New Year’s Day Paddle – 1 January 2019

New Year’s Day Paddle – 1 January 2019

Meeting up at 10am on New Year’s Day may have seemed a foolish idea to some, but turned out to be a perfect way to start the New Year – with a paddle from Kew to Twickenham and back with a pub lunch in between.

With an amazing temperature of 8C we set off at a steady pace. With the water levels relatively high we were able to paddle over the Richmond Bridge barrier and continue along to meet the non-paddling CKC members who still wanted a pub lunch. So we had an odd combination of normally dressed people and those in dry suits:

After lunch the skies started to threaten over Petersham, so we made our way back down to Richmond. A large group of people had collected on the Surrey side of the river before Twickenham Bridge. On closer inspection, they were all looking at a seal eating a fish that flashed in the sunlight. Contentedly eating her fish, she paid no attention to us as we floated passed on the slight tidal flow. You can just see her in the centre in the picture below:

As we approached Kew Bridge at twilight, the skies cleared and the Thames was absolutely calm with a beautiful silvery glow; just like the people who had successfully completed their first paddle of the year.

Wishing all the members of the Chelsea Kayak Club a year that is as peaceful and calm as the Thames was on the first day of the year.