CONTENTS
- Date, Distance & Duration
- Map of the Route
- Weather
- The Gloucester Docks to Pilot Inn kayak
- Logistics
- Pubs & Restuarants
- Dangers & Issues
- Kayaks used
- The Gloucester & Sharpness Canal
- Summary
1. DATE, DISTANCE & DURATION
Friday 10 November 2023.
4 miles one way route.
1 hour 45 minutes paddling.
2. map of the route
3. weather
It was a sunny, crisp November day with light winds of about 4-5mph from the West:
4. the gloucester docks to pilot in kayak
We launched at about 15:15 from near to the National Waterways Museum at Gloucester Docks.
Gloucester Docks is a great location to start or finish a paddle, being surrounded by historic warehouses.
Glos docks were constructed in the early 1800s to accommodate the growing trade of the city. The docks include 15 Victorian warehouses, that are now listed buildings.
Glos docks are located at the northern junction of the Severn River with the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal.
We came to the Sims Swing Bridge about half way along the 4 miles route, passing a paddle boarder coming the other way.
We paddled under the Rea Swing Bridge, one of may that you will pass on the canal.
We did this paddle in November when the canal was quiet with traffic.
We should imagine that in the Summer there would be more boats going up and down the canal.
It became increasingly duskier and chillier as the sun sank towards the horizon.
At just past 17:00 we landed just upstream of the Pilot Inn at Hardwicke.
5. LOGISTICS
At Gloucester Docks, we had parked up in the Southgate Moorings car park which is only a couple of hundred meters from where we launched near to the National Waterways Museum.
At the Pilot Inn at Hardwick, we had left a vehicle parked on the side of the road on the West side of the canal. The alternative may be to park in the car park of the Pilot Inn on the East side of the canal but you would need to check with the Pilot Inn beforehand and make sure that they are OK with this.
If you only had one vehicle then you could book a taxi to get you back to Gloucester Docks, there are a number of taxi firms in Gloucester.
6. PUBS & RESTAURANTS
There are many great pubs in Gloucester Docks and along this route, the below are just 2 of our recommendations.
The Pilot Inn, Hardwicke
The Pilot Inn is on the banks of the Gloucester and Sharpness canal to the east of Hardwicke
The Pilot Inn became a popular attraction for visitors from Gloucester who could arrive at the pub by boat and alight on a landing stage that had direct access to the pub’s garden.
The Lord High Chief Constable of England, Gloucester Docks
The Lord High Chief Constable of England is a Wetherspoons pub set in a lovely old building overlooking Gloucester Docks.
As with all Wetherspoons pubs, it’s great value with a good selection of beers.
7. DANGERS & ISSUES
Being a canal, this is a very safe route with no dangers as such (other than if you collide with a canal boat!).
Waterways Licence
You require a Waterways Licence in order to paddle on this and the other canals managed by the Canal & River Trust.
If you join British Canoeing or Canoe Wales, then membership includes the Waterways Licence and this seems to be the best way to get the licence.
The ‘waterways licence’ gives you access to 5,000 miles of inland waterways, including our canals and rivers.
It also gives you access to the waterways managed by the Environment Agency and the Broads Authority.
All of the navigable section of the Gloucester & Sharpness canal is usually open but some sections can at time be closed due to maintenance work or other issues.
The Canal & River Trust who manage the canal publish notice of any such stoppages on their website which is linked below.
https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices
You need to search for any stoppages on the canal for the date that you intend to go paddling on it before you go just to make sure that the section of the canal in question is not closed.
8. KAYAKS USED
Sandbanks Style Optimal Tandem kayak
Sheldon and I were using a Sandbanks Style Optimal inflatable kayak made from drop stitch construction. This means that it inflates to a very high air pressure of 10 psi to 12 psi, which makes it appear and perform very similar to a hard shell kayak.
The sandbanks optimal certainly glides through the water well due to the high pressure hull.
The Sandbanks Style Optimal is a stable kayak which tracks well due to the slight V shape to its hull. It also has a skeg that you slot onto the hull to further enhance tracking.
We have done a full review of the Sandbanks Style Optimal kayak in the Product Reviews section of our website.
Tootega Kinetic 100 Hydrolite
Archie got the ‘hydrolite’ version of the Tootega Kinetic 100 kayak which is made from light the material. It weighs about 18 kg, which is quite light for a sit on top hard kayak.
The Tootega kinetic 100 kayak has two storage hatches for storing items in and you can also store items in the storage area at the stern of the kayak by tethering them down using the built-in bungee straps.
9. THE GLOUCESTER & SHARPNESS CANAL
The canal runs for 16 miles from Gloucester down to Sharpness.
The Gloucester & Sharpness canal opened in 1827. At 86ft wide and 18ft deep and taking craft of 600 tons, it was the biggest canal in England, a true ship canal.
10. SUMMARY
Our original plan on this day had been to kayak the 7.5 miles from Gloucester to Frampton on Severn.
However, we launched so late from Gloucester that we had to do this shorter 4 miles kayak from Glos to the Pilot Inn.
There are some industrial areas alongside the canal as you paddle through South Gloucester on the first half of this route.
However, it opens out into a more rural setting for the last mile or 2.
The Gloucester & Sharpness Canal is a great canal to paddle if you are in this area – broad, with a range of scenery and lots of history.
Below is the link to our Youtube video of this kayak.