Charity challenge – kayaking for 24 hours on the Dee!

Words: Del Read

Photos:
Allan Potts,
Amanda Macken,
Tom Clare &
Del Read

More about the charities we paddled for…

Young Minds. This is a charity aimed at supporting the mental health of young people. 

Rainbows Hospice. This is the only hospice in the East Midlands that provides children, and young people care. The charity helps children to have fun and provides much-needed support for their loved ones. 

The Air Ambulance Service. This is a charity that provides emergency helicopter services for those in need of urgent medical attention. 

Charity challenge – kayaking for 24 hours on the Dee!

Five friends and I took on a mammoth challenge on the weekend of the 6th- 7th August 2022. Kayaking down the River Dee in north Wales (Horseshoe to Town Falls) and back up the Llangollen canal for 24 hours straight. We paddled over 100km in total and have raised over £5500 for Young Minds, Rainbows Hospice and Air Ambulance. This article is a more detailed account of the challenge! You can still donate through our JustGiving page if you would like to.

Deciding on the challenge

In 2021 James Ibbotson (Ibbo) and I took on a 24-hour kayaking challenge on our home river of the Trent to raise money for Mind. It was a challenging but great experience, and we raised a lot of money. So, when Ibbo asked me to join him on another 24-hour challenge, I said yes! We wanted another challenge which would allow us to be self-sufficient if we needed it (i.e., no shuttles required), and the Dee was the perfect option.

We asked two of our friends, Jake Boswell and Niamh Macken, to join us, who readily agreed. After announcing our challenge, Lowri Davies got in touch to say that she had been planning a similar challenge on the Dee! We joined forces with both Lowri and Aaron Kendall to make a dream team of six.

The dream team

• James Ibbotson (Ibbo) is the most experienced in the group regarding 24-hour kayaking challenges, as this is his third one in three years! He has completed one on the Dart, one on the Trent and now one on the Dee. Outside of smashing 24-hour kayaking challenges, Ibbo works for British Canoeing and competes in C1 freestyle. He is also well known for organising paddling events such as the Euro Open. It’s thanks to Ibbo’s outstanding organisational skills that this challenge happened.
• Jake Boswell is another freestyle paddler, and you might recognise him as the owner of Flow Kayaks. Jake works long hours for his Nottingham-based shop and yet still finds the time to get out on the water and enjoy paddling for himself. Jake wanted to get a stylish line down Town Falls over the 24 hours. I think it is safe to say he managed it!
• Niamh Macken is the youngest member of our team but don’t underestimate her. In the three months leading up to the challenge, Niamh managed the preparation for this challenge alongside revising for her GCSE exams and preparing for the Freestyle World Championships! Niamh got a silver medal in the junior women’s K1 during the Worlds. She was more than happy to swap her freestyle boat for a Zet Chilli for the challenge though!
• Lowri Davies is one of the most well-known and respected kayakers and coaches in UK kayaking. Lowri is based in Llangollen and has a thriving coaching company called Flowfree. Lowri is a brilliant coach, but it should not be forgotten that she is also a phenomenal paddler. Lowri has been on the GB freestyle team for over 20 years and came seventh in women’s K1 in the Freestyle World Championships just gone! She is also a keen river runner and regularly enjoys chasing the rain on the rivers of north Wales.
• Aaron Kendall is well known for his love of the Dee and for embodying the phrase ‘play the river’. Aaron is a brilliant kayaker based in Llangollen and works as a raft guide for Whitewater Active. He has paddled worldwide at some of the best destinations in white water kayaking! When Aaron is not rafting or chasing the rain, he can most commonly be found living his best life in a slicey boat on an eddy line somewhere on the Dee.
• Finally, there is me, Del Read! Writing about myself felt a bit weird, so I asked our friend and support paddler, Nathan Hefford, for some words instead. “If you see someone on the river bearing a big smile and high on life, it’s probably Del. She is an amazing paddler and a true ambassador for the sport as a whole and for women in kayaking. Whether it’s paddling around on the flat water, learning some freestyle, falling off a paddleboard or smashing some lines on the rivers, you can always count on Del to be the most upbeat enthusiastic person on the water!” Kind words from Nathan and not based on the 04:00 on the Llangollen Canal version of Del!

The actual challenge

It felt a little surreal when we met in Town Falls car park at 09:00 on Saturday. Like most of the group, I have paddled the Dee more than I remember. We all love this river immensely, but 24 hours is still a long time. Luckily everyone seemed excited to get started! We geared up and walked up the hill to the canal, where we would start each lap.

It didn’t take us too long to paddle up the canal and onto the river. Being white water kayakers – this was obviously our favourite part! I soon realised the BEST part though was the boat ramp to get onto the river. The flat water paddle up the canal each time was made significantly better with the knowledge that three seconds of ramp excitement awaited you at the top! You may think I’m being sarcastic, but I promise you I’m not. It was the genuine highlight of every lap!

The river was fun because kayaking on white water is the best! We received a tremendous amount of support from other paddlers on the river. Every time we passed a raft, the guide would get all the customers to cheer us on and give us a round of applause. There were heaps of paddlers at mile end mill and many of them would cheer and shout words of encouragement each time we passed. It was lovely and helped hugely to keep us motivated.

biggest fans

Our biggest fans were waiting for us on the bridge at Town Falls each lap. These fans were our core support crew, including the most awesome trio. This was Niamh’s mum Amanda, little sister Sophie, and then Ibbo’s girlfriend, Kerry. Each lap we came down they rallied the entire bridge and got them to cheer loudly for us. All whilst encouraging donations to the charities. They were hugely influential in our fundraising over the weekend, and their efforts were very appreciated!

Town Falls

Town Falls is the last rapid on the section of the Dee we were paddling. It is just before the main bridge going through Llangollen, so there are always spectators. It was also the most challenging river rapid and required just a tad more concentration. Coming down successfully with a crowd applauding you was quite special! The biggest cheer came on our second lap when Ibbo took one for the team with the first roll of the 24 hours! Luckily his lovely girlfriend Kerry got it on camera for him to savour the memory forever. On that same lap, I also rocket launched the Ripper hard. This is when you get the tail of your boat entirely under, and the boat goes vertical. I managed to come out of it upright so was very pleased!

As the day continued Llangollen and the waterways got busier. The canal was busy with horse-drawn canal boats, and the staff began encouraging the customers to clap us as we paddled past them. We quickly established that Jake’s favourite part of each lap was the canal, and he was very vocal about how much he loved it. Having those cheers just added to the experience.

Dee Pizza

The day went quickly as we smashed out laps and spirits were running high. In the evening we paused to have a hot meal and change gear. We must say a big thank you to Dee Pizza for donating us six hot wraps for our dinner – it was very kind of them.

We had managed seven laps in the light and started our eighth lap in the dark. We all had head torches on us, but it was generally easier to not use them as you could see the white water more easily this way. At this point, I should point out that night paddling is wonderful but not something we encourage. We are all experienced paddlers who know the Dee exceptionally well and paddle well within our comfort zones. We also made sure we had a great safety crew around us in case anything did happen. It was a great experience but we were only happy to do it as we were extremely confident in our abilities.

That first night lap was hard. We had been paddling for about 12 hours, and I really started to notice just how tired I was on this lap. The nice thing was that Town Falls were very well lit up because of the lights on the bridge and the balcony of the riverside pub, The Corn Mill. The excellent lighting made Town Falls one of the easier and more enjoyable parts of our night laps. This was especially true on our first night lap, where we still had a large crowd of spectators on the pub balcony who loudly cheered for us.

Swapping kayaks

After we ended this first night lap, I was aware of how tired I was, and I decided I was now at a point where I needed to pull out the big guns. Firstly, I swapped boats, as did a few group members. I loved paddling the Ripper all day (thanks for the loan, Aaron), and it had been efficient on the canal. However, I wanted a bit more of a comfort blanket for the night and swapped into my trusty Pyranha Scorch. The second thing I did was consume some caffeine, which certainly woke me up! I’m pretty sure Aaron noticed on the next paddle up the canal as my speed of talking to him increased by about 10 times!

glue of this group

At this point, I need to thank Aaron as he was the absolute glue of this group over the 24 hours. He made a real effort to look out for and care for each of us. I struggled with energy levels in the later laps and was struggling to keep up on the canal sections. Rather than paddle off and leave me, he (and lovely support paddler Nathan) dropped back and paddled in front of me. This aim was to provide me with a small wake to try and make it slightly easier for me. He also came up with a fun local fact to share with me each lap which was my second highlight of the lap after the boat ramp.

Without sharing other people’s struggles, Aaron did a lot to support them too. He didn’t once complain and was a bundle of energetic happiness for the whole 24 hours. How lucky we were as a group to have him with us! So, thank you for being you, Aaron!

raft guides of Whitewater Active

I also need to thank everyone who came and joined us for a lap (or laps!) Especially those experienced paddlers who came as extra support overnight. Having fresh faces turn up to offer encouragement and support was so very welcomed. A special thank you should be given to the raft guides of Whitewater Active, who all seemed to join us at one point or another!

Our final night lap came, and we were grateful when it began to get light. Jake had mentioned once or twice overnight that he would prefer it if the sun came up, and we were all much in agreement. We started our 12th lap in the dark, and dawn had officially broken as we finished the canal part. That golden hour sunrise lap on the Dee was hugely enjoyable. The end was nearly in sight!

last lap

As we started our 14th lap, it was clear that this would be our last lap. Many paddlers who had come to see us through to the end joined us on the river. It was quite something to feel the support of our community. Niamh’s little sister Sophie joined us for this lap in a duo with Aaron. We were absolutely exhausted, but it was a really special final lap.

Despite running Town Falls countless times, I get a tad nervous just above it. My biggest fear before the challenge had been that I would have a roll at 04:00 on Town Falls. I had joked with the others at the start about how many laps it would take before I wasn’t nervous. The answer had been lap nine! On lap nine, I felt happy going down and was about to relax. On lap ten, however, at about 02:00, I caught the bottom middle rock on the rapid and had my first and only roll. I rolled very quickly but went back to being nervous.

Our group was hugely encouraging, however, and Lowri and Aaron told me I would smash it every time and that they believed in me. On that final lap, I turned around and told Lowri and Aaron that I wasn’t nervous (partly because I was too tired to be so) and would smash it. And I did! The moment I finished that rapid, I was ecstatic. Both at having had a good line and at completing the challenge. The cheers from the crowds on the bridge and paddlers on the water were super loud, and I just felt so happy!

I looked upstream to watch Aaron and Sophie in the duo, who were the last paddlers to come down. They had a very unfortunate line which resulted in a swim. Thankfully they were both fine, and Sophie continued to grin even as she swam to the side! This was Aaron’s first swim in six years, and he took it in very good grace. He enjoyed ending his 24 hours with a beer bootie, and Sophie also experienced her first (non-alcoholic) beer bootie!

 Thank you

This was a tough challenge and one we could not have completed without the fantastic support we received. Thank you to everyone who gave that support. Thank you to our amazing support crew who cheered for us every lap, ensured we had food and drinks, helped carry boats on the portage and generally encouraged us throughout. I do not think we could have kept paddling throughout those last laps without it.

Thank you to everyone who joined us on the water or came to see us paddle. The bridge brigade was terrific, and it made such a difference!

Thank you to everyone who took photos and videos over the weekend. Especially Allan Potts and Tom Clare for supporting us for most of the 24 hours. Allan took some incredible photos and Tom made us a short film about the challenge. It felt like we had our own paparazzi!

And thank you to everyone who donated, sent us good luck or shared our challenge with others. We have absolutely smashed our target, and those three great charities will now be supported further thanks to you. If you still wish to donate, here is our donation page! Thank you!

Thank you again to all our support crew, our sponsors and all of the brilliant people who came out to cheer us on over the weekend. We are very grateful! You can still donate to one of our three charities through our donation page: www.justgiving.com/team/24hoursonthedee – please scan the barcode on the left.

If you want to read more of my articles, you can find my blog at https://delkayaks.co.uk/