which side of the river we should paddle on, but fortunately we had a Phil, whose vast experience of reading rivers proved to be far more accurate than the author of the guide book. The last couple of miles triggered a few ‘are we there yets’, probably not helped by stopping at not one but two pubs on our way downstream.  However, after a series of large looping bends we arrived at our campsite, a rather shabby Butlins style affair, with some of the worst toilets we were to encounter, however the local pub was superb. The next day saw us heading off towards the river’s best-known feature, the Symonds Yat rapid, cue nervous laughter from the sea kayakers in the group. With a large amount of water going through it proved to be something of a disappointment and everyone sailed through without any drama. From here the river runs through a very picturesque gorge and it was perhaps the most photogenic stretch on the river, coupled with the amazing weather it engendered a real holiday atmosphere as we made our way down to our final landing at Redbrook, just downstream from Monmouth. All in all, it was a very relaxed four days with amazing weather and great company, paddling through some stunning scenery. Massive thanks go to Ellie for all the organisation to make the trip possible in the first place and also for leading over the four days. Keep watching the website to find out where we’ll be heading off for our next paddlesport adventure.