Me, members of my family & many great friends are Canoeing The Thames........ 135 Miles LECHLADE..........to.............LONDON.   1st-4th July 2011.

We are raising money for the Prospect Hospice. The prospect supplied Nurses to help us care for Dad during his final weeks. The nurses were a wonderful help & comfort, their expertise was essential at such a difficult time.

Update....... We Done It !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

9 Canoe's & 19 Men (including back-up driver)set off on Friday 1st July at 6am in the morning, at approx 5pm we arrived at the Four Pillars Oxford. 35.5 miles in the first day & approx 45,000 strokes of the Paddle ! We were all glad to see Darren Beers (Masseur) who was kindly meeting us at the end of each day to massage away the knotted muscles.

Day 2  Again set off at 6am still aching from the previous day. Our target today is Crowne plaza at Caversham Bridge in Reading, another 36 miles............ If anyone is going to quit it's going to be tonight !! Although most of us had done 36 miles in training, we hadn't done it 2 days in a row. To say it was difficult would be a massive understatement & we still had days 3 & 4 to look forward to.

Day 3 Reading to Windsor 30 miles ( I Thought ) We have to Row through the middle of Henley Royal Regatta on Finals Day........ Nightmare... We set off at 5.30 am & we were through Henley by 10am This was my hardest day by far.. Doyley... my rowing partner, kept me going. I hit a wall that morning & his determination kept me going, Cheers mate. I was able to repay him in the afternoon when the fatigue finally hit him & I had got a 2nd breath. I cannot tell you what a relief & utter pleasure it was to arrive under the walls of Windsor Castle at the Sir Christopher Wren Hotel for our next nights stay. Also I had mis-calculated the mileage.... 30 became 34.5... sorry lads !!

Day 4 THE HOME STRETCH !! The spirit between all the lads who had taken part in the challenge was truly exceptional. I have never been involved with a team where it was better. Knowing that we only had 24.5 miles to go spurred everybody on.  We all set off together at 8.30 on a beautiful sunny morning after a hearty breakfast....... only 8 solid hours of rowing today !!!! We all arrived between 4 & 6 pm to a fantastic welcome from friends & family.... Utterly tired with aching, weary muscles..... but every single person carrying a massive smile on their face because of what they had achieved !!!

I cannot speak for everybody but I can honestly say.... I have never done anything more difficult in my life.... I will certainly not be doing it again. My thanks to my rowing partner Tony Doyle who was great company & a machine at the paddle. I would also like to thank all of the lads who joined us on this expedition for their tremendously hard work & the money they have raised for the Prospect. I will add a note of the total amount once I have it.

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Thankyou so much for your generosity

Steve x

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