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Exploring the Higher Avon

Exploring the Higher Avon

673308
Member
673308

    Oct 10, 2015#1

    Yesterday, my brother and I decided to explore the upper reaches of the Higher Avon in Warwickshire, a section not frequently paddled or indeed navigated by any sort of craft. We were unsure how far we would get upstream but hoped that we might reach Stoneleigh Abbey, adjacent to the former Royal Showground. It appears that Charles 1st in 1636 appointed Commissioners to facilitate enhancements to practical navigation on the Avon “….unto or near our City of Coventry ......". We were not going quite that far upstream but felt comfortable that this is clearly a Public Right of Navigation. The planned route is shown here, starting off on the river Leam.

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    It was a beautiful sunny day when we met at the Pay and Display Car Park near to Adelaide Road Bridge (£4 all day, free on Sundays) in Leamington.

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    There is a good launch point onto the river Leam just below the bridge….

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    ….and we headed downstream past the Royal Leamington Spa Canoe Club (we had both been very active members over 50 years ago!).

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    The first portage is over the weir steps below the rail and road bridges at Princes Drive…….

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    ….and then on down a mile or so to the junction with the Avon. Turning right, upstream on the Avon, it is about another 0.5 mile until you reach a pair of weirs (the right one dry yesterday) above Rock Mill.

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    This can be portaged on the right…….

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    …..because they don’t seem to want you to go up the left side any more!

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    To reach a lovely stretch of glassy water.

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    After a while you reach an apparently abandoned haunted house of horrors. This is Guy’s Cliffe House and doesn’t seem to have changed in the last 50 years. However, having looked this up I now discover that it can be booked for your wedding reception (!) or for paranormal investigations……..
    http://www.guyscliffehouse.co.uk/

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    Moving quickly on we arrived at Saxon Mill which is a posh gastropub, suitable for less ghostly or ghastly weddings.

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    Again portaging on the right, we continued upstream, enjoying the beautiful river, great reflections in the still water…..

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    …..and abundant wildlife. I have never seen so many kingfishers (about 10 seen each way, occasionally 3 at a time), dragonflies and damselflies.

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    In a field on the right bank we saw a series of posts with chains hanging around them, and the label ‘DisCatcher’. What on earth could these be for we wondered? Some sort of horse-riding event?

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    The further we went, the more difficult it became. Narrow and shallow stretches between reeds had fast currents, so padding at about 4mph against a current of 3mph meant pretty slow progress!

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    Fortunately there were quiet stretches between to allow recovery. Occasional riverside houses….

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    …. road bridges…..

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    …. and rail bridges….

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    ….until we reached Ashow. I have not just sneezed, that is the name of the village, and it is a lovely little place.

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    We continued on, fighting our way through a few modest obstructions, until we came to this one which seemed pretty impenetrable, with no easy portage options. Had Trevor (Rockhopper) been with us (he had hoped to make it), he would no doubt have pulled out his trusty Bahco Laplander Saw (if he hadn’t lost it on the way) and we would have been quickly through. But he wasn’t, so we turned back, probably about a mile short of Stoneleigh Abbey.

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    The return was much quicker. It had taken us about 4 hours of paddling to get 7 miles, and it only took about 2.5 hours to get back.

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    On our return trip we found a group of people apparently making use of the ‘DisCatchers’. It seems that it is a game called Disc Golf, like Frisby with targets. It seems quite cheap to play: http://www.quarrypark.co.uk/ We offered to return any discs that these chaps flew into the river, only to be told that ‘There are probably about 200 in that bit of the river’. On the day that a 5p charge was introduced for plastic bags, I wondered how the plastic pollution in this section of the Avon was going to affect the wildlife in years to come – should they be charged too?!

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    Back down past the Saxon Mill……

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    …..the haunted house…….

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    ……and back up the Leam to the launch point.

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    This was a great day out, all the better for the sense of exploration of a section of river rarely used. I would recommend it.

    2,8046
    Member
    2,8046

      Oct 10, 2015#2

      Looks like a cracking day out with some great photo's, thanks for posting...
      Cheers
      Tim
      :canoe:

      SMpiratePaddles a Prospector

      6,0511,094
      Contributing Member
      6,0511,094

        Oct 10, 2015#3

        A brilliant trip and well blogged.
        Big Al.

        Only when the last tree has died
        and the last river been poisoned
        and the last fish been caught
        will we realise we cannot eat money.
        ~Cree Indian Proverb

        5,45611
        Member
        5,45611

          Oct 10, 2015#4

          GRRRReat blog! GRRRRR! I missed a cracking trip there! All because I had to go to a meeting! GRRRRR!

          I love the photo of the heron atop the tree. I'm sure that, had you looked more carefully, you would have found one of my previously mislaid Bahlco Laplander Saws somewhere on your route! I seem to shed them - along with sandals and sunglasses - like dogs shed their fur!
          Juvanile delinkwit, vaguely faffing around with a pair of pliers. Du skal ikke tro at du er bedre end mig!

          27K3,045
          Contributing Member
          27K3,045

            Oct 10, 2015#5

            Nice one. I go to trade shows at Stoneleigh Park most years, and have always thought "I should bring the canoe for an explore" as I pass over the bridges.


            Seen the disc golf things before, there's a course in Ullapool just up from the campsite, but have never had a go.
            SMopencanoePaddler,blogger,camper,pyromaniac:

            Blog: Wilderness is a State of Mind

            Paddle Points - where to paddle

            3,67247
            Member
            3,67247

              Oct 11, 2015#6

              Ah, home waters! That stretch of the Avon still looks familiar despite not having paddled it for ~ 30 years.

              Ashow was once a favoured egress point for short winter trips through Stoneleigh, and we'd routinely paddle in and around Leamington and Warwick... and further down, up from Stratford or from Bideford to Evesham.

              We'd also paddle the upper reaches, nearer home (Church Lawford) and in winter / early spring, when the weeds were low, we'd sometimes start as far up as Churchover (middle of nowhere, between Lutterworth and Rugby). All good back then :)
              Posting as Singleblade - Declaring interests re. Silverbirch Canoes, British Canoeing, and lots else!

              673308
              Member
              673308

                Oct 11, 2015#7

                Pleased that folks found this interesting - and that it brought back memories for you Greg. Very interested that you were able to navigate the Avon so high up Greg, albeit a long time ago. The highest I ever went was Bubbenhall, and that was probably 50 years ago! In those days we usually paddled further downstream on the Leam and Avon, and rarely went above the Saxon Mill. Interestingly we met one of the current coaches of the Leamington Canoe Club on our recent trip, and he had never ventured above Saxon Mill either. Perhaps we will try a downstream trip starting at Churchover next spring!

                3,67247
                Member
                3,67247

                  Oct 11, 2015#8

                  Peter R wrote:Perhaps we will try a downstream trip starting at Churchover next spring!
                  I recall launching at Churchover a few times. At least once was a race. It sticks in my mind as the organisers (who probably included my own father) disqualified me for completing it in a WW Racer... where everyone else was in 4m boats. I thought that was harsh as going at any decent pace in 5m WWR around those twisty, tree-lined bits down to Newbold was one of the hardest things I'd ever done!

                  The winter floods generally cleared a lot of the weed, but good winter levels are pretty important even from Little Lawford to Cloud Bridge. Avoid higher levels though: you ideally want to be able to paddle against the current / hop out of the boat (beside steep, overgrown banks) to avoid getting swept around a bend into a strainer :o
                  Posting as Singleblade - Declaring interests re. Silverbirch Canoes, British Canoeing, and lots else!

                  673308
                  Member
                  673308

                    Oct 12, 2015#9

                    Greg, just in case we do manage this trip, where exactly did you launch in Churchover? Looking at the OS map, it is actually the river Swift up at Churchover, and it joins the Avon in Rugby. There is also some form of canal feeder, so it could be important to start on the right bit of water!
                    It also looks to me as though it would be possible to do a big circuit from Leamington, up the Leam, cross over to the Grand Union Canal, up the Oxford canal at Braunston, over to the Avon in Rugby, and back down the Avon to the Leam. However, having just measured it, that is about 56 miles with a lot of locks, so would need 2/3 days! Is this one that you did?

                    3,67247
                    Member
                    3,67247

                      Oct 12, 2015#10

                      Peter R wrote:where exactly did you launch in Churchover? Looking at the OS map, it is actually the river Swift up at Churchover, and it joins the Avon in Rugby
                      Yup - we used to get on here: http://binged.it/1LDuyMr
                      Peter R wrote:up the Leam, cross over to the Grand Union Canal, up the Oxford canal at Braunston, over to the Avon in Rugby, and back down the Avon to the Leam [...] 56 miles [...] Is this one that you did?
                      Nope! Back then, we'd get on the canal for a boxing day amble and I'd use the canals for 2-hour training blast when I couldn't get to anything else... and we did venture onto the Nene, which was a "navigation"... but as a kid I only really had eyes for rivers / natural waterways... and for the sea.

                      I've probably walked / paddled most bits of that loop... and would now see it as a reasonable early-season option. Certainly worth considering :)
                      Posting as Singleblade - Declaring interests re. Silverbirch Canoes, British Canoeing, and lots else!

                      673308
                      Member
                      673308

                        Oct 12, 2015#11

                        Thanks Greg. You can barely see the river Swift on there - a real ditch!

                        2,447236
                        Contributing Member
                        2,447236

                          Oct 12, 2015#12

                          Great blog Peter,

                          I suggested this exact route a few years back for the Halloween paddle to Guy's Cliffe House but nobody knew if it was doable.
                          Now you have proved it's doable we have another potential spooky paddle. I vaguely remember BMJ trying to get in touch with Guy's Cliffe and not getting much response...........a bit of a Ghost Ship (house). SMyikesannim
                          Bootstrap SMpirate
                          There's no such thing as inclement weather - you're just incorrectly dressed SMopencanoe

                          8

                            Oct 12, 2015#13

                            Hi Peter

                            Loved your blog.

                            Just spent the weekend teaching young scouts to paddle on the lake at Tatton. That was fun but made better still as I saw some great sights including the last Vulcan Bomber Flight passing overhead but the sound of the deer locking horns throughout the night reminded me of my apache 16 bouncing all alone down Grandtully (crack, crack, crack, craaaaack!).

                            See you on the Dee.
                            George

                            1,553465
                            Member
                            1,553465

                              Oct 14, 2015#14

                              A most enjoyable blogg - I am quite taken by the idea of the circular trip too.

                              I did the very top of the Avon a while back http://www.songofthepaddle.co.uk/forum/ ... ditchiness! - maybe start joining up the two ends?
                              A ship should not ride on a single anchor, nor life on a single hope - Epictetus

                              673308
                              Member
                              673308

                                Oct 14, 2015#15

                                Thanks for that link - really interesting to see what it is like higher up, a great blog of a proper ditch! I guess that might be why Greg's trip started on the Swift and joined the Avon at Rugby.
                                Definite possibilities for further exploration I think....

                                3,67247
                                Member
                                3,67247

                                  Oct 14, 2015#16

                                  Patterdale Paddler wrote:I did the very top of the Avon a while back http://www.songofthepaddle.co.uk/forum/ ... ditchiness! - maybe start joining up the two ends?
                                  Running that section of the Avon was singularly enterprising. The points about sticking to low flow conditions was particularly well made... and the photos of the obstructions (like this one) merit everyone's attention:


                                  Peter R wrote:interesting to see what it is like higher up, a great blog of a proper ditch! I guess that might be why Greg's trip started on the Swift and joined the Avon at Rugby
                                  We may have done some bit of the upper Avon once... but yes: we had good reason to prefer the Swift for being upstream of Newbold!
                                  Posting as Singleblade - Declaring interests re. Silverbirch Canoes, British Canoeing, and lots else!

                                  1201
                                  Member
                                  1201

                                    Oct 17, 2015#17

                                    This is local water for me. You can put in easily at Ashow. Take outs are possible at Saxon Mill, or on the Avon in Warwick behind Tesco or in the park. The barriers alongside Rock Mill weir are a pain: it means you can only portage when the river is low. Neither weir is retentive but it does mean going upstream is nothing like as easy as it was.