Return to the Thames

On May 23 I should be flying back to England if the WestJet pilots don't go on strike before I'm due to leave Calgary.  But before I start the record of my next adventure I need to acknowledge  the helpers I had on my walk around the Southwest Coast Path.  So here they are and I hope I haven't offended anybody by missing them out.

• Jenny Hatto - my wife who stayed behind to work and look after our B&B
• Alan Pollard - who picked me up at the airport and took me back to Camberley to pick up my belongings at the end of the trip.
• Tony Hassan - who arranged the purchase of my canoe and drove to Wales to pick it up and who took me to Cricklade to start my paddle and then came and picked me up from Shifford Lock when the days of strong winds ended my trip.
• John & Dee Hatto - who hosted me at the beginning of my adventure and who drove me to Minehead when I started my walk.
• Sue & David Plummer - who hosted me early on in my walk and came to my rescue when I left my SPOT in the hotel near Westward Ho!
• Martin & Vivienne Procter - who hosted me three times, rescued me from my heavy pack and shuttled me round an area on the coast where I could not find any accommodation.
• Bill & Anne Hatto - who met me in Looe so that I could have some comfortable time in their holiday house overlooking the English Channel.
• Neil & Alison Procter - who picked me up in Poole and shared their home with me so that I could visit their family.

Now on with the next of my adventures with my granddaughters.  Notice I said "granddaughters."   It's time to recognise Eva and Lily, two of my granddaughters who also left us too soon.  Eva was a stillborn twin and Lily had serious genetic issues and she only lived for half an hour after she was born.  So this trip is for Eva, Hazel and Lily and for all of the parents who have had to and will have to suffer the affects of losing a child so soon.

As many of you already know, I started to paddle the length of the non-tidal River Thames last year but had to give up because of the weather and time constraints.  I have never liked being beaten by any of my outdoor trips and have always returned to complete them later.  Maligne Pass here in Jasper National Park took two failed attempts before a third was successful.  So , starting on May 30, I'm going to be paddling down the River Thames from Lechlade, upstream from where I stopped last year.  This year I have allowed myself 15 days, lots of time to complete the trip without any real pressure other than where to stop each night and where I can visit a grocery store without leaving my canoe and equipment unattended for too long.  I hope to make my posts as interesting as possible by posting every day while the events of each day are still fresh in my mind.  I will also be posting a link to my GPS location at lunch time and in the evening every day so that you can all follow my progress as I travel along.

The maps below will show you where I will be going as I paddle down the river.  But now I have to finish packing and make sure I haven't forgotten anything that I need or need to do.