“Is that my banana?” Tim asked Rob whilst driving to Bridgend.
“Well, I’m not sure, ” replies Rob, “I brought two bananas with me but I now seem to have three. Would you like one? ” asks Rob.
At this point Im starting to get worried because I have Kee in the back of the car who is notorious for eating other people’s sandwiches and I now have Rob in the front who has added my banana to his collection! Anyway, the trip report……
We paddled a 5 mile section of this river today from the ugly Abergarw industrial estate down to the picturesque Dipping Bridge. If this was on our doorstep we would be using it all of the time. Full of little weir type drops, a couple of nice play waves and at times what can only be described as a surreal environment. The sun was out, a dipper flew past and we made our way down the river excited as always by the prospect of something new. Ten minutes into the paddle a hail storm developed, a grey wagtail landed on the handlebars of a discarded old bike and we paddled past a group of really miserable looking students on a safety and rescue course. The discarded old bikes, plastic bags, supermarket trolleys and a welly would have fitted nicely into a banksy painting.
The best part of the river included a triple stepped weir which we ran after inspection and a nice drop under the M4 bridge. Paddling through the concrete walled in section of the town centre felt like a scene from George Orwells 1984. This felt strange! We portaged a weir in the town and continued to the finish. I ran back to pick up the car and the days events were discussed over a KFC.
We all enjoyed the day. Definitely an experience! A safe paddle at this level. Thanks to Kee and Rob.
Water Level : 0.62
Distance : 5 miles
Junk Food Eaten : Subway, KFC
.
