RIVER MEDWAY (Tonbridge to Allington)

[Mark R]

Read full River Guide.

[Medway Squirrel]

Hi, a more detailed Medway river access guide detailing all put-ins and portages can be found by clicking on the canoeing page of:

http://www.allingtonlock.co.uk

The site also shows info on river conditions, what construction works are happening (over the winter period) campsites, toilets, showers etc etc

Hope you find this useful

Medway Squirrel

[Yellow boat]

Had a chat to EA yesterday, they are planning to lower the levels above Town lock Tonbridge on Monday the 9th Feb till Friday 13th to enable work to continue on the landing stage.

Cheers

Paul

[scarymary]

for more information about the medway, especially the weirs and their playability go to:
http://www.whitewateraction.co.uk

[andy g]

Beware
There is an underwater obstruction in the canoe chute at West or Oak locks.
A club trip last weekend showed damage on most boats . This is presumably a piece of reinforcing bar that has broken loose and could be a hazard for a swimmers (albeit unlikely anyone would choose to swim a chute.
Regards
Andy

[Medway Squirrel]

Andy, the Environment Agency take hazards like these very seriously.

Are you able to be more precise about the location where you think there's a problem?

There are passes at (starting upstream and working down):

Eldridges Lock
Porters Lock
East Lock
Oak Weir Lock
Sluice Weir Lock

You can either phone 01622 752864 and speak to one of the lock keepers at Allington, or leave a reply here.

Thanks
Medway Squirrel

PS we have just set up a new group called River Medway Paddlers. Once this group is more established, I shall post out contact details. The group has broad representation from the paddling community and would like to be made aware about issues like these.

[andy g]

Hi
We are pretty sure that the damage occurred at East Lock , but it just possible that it was Oak.

It was very close to the bottom of the chute possibly towards the right hand side. I will talk to the others and try to get a more precise location

We were running from Tonbridge down to Yalding , and had no problems at most of the chutes , but at the critical one , some felt that they hit something , others felt they were slowed up , it was only a day or so later revealed that almost every boat had sustained a long gouge on the underside about 5mm deep and about 30 cms long

Can I take this opportunity to express our thanks to the EA for installing these chutes, it has made the Medway a very enjoyable run indeed for club paddlers in the S East area, it is excellent for 1 and 2 Star assessment river trips and practicing initial moving water skills.

Andy
Meridian CC

[Medway Squirrel]

Thanks Andy, we'll check it out

Medway Squirrel

[Saint Matt]

Hi,

We paddled the Medway on Sat and also ran afoul of the underwater nastiness on this fish chute. Every boat bar one had a long deep gash taken out of the bottom of it. Particularly galling as I was looking to sell my boat. Wish I’d seen this thread earlier…

I don’t know the name of the lock, it is this one:

http://binged.it/ucj7e1

Cheers

Matt

[mylesm]

Hi, Just to confirm that is was definitely East Lock tho we couldnt find anything on an inspection of the main slide of the pass itself. most boats had the same thing as Andy described on the bottom of the boat on the right. Was a real pity as apart from that it was a great day out, not often you get blue skies and nice weather for a paddle in late november!!

Cheers
Myles

[Medway Squirrel]

Just to update you.

The pass has been drained and one of the rubber chevrons we have installed has worn slightly exposing a holding down bolt. As a precaution we have removed all of the chevrons and their bolts so that the slide is now just a plain concrete slide.

The pass has now been re-opened and is safe to use.

Thanks getting back to us and filling in the details. If you ever spot any hazards on the River Medway in the future, please call 01622 752864 (the lock keepers at Allington), or email them directly allington.lock@environment-agency.gov.uk. We always have two navigation officers patrolling the river so if you bump into them, you can always tell them.

Thanks again

Medway Squirrel

[andy g]

Thanks very much for mending this.

For the medium and longer term is it possible to consider the way that the chevrons are attached ? This has now happened once on one of the most recently equipped canoe chutes, if the others use the same system then are we not likely to face similar issues again somewhere else? Damage of the type sustained by our members and others renders the boats almost worthless on the resale market and we are not keen to repeat this.

What role do the chevrons play in water management? I appreciate that the answer normally given is to make it easier for the passage of fish upstream, but game fish have surely been absent from the Medway ever since it became a navigable river, or is this too naive an interpretation?

Regards

Andy
Meridian CC

[Medway Squirrel]

Andy, the chevrons I refer to are only on East Lock pass (now removed). They were designed to slow the water down at the bottom of the pass to increase depth of water and divert the flow into the centre of the slide. Unlike at other locks, this slide is just a canoe slide. The fish pass is separate and sits just to the left.

Medway Squirrel

[andy g]

Medway Clean Up
As part of the Go Canoeing Week (6th to 15th April) the local canoe clubs who frequent the River Medway are planning a clean up session on Saturday 14th April.
This is being co-ordinated between Tonbridge , Maidstone, WhiteWater Action Medway (WAM), and Meridian Canoe Clubs (plus local Scouting Groups) with assistance from the local Environment Agency Medway Navigation team.
The idea is that each club provides a mixture of paddlers in open boats for carrying, in kayaks for fetching, plus bank walkers for helping with more lodged items. The EA will assist with disposal of rubbish from the designated collection points.
There will be a massed start at 10.00 am.
If any other local canoe clubs would like to join this effort please contact me or Paul Newman via this forum.
Regards
Andy

[jam.ie]

Medway Clean Up
As part of the Go Canoeing Week (6th to 15th April) the local canoe clubs who frequent the River Medway are planning a clean up session on Saturday 14th April.
This is being co-ordinated between Tonbridge , Maidstone, WhiteWater Action Medway (WAM), and Meridian Canoe Clubs (plus local Scouting Groups) with assistance from the local Environment Agency Medway Navigation team.
The idea is that each club provides a mixture of paddlers in open boats for carrying, in kayaks for fetching, plus bank walkers for helping with more lodged items. The EA will assist with disposal of rubbish from the designated collection points.
There will be a massed start at 10.00 am.
If any other local canoe clubs would like to join this effort please contact me or Paul Newman via this forum.
Regards
Andy

We have also setup a Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/310300055691462/ for anyone that woul like to join.

[scope81]

Can anyone recommend a canoe hire for this stretch of the river? Preferable somewhere that can do drop off's as we don't have a roof rack. Any assistance would be much appreciated.

[andy g]

I am pretty sure that Kent Canoes near Wrotham do hires of open boats , but I don't know if they will drop them off for you. Here is their website http://www.kentcanoes.co.uk/.

Andy