I plan to join Battersea Canoe Club on their trip down the Wandle on Sunday 8th June.
The river Wandle flows northwards through Morden, Merton and Earlsfield to join the Thames at Wandsworth.
Please let me know if anybody is interested in joining the trip.
(Secret agenda: Is anybody with a car interested in joining the trip so I can transport a THCC boat?)
Info from BCC:
The Wandle is an interesting combination of flat water, urban scenery, weirs and tunnels with shopping trolleys, motorbikes and head high pipes as the main obstacles. In places, it has a surprisingly fast flow rate which has been known to upset the unwary beginner when combined with a shopping trolley mid stream and the term "pipe rush" has been coined to describe the apparently fast approaching head high pipes, another source of potential capsize (pipes are like trees - never hang on to them!!). For the more experienced paddler there is even a surf wave in a tunnel and those with very long paddles should take care not to get them caught up in the roof of the Southside Shopping Centre tunnel - yes it's 300m or so with 2 bends and so dark you can't see a thing, plus a side bay for getting lost in (honest it's not that bad!!). I've always wondered if the shoppers above can hear the shouts, giggles and other manic noises emanating from beneath their feet - furthering the myth of the ghosts of the Arndale. Photos of previous trips are on the [BCC] website or the Photo Album.
We start from Merton Abbey Mills and we'll finish at the container at Barn Elms. I'll sort out tide times and other logistics nearer the time (probably aim to be on the water around 1 or 2 pm).
This trip is run in conjunction with the Wandle Valle Festival http://www.wandlevalleyfestival.org.uk/ and Beth is also organising a demo canoe polo game at Wimbledon Park Lake as part of the Festival.
BCC trip report from last year: http://www.batterseacc.org/index.php?title=Wandle_June_07
UK Rivers Guide Wandle page: http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/wandle.htm
Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Wandle