Being used to paddling in the estuaries of the South West Peninsula a trip along the River Waveney proved to be a bit of a shock.
Some while ago we had listened to Roger Deakin's talk on Radio 4 - 'Cigarette on the Waveney' and had also read his book 'Waterlog: A Swimmer's Journey Through Britain' and that of Matt Gaw - 'Pull of the River'. Both described the 'attractions' of this fenland river.
"... following the heron as he rides from the water, a half run, half-leap into the air and a flap of oil-black primary feathers outstretched like fingers hammered flat."
"... tall banks can be touched with an outstreched paddle from either side, meaning the slightest wrong move leads to a close and painful brush with nettles and reed."
"The swans certainly seem surprised by the company, taking it in turns to race us in relay. For five minutes at a time they stay 30 feet ahead of us, before shuffling onto the bank ..."
"We stop nearby for lunch, heaving the canoe through mud that swallows our legs to the shin, guffing out a sulphurous pong when we pull them free."
"... kingfishers shoot overhead like wobbling gas flames: afterburners on full."
"We scud by at eye-level with the banks udder height with the cows that now stamp about in every field."
The start at Shotford Bridge just south of Harleston
Wortwell Mill - one of four official portage points
A fallen tree - necessitating portaging or climbing
We paddled from Shotford Bridge near Harleston to Bungay a distance of 18 km. We were moving for 4:40.
The trip paralleled Deakin and Gaw's in many ways - including getting lost, and frustration with weirs, locked gates and unfriendly landowners.
The weirs all had portage points signed from the river but it would have been helpful if the length of the 'carry' was indicated. Fortunately we took 'wheels' so this didn't matter too much.
Approaching Bungay we were confused by two 'cuts' designed to minimise flood risk, we managed to find a third way which proved to be a very stinky dead-end.
The graph below shows the water temperature measured during the trip. Temperatures measured while portaging and eating lunch have been removed. Whilst in the river proper the temperpture was between 16.0°C and 17.0°C.
In the stagnant backwater near Bungay the temperature fluctuated between 15.2°C and 18.3°C.
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The image below shows the colour coded temperatures overlaid on a map.
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Using the above links you can zoom and pan the map - clicking on a coloured circle shows the actual measurement at that point.
