My name is Roger Lewis. My son Dylan, aged 12, and I embarked on an epic challenge, by canoeing the length of the River Severn to raise money for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and The Severn Hospice in Shropshire.
Our training for this challenge started back in January 2011, on dark evenings in a local swimming pool. This training was co-ordinated by Telford & Wrekin Council’s Duke of Edinburgh Award manager Phil Plant, who became so excited by what we had planned he decided to join us on the whole adventure, raising sponsorship for a charity close to his heart, Telford and Wrekin Fibromyalgia Support Group.
The training progressed from learning basic strokes and safety procedures in the swimming pool to open water canoeing on a large lake, before, in April 2011, we took our first tentative strokes on the river itself. During this time, my wife Julie who had supported us from home during our training decided that she wanted to get involved and volunteered to paddle the first day with us.
Our preparation was now in full swing with Dylan and I joining the D of E gold groups on a full days paddling along a stretch of the river on a day in early May. This day was nothing short of a real eye opener to what we had planned, as the 16 mile trip witnessed extreme winds against us for most of the journey and took eight hours to complete. This was much longer than I had anticipated and put a big doubt into the whole trip being completed in the six days we had timetabled. Not to be deterred we pressed on with our training, which included Dylan and I spending a chilly evening in the middle of a thunder storm swimming in the river, practicing the rescue procedure should anything go wrong.
Day One
The day of the challenge soon arrived and we were filled with both excitement and intrepidation as the scale of what we were about to attempt dawned on us both. Due to the unusually dry spell we had witnessed in the months leading up to us starting, we had to move our starting point as many areas of the Upper Severn had less than two inches of water which would have been impossible to canoe in.
Early Sunday morning, on May 29, we left Telford with our minibus loaded with the two canoes and travelled with a handful of supporters to a field in Mid Wales. Phil was teaming up with Dylan, and Julie was in with me for a day that would end in the centre of Shrewsbury, 24 miles and seven hours later. We made good progress early on, with only a couple of times causing concern, and in the main the weather was kind to us, and reached our midway stop on schedule, where we stopped to replenish our energy levels with some lunch. The afternoon seemed much harder as the river did an enormous loop, in which a five mile canoe ended only half a mile from where the loop had started, but we pressed on to the centre of Shrewsbury.
Day Two
Day two started in the sort of weather we had dreaded, driving rain, and with the knowledge that this leg would take us along the same stretch of the river we had experienced during our training, motivation was not high and took all our drive, just to get out of the minibus. But press on we did making good time, even with the inconvenience of Shrewsbury Weir where we had to take the two canoes out of the water, carry them 400 metres and return them to the water.
A small group gathered at Atcham to wave and offer encouragement, which was much needed, and gave us the motivation to carry on reaching Ironbridge exactly on the time we had anticipated, and we were welcomed under the bridge by family and friends cheering from above. Having completed the stretch of river we had not been looking forward to, we were now in good spirits and looking forward to the rest of the trip.
Day Three
Day three started with the most hazardous stretch of river we would have to encounter, a grade two rapid at Jackfield, something Dylan and I had never encountered before. We made it through in an unconventional manner, filling our boat with water, but not capsizing was a real achievement. We emptied our boat and pressed on through what was the most the scenic stretch of river we would travel through on the entire journey, reaching Bewdley an hour earlier than we expected, and remarkably we felt physically and mentally good, considering what we had already completed. From this day onwards we would be travelling along the stretch of river that Phil had never experienced so we didn’t know what to expect or had few landmarks to give us points of reference during our journey.
Day Four
Day four would be both the longest and hardest day of the challenge. We travelled 30 miles over 10 and a half hours along a canalised river with little flow and large locks that needed negotiating. Entering large manned locks that were built many years ago for boats a lot bigger than our Canadian canoes was a little daunting and a new experience for all but a welcome break and a chance to speak to the canal boat owners that were travelling along the same stretch. A fish and chip supper at the side of the river was great proceeded by our first night camping on the village green at Upton on Severn.
Day Five
Up early the next morning and not feeling to good, knowing that day five was our shortest day spurred me on, but it was hard work completing the 15 miles to the Red Lion Camp site in Wainlode Hill Gloucestershire. Once there I collapsed in a heap and fell to sleep once the tents were erected. This was a shame as Julie and my daughter Jasmine had made the four hour round trip to see us that night. Phil, Julie Dylan and Jasmine enjoyed a good meal at the pub, who we must say thanks to for allowing us to camp free of charge on their site.
Day Six
Feeling much better the next morning and armed with information on the timing of the lock that would take us into the Gloucester to Sharpness canal we made an early start as we needed to be in the centre of Gloucester, 10 miles away, by 9.30am. We made this deadline in plenty of time and progressed into the canal at 10am. The finish line was now in sight with only 16 miles to go and ironically 16 bridges to pass under.
A welcoming committee was travelling down from Telford so we were in touch via our mobile phones to arrange an ETA. By 3pm we had progressed quicker than expected and we were only three miles from completion, but the welcoming party not expected until 5pm, so a stop at a pub in Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, was needed, just to waste a bit of time of course.
We paddled the final three miles as if it was day one with elation and pride in our hearts and seeing everyone waiting to welcome us in was a sight I thought I would never see. A large sign had been made, and party poppers were fired to greet us as we touched the wharf at the end of the canal. We had made it and our challenge was over!
To celebrate, Dylan and I jumped into the freezing water to mark the end of the challenge in style. It had been a success, with Dylan and I raising in excess of £1,000 to be split between the two charities.
Find out how to get involved with Hearing Dogs for Deaf People challenges by visiting our fundraising challenges pages.
16 August 2011
