So how did all this start?

Two years ago I knew that I wanted to use my 40th Birthday (29.01.2013) as an excuse to do something challenging, something worthy of celebrating. The New York Marathon? Too hard-core!  Cycling the length of England? Too much Lycra! What do I already do, that I could just up a bit and turn into an adventure? Kayaking….down the Thames! The longest river in England and the second longest in the UK!

We have chosen to paddling the full length of the non-tidal Thames – 135 miles and 45 locks! We will start at the historic Saxon town of Cricklade (only deep enough to paddle from in Winter/Spring), then on to Lechlade, Oxford, Abingdon, Dorchester, Wallingford, Goring, Pangbourne, Reading, Henley-on-Thames, Marlow, Maidenhead, Windsor, Staines, Walton-on-Thames, Kingston upon Thames and finishing (in a pub!) in Teddington.

Now I say WE, because it would be selfish to keep this sort of exciting adventure to myself….and clearly four arms are better than two. So who would be mad enough to join me on this crazy endeavour?? The lovely Mr Richard Whiting, who surprisingly needed little persuasion to jump aboard and has proven to be the perfect paddling companion.

 

Who are we raising money for?

We have decided to raise money for two charities we feel passionately about: Cancer Research UK & Red Nose Day. We don’t mind which you would like to support but we have had to set them up as two separate pages, one page can’t give to two charities. If you would like to give to Cancer Research UK, then please give via this page or if you would prefer to support Red Nose Day, please give via Richard’s page (http://www.justgiving.com/Richard-Whiting1). We really don’t mind which page you use, we're just delighted that you want to help us raise money for one of these great causes.

When are we paddling?

We are due to start on Good Friday 29 March and finish six days later on Thursday 4 April. Although there is a strong argument for rejigging our timings slightly so we can finish on Friday 5 April (Friday being a better day to celebrate). We will let you know exactly when and where we will be finishing our Thames Challenge so that you can join us for a drink if you fancy it.