Canoe day trip - Saltford to Bath, Somerset 

Wow, that's a great comment to get this morning, thanks. Glad to see the focus pulls are being noticed, the Canon EOSR has amazing touch screen focus, together with a decent prime lens it's a great combo, I can't recommend this camera highly enough. Although at times, water and a moderately expensive bit of kit is not a great combo! Now a visit to Ontario would be outstanding, the stuff of dreams! One day. Thanks for the offer.

Tee hee, what bit made ya laugh out loud then? Burly men in lycra? possibly... by the end of the morning, I'd had a right skinful of those rowers hammering along yelling at people to get out of their way. Glad I gave you a chuckle.

Ah nice one Steve, have ya done it yet? let me know how you get on. I've been a couple of miles down the Yeo this spring, but haven't gone right to the end for a long time (well since I made the film actually).

@@MrAndyballard will do, not sure of the weather this week, as long as its not pouring 😕, should be fine, with little weed I hope Regards steve Stay safe.

@@MrAndyballard well, westerly wind was so strong, it wasn't pleasant. So only done a few miles, turned round and paddled to the weir, lovely scenery though, aim for a less windy day next time. No weed though 🙂 Regards Steve

DO in the house! 🙏chuurs mucker.

That's good to hear Tom, I appreciate it. It does take a shed load of time to set up the shots and it does mean that the paddling sometimes takes a back seat to thinking about what shot to grab next. Hopefully it does show in the final edit.

Thanks David, poetic? crikey... I try. Let's hope the weather breaks and we return to blue skies and sun soon.

Much appreciated, it seems April and early May were our summer, this rain will top up the river levels but I hope it doesn't go on too long.

@@MrAndyballard Yes indeed. I went out for a river paddle yesterday but I totally miscalculated the tide. Ended up pretty much paddling on the spot. Can you recommend any *very simple* explanation guides on tidal drifts. Any websites or apps? I'm finding all the jargon a bit confusing. Atb Jonathan 👍

@@My24hradventure Blimey, I don’t know much about tidal paddling at all Jonathan, I’m happy to admit that. Although I live close to the Bristol Channel and I’d like to paddle a high tide on a coastal creek fairly close to me but it needs to be at slack water and you have to time it just right. There’s a lot that could go wrong with venturing into tidal waters - esp on the bristol channel with 14 metre tides!

@@MrAndyballard Ah ok thanks. I just want a lazy day out on the water to daydream and watch the world go by, and a nice cuppa' tea. Like in your videos 😊

Good on ya Tony 👍

Murralon from IG? the paddler that gets EVERYWHERE? You put my travels to shame, the places you paddle, I need to check out the canal up at Sharpness soon, I've been meaning to have a squizz at that stretch. Is the downstream section from Saltford quieter do you think? The reason I paddled upstream is that there was just the one weir to port rather than the two downstream. Are they easy enough to port? the second one after Saltford looked tricky to me. Your thoughts appreciated if this is your local patch. Pump house lane.. I'm on it, I'll check it out.

@@MrAndyballard Yes :-) I was with a new paddler recently who said he was inspired to canoe by your films :-) Downstream from Saltford you can shoot the Jolly Sailor weir to river right of the water shoot (obv if you're happy to do so) or possibly portage to the left of it. then turn back at Swineford lock for a short and easy paddle. Otherwise portage this & Keynsham locks & shoot Hanham weir. This is longer and needs a shuttle - if you'd like company, I'd be thrilled. Sharpness canal is nice. Saul Junction is a good place - or Purton (busy for parking), Purton boat graveyard is atmospheric. From Saul Junction, you can portage onto River Frome if you're feeling adventurous.

@@9murlon Fantastic, thanks for that info. The Jolly Sailor weir sounds like fun then. My mate has just bought a 18' Nova Craft Prospector which he's keen to try out, hopefully we'll be out n about at Saltford again soon. But yes, I'll certainly give ya a shout at some point. Sharpness sounds interesting - used to visit there as a kid when we lived in Thornbury, it must be over 40 years since I've been there. I know the boat graveyard at Purton. I feel another film coming on! Any spots for a crafty overnighter at Sharpness/Saul Junction, that would make it a longer trip.

Good to hear, it does take some time, but it'll be a great record of trips when I'm old & cranky and can no longer paddle!

Excellent to hear, thank you, I will endeavour to keep making em.

Nice one George, thanks. It does indeed. I found the Saltford stretch a lot more heavily used than the warleigh run, I still prefer that stretch down through the Avon Valley, it's a special place alright and you can have it to yourself most of the time too.

Thanks for that Alan, damp feet no problem, just hope the temp of the water increases a tad, it was very cold the other week. Yeah, I got yelled at by some rowers (not keeping far enough right apparently eek). That's why I prefer the quieter Avon Valley loop - less rowers!!

Ah the Wye man? cheers, good to hear. There's so much of the Avon to paddle here near Bristol/Bath, check it out if you're in the south west.

@@MrAndyballard ha, well I did a video yes, thanks for remembering :) all the best Andy

Hopefully I'll be uploading a new canoeing film very soon!

It's a nice stretch, although I have to say I prefer the Avon Valley between Bradford on Avon and Warleigh Weir - it's beautiful. This stretch is heavily used by rowing clubs.

@@MrAndyballard agreed can't beat it 🙂

Cheers Laurie, well... I haven't paddled the BoA loop for a while so no more run ins with the ‘keeper of the weir’.

Nice one! good stretches to paddle here both upstream & downstream. I've yet to paddle towards to Bristol, but it looks interesting. I'm an early bird, I was on the river by about 8:00am.

Pointless? ok. That's a matter of opinion I guess, but in my view the majority of canoe trip vids on YT are WAY too long and are padded out with a lot of unnecessary shots of people droning on about what they're having to eat.

@@MrAndyballard mate I give you good feedback before I’m just saying by the time u get your audience gripped the videos over and plus if u want to go far on RU-vid you want between 8-20 mins long for when u get the ad revenue

Brilliant video andy, thanks for sharing. I always enjoy watching them, your very talented 👌🙋🏻‍♀️

@@MrAndyballard For day trips, this length is absolutely perfect. This length makes us excited and we anticipate the next video you put out. If you were making week long trips, sure some videos would be longer. But I'm very much in agreement with you Andy; the vast majority of tripping videos all look identical and blend together. What you are doing stands out from the crowd, and I applaud you for that!

@@penelopehedley1514 You found it! nice one, thank you Penny.