Day 1 - K Day

So, the day has arrived, we couldn't really believe it, it seems so long and at the same time so short since we first talked about the trip. Day 1 required a 27-mile paddle from the Eldonian Village Hall as far as Parbold to be collected by our chauffeur, David Waterhouse, our very accommodating Gofer.

The Team at the start of the journey

Our paddle would see us from the start of the Desmond Family Canoe trail through the suburbs of Liverpool, passing by Aintree and on to arrive at Parbold at the end of Day 1. The majority of the day went without a hitch and we are grateful for our Gofer, David's, help as he would meet us with sustenance before we cracked on with the next section.

Fine weather, what could be better?

All went just fine until the very end of our day when we arrived at day's end to find no sign of David, even though we had supplied a postcode of the final canoe-out for the day. There followed some discussion as to whether my post codes were correct but David said he was on his way and we rested-easy on the fact that he would be with us very soon.

The Gofer's arrival on the wrong side of the canal!

To be fair, David did arrive with us, sadly on the wrong side of the canal! We can hope for a better day tomorrow. I have assured the Team that's it's an easier day but I am getting the impression they don't believe me!

The final insult of the day....someone....no name no pack drill walked on the seat on the support vehicle. There will be trouble when we get home if such reskless behaviour is repeated.

The footprint!

Not that I want to tell, it wasn't me and frankly David is too scared of Nessie to tread on her upholstery so, well, that only leaves one person brave enough to undertake such a reckless action!

More for day 2.. we are on our way bright and early for a telephone radio interview with Radio Leeds at 8.40 so an early start. Eeeee by 'eck, fame and fortune ain't easy!

Company Sponsors and Supporters

We are indebted to a number of local companies for their generous support of our venture, their logos being attached to both the kayak and the car to promote them and to bring some "corporate" colour to the event. The more we stand out the better and we should certainly stand out!

Our thanks are due to the following companies, your sponsoring of our event will enable the charity to help more sufferers in this indiscriminate disease:

Carrs Windows La Stazioni Glovers Autocare The Loafer Dacre, Son & Hartley Angus Roberts Carmark Buckle Barton Martinez Wines Master Plan Systems

Acorn Villas Dental Practice Killips Carpets Airedale Cooling Systems Nicholson's Jewellers LPS The Pentelow Practice The Alternative Board Tax Assist Accountants The Little Tea House Maureen Williams School of Dance The Black Hat

There are also one or two people who need to be singled out for their contribution, particularly Alan Strachan of Logo Promotional Merchandise for his general guidance and advice and supplying of our snazzy polo-shirts, baseball hats and event jackets (which, in the light of the forecast, looks like we might need!).

Showing off our jackets, thanks Alan

If we are adorned with promotional stuff then both the kayak and the car, being very much at the centre of our venture, needed to look the part too. Plastered with company logos, we are very grateful to Richard Tempest of Art Display for not only supplying the vinyl stickers but for also applying them (no mean feat to make sure they are straight and without air bubbles) to both the car and the boat.

The car in all its finery

To help us complete our rigours we are also indebted to Monica at The Valley Clinic who has kindly offered to pummel us into shape prior to our exertions.

We mustn't forget to thanks those who have been kind enough to allow us to stay on our overnight stopovers:

The Red Lion, Newburgh
Chorley North, Premier Inn
The Woolly Sheep Inn, Skipton
The Wheldale Castle Hotel, Castleford

A special thanks is owed to the Woolly Sheep Inn (Taylors) for their generous offering of hosting a food- and beer-matching evening on 12th July. This sounds like great fun with all proceeds of each £15 ticket being contributed to Cancer Support Yorkshire. Tickets available from the Woolly Sheep Inn, apologies if they are sold out.

Finally, we have enjoyed a great relationship with the Starboard Hotel Group, which runs 13 of the Holiday Inn Express hotels, 2 of which we are staying at during our journey (at Burnley and Leeds). The Group's PR company, Flex Media, have worked closely with us to help raise the profile of the challenge.

Without the generosity both in terms of money and/or time on the part of the companies that have been willing to help then our current fundraising success would have been very much more muted, so thank you all very much. Those thanks are also echoed by Caroline Lewis (she of the red hair!) of Cancer Support Yorkshire, who is blown away by the results that we have been able to achieve so far. A big part of that success has been through the companies who have sponsored and helped us.

The last training session

Having now paddled over 150 miles in training sessions and with only 8 days until K-Day we had one final Saturday session, canoeing from the 5-Rise Locks to Skipton, for the most part paddling into a stiff head wind which made it very hard work. We still managed close to a 4 mph average and reached Skipton looking forward to a second session, the time at the Woolly Sheep Inn for a couple of well-deserved pints.

Leaving Bingley in decent sunshine and a light breeze, the weather gradually worsened as we headed west, particularly the wind. We were keen to show off our new event polo shirts and are grateful to Alan of Logo Promotions for his generosity, It's just a shame my polo shirt doesn't reduce the ridiculous hunchback that I appear to have, wearing the shirt over the buoyancy aid.

Andrew and the hunchback leaving Bingley!

Three-and-a half hours hard paddling saw us arrive at Skipton, meeting Sue and Vanessa on the outskirts as they walked the dogs along the towpath. Ruby, the golden Labrador got a bit too close to the canal bank and proceeded to fall in and was then unable to get out. We then spent the next five minutes back-paddling to a point where the bank was slightly lower. Daft animal, I think she may think hard before going near a canal again.

Andrew finding it very amusing as I struggle with Ruby

The beer was indeed well-deserved and we are now looking forward to one or two short weekday sessions before setting off next Sunday the first 26 miles on our first leg from Liverpool to Newburgh.

Supporters

With less than 3 weeks to go to K-Day we are beginning to get the boat looking a bit more like with the first of many vinyls being applied, care of the many supporters of our adventure.

Among the first are the Cancer Support Yorkshire details taking pride of place at the front and rear of the kayak. Also the West Riding Province of the Masons, of which Andrew is a long-time member,  have been extremely supportive of our little jaunt and we are very pleased to display their shield at front and rear (especially helpful as they fit well on the pointy bits).

Caroline Lewis from Cancer Support Yorkshire joins us as we apply the first stickers

The Canal and River Trust have also provided us with the "Desmond Family Canoe Trail" vinyls. The trail is a CRT-sponsored initiative to produce a canoe route from coast to coast over a 5-year project ending in 2020 using young people as volunteers to get involved with the work.  It is the trail route from Liverpool to Goole that we are following and we are pleased to highlight the good work the Trust is doing to get young people helping in their communities.

In the kayak with the Desmond Canoe Trail promoted

Coming soon will be the vinyls of the many local companies who have agreed to support the trip with  generous sponsorship in return for promotional material being displayed on the boat which will make us look more colourful and interesting and sure to start discussions with passers by.

Danger money rather than donations please

Having taken the kayak from Apperley Bridge through Leeds last weekend and ending in Swillington, a distance of 15 miles through lots of locks, we are just about ready for anything the canal can throw at us. However, we hadn't bargained on other things being thrown at us such as half-bricks and other missiles!

This was the warning we received from a canal-user when he warned us that great gangs of youths gather to cause mischief at a few places on the way to Leeds beyond Apperley Bridge as he seemingly cheerily told us of the high probability of our running into such ferrel kids. Hell.

We can cope with this we thought but then on Tuesday we discovered that a body had been in the canal in the lock near to Apperley Bridge just a couple of days after we had been paddling in the area! Bloody Hell. http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2017-06-13/body-found-in-canal-at-apperley-bridge/

News report of body found in canal

Now this was OK as well, we can cope with that too. However, on the same day the news reported that armed police had been deployed along the towpath in Silsden on the hunt for someone reported as being armed! Now, this is getting beyond a joke and we are planning a small turret-gun on the bow of the boat!

Update to the story of the Silsden gunman

OK, so it turned out to be a BB gun, but we wouldn't know that if we encountered such a person and it's hard to outrun a crazed wazzock when your only means of escape is a kayak.

On the radio

The pace is quickening with less than 5 weeks to go to K-Day on 9th July. More people are hearing about our venture and the awareness can only be helped by our meeting wth Stray FM this morning. Not sure when they are going to use the piece we did with Lisa but it's great that our canoeing is gathering pace and so is our promotion of the coast to coast challenge.

Thank you Stray FM, hopefully your support will help raise funds for Cancer Support Yorkshire and the great work they do. We look forward to hearing the item over the airwaves.

Lisa at Stray FM speaking with Andrew about the event

In the dark

3rd June saw us invited to join the Pendle Paddlers canoe club to take part in a mass-paddle through the mile long (nearly) Foulridge tunnel. This is very helpful because until now the tunnel was off-limits to unpowered boats which, officially, involved a major hassle getting the boat carried for nearly a mile over the hill to reach the Foulridge Wharf end.

Paddlers getting ready to head south through the tunnel

To mark the occasion the Canal and River Trust had arranged for some young waterway volunteers to join the mass-paddle, paddling from south to north through the tunnel. This would involve the Pendle Paddlers canoeing to meet them prior to the official opening ceremony and ribbon-cutting. We joined the Paddlers in their southward paddle and got halfway through the tunnel when it became apparent that a narrow boat had entered the tunnel's south end, and was heading north toward the group of canoeists.

A hasty exit from the tunnel to avoid being run over

There is no room to pass in the narrow tunnel so we all had to turn round (no mean feat for us in a kayak that is just about as long as the tunnel is wide) and head back to the Foulridge end. The sound of a narrow boat's engine, getting louder in a confined space, is a tad disconcerting but we all got back to the northern end prior to the boat emerging a couple of minutes later.

We couldn't hang about for the second tunnel passage but are told it went without a hitch and was a great success. For us it means we will be able to officially use the tunnel on our fourth day travelling from Burnley - Skipton and avoid the portage hassle. Must remember the torch and the whistle and make sure there isn't a bloody boat coming t'other way.

Paddlers waiting at the tunnel's south end