The River Severn is the longest river in the UK, 220 miles from the Cambrian Mountains to the Severn Estuary. I’d paddled much of the Rivers Wye and Thames before and the Severn had sat on my “to paddle” list for years. Previous attempts to visit the Severn had been thwarted by high winds and other commitments getting in the way but, in September 2024 my diary and the weather finally gave me a window to make it happen.

A river that begins as a spring was never going to be paddled from end to end, and the tidal estuary ruled out the finish too. Local knowledge pointed me to a muddy lay-by just outside Welshpool, and from there I paddled 128 miles to Gloucester Docks, solo, over five and a half days in  September 2024. Everything I needed, tent included, travelled on the board: four nights camping, one in a youth hostel, and an average of around 25 miles a day. Along the way there were fallen trees, four locks, a weir that announced itself only by sound, and one rapid I decided was better walked around than paddled.

It was also a trip of small, unexpected pleasures: Shrewsbury and Stourport were towns I’d never heard but not visited and was glad to discover, I portaged past the Ironbridge Gorge, and I was rescued from a tricky riverbank by two friendly fishermen. Ending in my home county resulted in the joy of being greated by my parents as I left the river and completed my journey in Gloucester Docks.