Godalming Round Table has undertaken a major fundraising challenge this year to support the Wharf Nursery School, more specifically, their mini-bus.  The challenge: 12 intrepid Tablers canoed from Godalming to the heart of the London; a distance of over 47 miles.  The Mayor of Godalming gave us a Civic send-off on Friday 1st October from Godalming Wharf. 

We have been training hard through the summer with the help of Go Godalming Canoe Club and the Godalming District Scout Canoe Club who provided us with equipment.

After a summer of training where we failed to see a single drop of rain we gathered at Godalming Wharf on Friday 1st October in heavy rain for the start.  Godalming's Mayor, Jane Thomson, most of the children from the Wharf Nursery, a class from Godalming Junior School and several other intrepid individuals braved the appalling conditions to give us a rapturous send off.  After several hours of paddling we stopped the first night in Byfleet. 

The second day saw better weather for the start of the assault on the Thames - we finished at Kingston on the Saturday.  Sunday was always going to be the toughest day, the river is wider and tidal from Teddigton (a very short paddle from Kingston) and we had left ourselves the longest distance to travel that day.  Sunday turned out to be worse than we anticipated as the rain was back with a vengeance and was joined by a fierce wind (and not just from the participants after two nights out "with the boys").  Passing Fulham we experienced a swell of 2-3 foot which was enough to come over the side of many of the canoes.  But still we carried on and made it to the Festival Hall to a fantastic welcome.  Wives, girlfriends, children, parents and puzzled tourists cheered us in and distributed cakes and a few glasses of bubbly.  The challenge had been met and, we are extremely proud to say, beaten.

These are exciting times for The Wharf Nursery with the whole school temporarily relocating to Green Oaks School while a new school is built on the current Wharf site.  Not only will the mini-bus provide much needed transport to and from the town but, once the new nursery is open, the mini-bus will offer many uses for the Children’s Centre and The Wharf Nursery as well as being available to the wider community.

The team:

Andrew Blagden

Jim Laity

Andrew Fergusson

Jason Clemons

Andrew Quinn

Peter Ford

Paul Cottrell

Mark Williams

Neil Wallsgrove

Keith Bradford

Bill Bousfield

Woody Williams

Please support us and give generously to this worthwhile cause.