"Lower Benyons mass canoe invasion"

Whilst looking at the websites referring to this blog this morning, I noticed that one of the URLs was from Barbel Fishing World (BFW).  Whilst following the direct link revealed a brick wall in the shape of a membership fee requirement for access to the specific reference, a little further browsing led to an interesting forum thread from last February, which serves as microcosm of the debate over access to the River Kennet for paddlers and the range of views held by anglers on this issue.

The thread, titled "Lower Benyons mass canoe invasion", began with a post that described how, on Friday 19.02.10 (the end of the half term holiday), "a group of 15 canoes/kayaks"*, identified as having been from Newbury's Adventure Dolphin organisation, "came over" Sulhamstead Weir and proceeded to navigate along the 940m loop that rejoins the canal just below Sulhamstead Lock. 
                                                          *good to see the distinction being recognised ;-)

Sulhamstead Weir from the right bank of the riverine section at higher water levels (early March 2010).

Known to local anglers as the 'Lower Benyons' after the landowner from whom the Reading and District Anglers Association (RDAA) lease the fishing rights at this location, the thread continued with opinions expressed and questioning of the right of the paddlers to navigate this riverine section of the Kennet and, somewhat unusually, also just about managed to differentiate the issue of rights of access to the banks (for such as portaging the weir).

Comments ranged from the predictable 'humour' of "A length of piano wire at neck height maybe?" (complete with a smiley emoticon) to the more progressive opinion that stated "the simple fact is we [fishermen] need to get along with all water users".  Perhaps most notable
was the post stating that "they [the paddlers] [...] have a sound argument and we rely on outdated laws to keep them from 98% of our rivers", a point reinforced by the response that "The point is, they are not "our rivers", in most cases we simply lease the rights to fish, there is absolutely nothing in any leasing contracts I have seen which gives exclusive use of the water in question".

After several days in which the usual themes and arguments of exclusivity and 'ownship' were made and even rebutted as above, it was clear that the contributors were in no better a position to provide a definitive, objective statement of navigation rights for this section of the Kennet than anyone else to date (see the post describing British Waterway's view that the Environment Agency is responsible for navigation of the non-canalised Kennet here).

In lieu of a firm legal position being available at this time - and in opposition to the type of outdated, illogical and inflammatory rant offered by such as the Angling Trust in their "Pay Up or Shut Up" statement, or the evasive hedging offered by the British Canoe Union in their contribution to its members' concerns about recreational navigation rights - the following notes and thoughts on simple informal and mutually respectful consideration are offered for canoeing and kayaking on the Kennet at Sulhamstead and elsewhere on the river.

1. There is a recognised right of navigation and access along the Kennet Navigation (the canalised section of the River Kennet between Newbury and Reading).  A licence is required to paddle here and is available from British Waterways (please note that at the time of writing it is not known how the recently announced abolition of British Waterways may affect this position).  Alternatively, membership of the British Canoe Union covers this fee.

2. There is a public footpath across the bridge over Sulhamstead Weir that continues river left for about half way around the loop (see map image below).  The left bank is also a popular beat for RDAA and affiliated fishing clubs.  Note that in the broad section immediately below the weir and before the river bends to the right, the main channel is river left, and that the river right can be quite shallow in low water periods.  This is not an issue during better flows.  If you want to know if the 'Lower Benyons' beat is likely to be occupied during your passage you can check out the bookings here.

Sulhamstead Weir and the riverine loop of the Kennet.  Note the public footpath (marked by a green dashed line) that passes across the bridge above the weir and river left for the first half of this section.  [Image produced from Ordnance Survey's Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.]

Shallow water river right downstream from Sulhamstead Weir in September 2010...

...and similar conditions from July 2009.

In higher flow rates there is plenty of depth to keep river right; the view looking back upstream from river left just below Sulhamstead Weir, early March 2010.

3. In describing the behaviour of the group from Adventure Dolphin, the original BFW poster on the thread referred to at the start of this post later commented that it was "mostly beyond reproach. [...] they offered to, and did, get out, carry their boats past me and re-launch just below...[...]. The few anglers below me, after being politely asked, allowed them to pass unchallenged. [...]...but they caused no visible damage."  Whilst portaging is by no means obligatory, such polite consideration might be welcomed. 

The landowner, Richard Benyon MP, has previously stated in writing that "my family are riparian owners of a stretch of the Kennet. The angling is controlled and managed by Reading and District Anglers Association who seem to live quite comfortably with access to this stretch of this Kennet by river craft who use the Kennet, and the canal, at various points."

Portaging may also be required further along this section for reason of avoiding the strainers produced by the trees that seem to frequently fall into the river here.

Note: the author of this blog has no association with Adventure Dolphin or any of the fishing organisations referred to in this post.

Kennet spawning grounds at risk

The attraction of our waterways to bicycles and shopping trolleys has long been recognised, but the continuing low levels along the riverine and non-canalised sections of the lower Kennet has now revealed a new group of water users.  Pub chairs. 

This latest addition to the list of groups seeking greater access to English and Welsh rivers has thus far only been confirmed at one location, but suspicions remain that this anti-social element has been indulging in nefarious waterside activities, with evidence cited in the shape of the growing number of beer can spraints that can be found alongside the Kennet.

A spokesperson for the trolleys has stated that SAFFA (the Supermarket Assisted Four-wheel Furniture Act) legislation may be used to stop pub chairs from damaging environmentally sensitive spawning grounds.

Shopping trolleys spawn undisturbed in the shallow water gravel bed of a River Kennet side stream in July 2009.

Navigation of the River Kennet by a pub chair prevents a trolley from emerging from its gravel nest site in August 2010.

Pub chairs have been associated with beer can droppings along the banks of the River Kennet.

After dumping, young supermarket trolleys make their way downstream on their side where they are at risk from fringe extremist wing backs who may show a blatant disregard for the trolleys' inability to get out of the way.

Related to more cumbersome four-wheeled species, bicycles also find it difficult to manouever on their sides in water, and are prone to damage from passing motorised La-Z-Boys or speeding armchairs.

Too low to go at the end of the Middle and start of the Lower reaches

With the low level of the River Kennet making the BBC's online news last week, and the EA's new web-based river level reporting service having been offline for most of time since then, a quick visual inspection at a couple of riverine locations today produced the unsurprising confirmation that it's getting too low to go.

The unnaturally exacerbated seasonal flow variation that sees the winterbournes and increasingly extended sections of the Upper Kennet all but dry up from this time of year until replenishment of the chalk aquifer with autumn and winter rainfall, has been compounded by the long dry first half of 2010 in the Kennet Valley and is now affecting the Middle and Lower reaches. 

Despite flowing along separate courses below the first confluence with the Kennet and Avon canal, some of the sections that would normally provide alternative paddling routes eastward are looking decidedly untenable.

The headroom under the bridge at SU 452 669, where a public footpath crosses between the western edge of Newbury and up to Speen towards the end of the paddling Middle reach, has increased, but the water level would probably also fail to keep you floating over the concrete base without contact (the channel river left is the only route not blocked by debris).  It is indicative of the conditions likely to be encountered all the way down the otherwise paddleable section from Benham Weir.

...whilst entering the pool below, gravel banks and bars are barely concealed by the reduced water levels.

Just beyond the start of the Middle reach in Newbury, on the mill stream that runs down from Northroft sluice weir, the pipe that crosses the river at SU 468 671 could be easily 'ducked', but even with an additional inflow from the canal river right just above this point, the water is now only knee deep at best.

In the current knee-deep conditions paddling in the middle of the watercourse does not require a kayak.

Looking back upstream, the silt covered river bed beyond the gravel and the overhanging willows is just a few inches deep.

River Kennet restoration near Hungerford

One of the largest restoration projects on the upper Kennet was completed between October 2009 and March 2010, when the hydromorphology of a 2km stretch of the river downstream of Denford was extensively remodelled in 11 sections by Cain Bio-Engineering Ltd., funded by the Environment Agency and Natural England.  A case study from the contractor can be found here.

Starting at the first section, a stroll downstream between the river and the canal at The Gatehouse, just to the east of Hungerford where the River Dun joins a branch of the River Kennet at SU 352 682, demonstrates some of the remedial river engineering techniques that have been applied, but just in case you thought it might be a worth having a closer look at this relaxing and beautiful place by means of a gentle summer paddle...

New fencing, but the same old sign.  Access rights are restricted by antiquated 'laws' that uniquely protect the rights of "commoners" over the general public (this will be the subject of  future post)...

...but the swans don't care.

At the end of June 2010 it was still possible to identify man's hand (or at least his vehicle's tracks) in the restoration process.

Ranunculus growth is the sign of a healthy chalk stream; more would always be welcome.  The new fencing is to protect the banks from erosion during periods of grazing by "commoners".

Scarlet Tiger moths inhabit the edge of the river in the early evening sunshine.

Narrowing of the channel with bank reinforcement has increased the flow rate and, together with such as the deposition of large woody debris (LWD) with combined in-stream willow growth, it is clearing silt and algae from the bottom to leave 'gin-clear' water in which trout are readily spotted (this is probably not such a good thing if you are a trout, but I'm sure they appreciate the improved water quality).

Flood overflow pools help maintain the margins...

...but just after you pass this sign (to remind you who's paying for all the work) by the style over the fencing...

...you reach this bridge and the start of the Avington Estate.

From this point your view of the further sections of the restored River Kennet depend on your eyesight.

I have no complaint that money is being spent on restoring the quality of a classic chalk stream river before it is destroyed (and the EU rubs salt in the wound of our loss by fining the UK for the neglected state of our waterways).  

The bit that sticks in the throat here is simply that the majority of the restoration works are inaccessible to the public who have paid for them via taxation from which the EA and NE is funded.  Whilst, in the broadest general sense, we all benefit from the revitalisation of our chalk stream rivers, and it is not questioned that this section of the Kennet appears to have been substantively improved by these innovative works, private fisheries are effectively receiving direct economic benefit from those they exclude.  If you think this is possibly iniquitous, you might also want to note that the contractor, Cain Bio-Engineering, is a founding member of the Wild Trout Trust.

On-line river level guide for the River Kennet

The launch of the Environment Agency's on-line river level reporting service for England and Wales, which makes use of the national network of gauging stations to augment flood warnings, also offers paddlers planning to travel to the River Kennet the opportunity to remotely view current conditions before leaving home. 
The Kennet gauges are located at

• Winterbourne Monkton on the upper Upper reach
• Marlborough on the Upper reach   
• Knighton - two gauges on the Upper reach between Ramsbury and Chilton Foliat
• Eddington at Hungerford where the Middle reach starts
• Newbury on the Lower reach
• Theale (Barble Bar) on the Lower reach 
• Blakes Lock, Reading on the Lower reach not far from The Thames confluence.

There are a further 12 gauges reporting the flow for the Kennet tributaries of the Og, the Aldbourne, the Dun, the Shalbourne, the Lambourn, the Winterbourne, Kingsclere Brook, the Enborne, and the Foudry Brook.

However, only the last three of the main River Kennet gauges are of much use to paddlers, in that they are located on sections of the river where paddling is generally viable, and only Theale gives a good river level indication in terms of partial independence from the water of the canalised Navigation.

The Theale gauge currently shows the river to be significantly low within a bandwidth of typical range, but, hey, it's summer and it hasn't rained much recently.

The Kennet with low water levels at the Theale gauging station at the end of June 2010, but Barble Bar is still going.