BR Rowing UK Tour 2022 - Isle of Ely Rowing Club

British Rowing UK Tour 9-11th September 2022: St.Neots to Denver

75 rowers from all over the UK and Republic of Ireland met up with crews from Norway and the U.S.A. to take part in the British Rowing Tour in 15 recreational quads, rowing from St. Neots to Denver over 3 days. Over 20 rowers from Isle of Ely RC took part with most rowing one day, either as a separate crew or mixed with crews from other clubs. They had to contend with variable weather, including heavy showers and a lock failure along the way, which gave the Saturday crews a very long day.

The Tour finished at West Norfolk Rowing Club on Sunday with a superb hot lunch and cakes when the sun shone and the sky was blue.

To save de rigging and trailering the boats back to Ely, three Ely crews and one WNRC crew rowed the boats back on Sunday afternoon.

Day 1

Day 1, Friday, 9th September, St. Neots to St. Ives 25.9 Km

Our crew had an adventure to remember on day 1 of the 28th British Rowing Tour. There were 6 locks to navigate along this beautiful 26km stretch of the Great Ouse from St Neots to St Ives. Going through the locks was very exciting, especially when we broke our rudder (luckily we managed to tape it back together!) – but, with plenty of team spirit, the locks soon became a highlight of the day for all 15 crews. We were very grateful to the volunteer lock keepers, who gave us plenty of words of encouragement along the way, and to Huntingdon Boat Club for hosting a delicious lunch. It was fascinating to meet people from rowing clubs around the world. We are all very much looking forward to future tours!

Sarah Atkinson, Jaqui Cornelissen, Linda Lloyd, Liz Roberts, Kirsty Sherwood

Day 2

Day 2, Saturday 10th September St. Ives to Ely, 36 Km

We took it in turns to cox and encountered many different aspects of life along the river such as curious cows on the bank, locks and very narrow stretches due to the enormous reeds. Steering was challenging at times, as we were coping with a jury rigged rudder which stuck and so was removed: we steered using blade pressure. After a few trips into the reeds our steering improved and we made good progress. The temporary repair was strengthened with extra bandage (yes, really), so we were back to normal steering before too long. We played “I Spy” and did a little singing which kept us going as it was a long row.

At each stop we were welcomed by a group of wonderful people who had organised the event – excellent safety briefings, helping us in and out of the boats, administering first aid to sore hands, giving great advice, warm good cheer and encouragement.

We were fortunate enough to have perfect rowing weather – comfortable temperatures with mostly blue skies. The route was pretty and we saw some lovely wildlife. The narrow reaches of the Old West River were really scenic and very different from the wide Great Ouse.

Some of our tour boats were delayed by Hermitage Lock near Earith breaking down, but the Environment Agency Engineer was called out, fixed it and we were able to continue our journey. This added to the spirit of adventure and overall sense of achievement. Once Ely Cathedral appeared we knew we hadn’t much further to go and were delighted to arrive at our home club in Ely at the end of a challenging (in a good way) day.

We had a delicious and very convivial Gala Dinner at the Holiday Inn, Impington where it was clear to see that many new friends had been made. Everyone was so supportive and kind to each other along our journey and we will treasure special memories. A big thank you to the organisers, host clubs and to everyone who took part.

Cathie Stableford, Ashwatha Price, Martyn Price, Joseph McCaughley, Behnaz Pourafshari

Day 3

Day 3, Sunday 11th September, Ely to Denver 24.4 Km

I rowed with 3 ladies from St. Neots and 1 from Camrowers, having applied for a place as a day rower. We set off from Ely in the mist and finished up at West Norfolk Rowing Club under blue skies in the sunshine! The highlights for me were meeting a new crew and finding that Rachel, Birte, Emma, Margaret and I could row well together, swapping cox and other places around out on the river and the friendly welcome including a hot lunch at WNRC, not forgetting the performance enhancing properties of jelly snakes!

Niall Pearcey

Whole Tour

Catherine Coppinger’s reflections having rowed 87km in 3 days!

This was my first BR Tour and I booked as a solo rower. I had the great privilege of joining a veteran crew from Norway, who showed me the ropes and generously shared their knowledge, experience and funny anecdotes from previous tours all over the planet. There were 15 coxed quads on the tour, and I was pleased to be in a familiar boat (IEL 407, one of the Charles Stanley boats from my LTR).

We rowed an 87-kilometre route down the Great Ouse River starting at St Neots and finishing up at Denver. The route traversed lovely English countryside and we saw wildlife (including a large bull having a drink in the river). We passed some splendid properties and cruisers and the epic Ely Cathedral; oh and the sun shone. We were ably supported by the organisers John and Caroline Turnbull and volunteers from St Neots, St Ives, Isle of Ely and West Norfolk rowing clubs who helped us carry, rig and de-rig boats, operate the many locks along the route and fed and watered crews along the way. It was a great adventure, physically challenging but I feel a great sense of achievement.

Back to Ely

Sunday Afternoon Return to Ely: 24.4 Km

Returning Boats Account by Cathie Stableford’s crew

On Sunday 11 Sept after a good breakfast, the tour folk set off to row the boats from Isle of Ely to West Norfolk Rowing Club, Denver.

Crews from Isle of Ely rowed the boats back from Denver to Ely. Most returning crews took full advantage of being able to moor the boats outside The Ship inn at Brandon Creek and had well earned refreshments.

The river is much wider on this stretch and we enjoyed rowing on the same course as the Oxford/Cambridge Boat race crews did in 2021.

The Tour boats gradually arrived at West Norfolk Rowing Club and were cheered on from the water by the crews who were returning boats to Isle of Ely.

Another highlight was our boats being spotted as we rowed back by the homeward bound double decker bus filled with tour rowers, who were waving madly at us, after a hearty buffet lunch provided by West Norfolk.

A totally fantastic and inclusive event.

Cathie, Tom, Tiff, Chris and Tracey

The Roberts Family

We were lucky enough to be able to row together as a family of five, on the return leg of the 28th British Rowing tour from WNRC to IoERC. It was our first time together in a coxed quad and we’re most grateful to all of the organisers for making it possible. We’ve travelled by car alongside this stretch of the Great Ouse countless times, going to and from days out at the beach and exploring the Fens, so to see that same landscape from the unique perspective of the river was very special. We saw a Bittern taking off just a few metres from us, as well as familiar landmarks such as Denver Sluice and the Little Ouse tributary, and we knew that we were near home when the Adelaide Straight and Ely Cathedral came into view. We took a picnic, took our time (4 hours!), had one quick cox-swap, and stopped off at the pubs along the way, where we were greeted by family supporters. Family history in the making!

Liz, Sam et al

And finally...

Thank you to all our Sunday afternoon crews who had a lovely row home, which was more fun than it would have been trailering the CS boats back to Ely! Perhaps we could do a joint IoERC/WNRC Ely to Denver row again next year?

Sunday return to Ely crews:

Tom, Tiff, Tracey, Chris, Cathie

The Roberts Family

Linda, Kirsty, Nadia, Johnathan

WNRC crew

For more information on recreational rowing, see www.recrowing.org.uk or ask our IoERC Recreational Rowing contact Teresa Aslett.

Article edited by Niall Pearcey with contributions and photos from all the crews.