16 Locks later! Reflections from the Peak District 2025 Summer trip

Newbury Canoe Club’s Summer Camp once again proved that we’re not just masters of the paddle, — we’re also experts in accidental sunburn, soggy socks, and wildly ambitious route planning, who knew it was going to be an endurance training weekend.😄

Friday kicked off with a casual eleven-mile hike across the glorious (and suspiciously vertical) Peak District… on the hottest day of the year. Spirits remained high, especially once we stopped for lunch — which somehow involved cold beer. After some “re-evaluation” of the route (read: melting), we wisely diverted to a pub to cool down, rehydrate, and contemplate why we do this to ourselves every year.

Saturday began with a hearty breakfast and an early start as we set off to “position vehicles” — which sounds very tactical, but really just meant driving around in circles trying to remember who left their paddle, hat, or lunch in which car (Ted). Then we were off! Our first major landmark was a tunnel — long, echoey, and handled with the utmost professionalism (if you consider beating the canoe sides like rampaging Vikings to be professional, which we obviously do).

Moments later, we crossed an epic viaduct with views so good, we almost forgot it was still 500 degrees outside. The heat truly kicked in as we hit the infamous locks — 16 of them....IN...A. ROW!! Going uphil! Covering over a kilometre! Dreams were crushed. Spirits wavered. Legs were questioned. But we dug deep.

After a well-earned lunch break at Lock 12 (where no one moved for a solid 30 minutes), we summoned what was left of our strength and powered over the remaining locks with superb teamwork, occasional grumbling, and generous back-patting.

Seeing everyone fairly exhausted and morals dipped we asked Mike to ask his new best buddy ChatGPT to find somewhere where we could buy ice creams, his first suggestions was an ice cream parlor in Birmingham which was a little to far even for Newbury paddlers, after consulting Mr AI again he found a marina only 1 mile away selling what we were craving. After our brief stop and all selections of Magnums and fruit ices were consumed, both spirits and sugar levels had been lifted.

We set off on our final push to complete what had been an unforgettable and utterly brilliant day on the water.

Phil and Paul