Yesterday afternoon we paddled a further stretch of the river, putting the canoe into the Stour at the pretty little medieval village of Nayland which lies in the Stour valley. We were driven to the drop off site in Nayland by my daughter Nicola, who then piped up and said: “Can I come with you?”
“Sure,” we both said, “hop in, you can sit in the middle.” So off we set off like the “three men in a boat”.
There is a wealth of 16th-century timber framed houses in the main streets of Nayland village. On the river bank itself, houses are more modern but they have a superb view of the river at the edge of their gardens. We saw the pair of swans with their seven signets that were there last time feeding along this stretch of houses in Nayland. We stopped paddling and pulled over to watch and wait for the family to slowly paddle themselves by with their wide webbed feet. It was their time for to go back up river. They took their time feeding and then off they went being led by their father staying close by to their mother. It was wonderful to stop and watch them.
Day two was an afternoon paddle and we covered 6.1 miles in total and ended up at the village of Stratford St Mary down river which is on the Suffolk side of the river. The river Stour marks the boundary of Suffolk and Essex.
After watching the swans, we paddled along the river bank houses to the Nayland weir, which you can see in the photograph. There used to be a lock at Nayland but it was replaced by a weir in 1947. The weir has four level drops down to the river below and from here it is a lovely paddle from the weir to the red brick Anchor bridge.
The river then becomes quite shallow after the bridge and you have to get out and walk the canoe through, so as to not scrape the bottom of it. I rather like walking a canoe down river, you hang onto the lines and just let the river take it through. It's like taking a canoe for a walk.
There is a lot of river weed and vegetation growth in and beyond Nayland down river that several of the house owners were complaining to us about. We were asked to report it to the Environment Agency who are in charge of keeping the river clear and open. In one place there was an island of floating reed that looked as though it had been cut but just left blocking the way. James cleared us a way through it with his paddle.
Further down the river we came across a fallen tree right over the river. We were lucky to have found a way to duck under it to get through. There are lovely wildflowers growing along the edge of the river bank including lilies and forget-me-nots.
It is quite a long stretch of river from Nayland to Boxted Mill – 3.4 miles – and just before we reached the portage place to go around the private property attached to the mill, we came across a favourite grooming place for swans. I had never seen so many huge beautiful swan wing feathers in one spot before. They had been plucked out to make for new growth and it is fascinating to sit in the canoe and watch the swans do this. They groom themselves for hours. It is no wonder that they look so clean and tidy and beautiful.
Boxted Mill is very interesting in that the Domesday Book records a mill being at Boxted in 1066. However, the old mill was demolished in 1925. Boxted was a water driven grain mill. In 2014 a mini hydro power station was constructed by Farm Power Hydro, channelling water through an Archimedes screw above the flood gate to make electricity which is enough to power 40 houses.
We dropped back down into the river again at Boxted Mill, by the weeping willow tree, and once we were back in the river, we paddled past the mill house and the Archimedes screw. There was a wonderful gushing sound of water as the screw sloshed the water through.
We continued on paddling under the Boxted metal road bridge and in half a mile down river we reached Langham flumes, where the river level is measured by Langham Waterworks.
It is only another 2.1 miles to Stratford St Mary from the flumes and the river passes by several Langham waterways constructions and buildings. However, it is a lovely stretch of river, shaded in parts and the reflections of the trees, roots and vegetation on the water is stunningly beautiful.
On and on we went paddling for Mutemwa water tanks past the Langham Waterworks, it's all connected really. Water for water.
So now it is not far to go to the end of the first lap – first of six. Just another 5.5 miles from here to Cattawade tomorrow, and then we start all over again!
Bye for now
Teresa and James
Teresa Yonge and James Perkins are doing a 134-mile sponsored Paddle on the River Stour in East Anglia, for Mutemwa Leprosy Care Centre in Zimbabwe for water storage tanks. This is the first of their daily blogs, chronicling the journey. Read the introduction post here.
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