Maidstone Canoe Club

Mini-tour – Yalding Lock to Maidstone

Sunday 27^th October 2013

The clocks go back on Sunday 27^th so, if you go by your body clock rather than the one on your wall, you can gain an hour’s paddling on Sunday! To make the most of this, I’m planning a slightly longer run on Sunday, paddling from Yalding back down to the Club?

The distance between Yalding & the Club is approximately 8 miles. For comparison, a round trip from the Club to East Farleigh Lock and back is about 6 miles, and to Allington Lock and back is around 3 miles. However, paddling from Yalding to the Club is all ‘downhill’ and we might have the benefit of some flow as well, hopefully.

Meet at the Club at 8:00/8:15am GMT (which should still feel like 9am BST), leaving the Club at 8:30am to drive to Yalding. Alternatively, meet at Yalding – by the lock (not weir pool) – by 8:45am. Boats can be unloaded at the roadside immediately adjacent to Yalding lock, but cars should then be moved along the road a bit, for parking.

I would expect us to reach the Club by about 12:30/1:00pm. There’ll need to be a car shuffle back to Yalding after the paddle.

As this is a longish paddle please dress appropriately and bring a snack & hot drink.

Caution: Teston weirs can be dangerous; please portage around the weirs and lock - do not attempt to shoot the sloping weir or the pour-over weir.