Join Paddle West for a canoe adventure in Haverfordwest

You might have noticed this new sight on the river in Haverfordwest over the last few months.

On a humid day at the end of May, I joined Sam Booth, the man behind Paddle West, the business which has brought about the canoes’ return, on a journey up river, to see the sights and hear the sounds on the Cleddau.

Sam Booth, the man behind Paddle West.

We took off on our mini-adventure at the Riverside Shopping Centre, our oars cutting through the reflections of the lazy clouds in the sky. It was not as hard-going a task as I’d expected.

“Yeah, it is easier than you might expect,” said Sam. “The important thing is to do it properly and the water will carry you.”

The trick to paddling, Sam told me, was plunging the oar straight down into the water, with a digging motion, before pushing backward.

Setting off from the riverside.

It soon became intuitive and wasn’t as much effort as I imagined – or maybe it was just that Sam was making all the effort…

Soon we passed into the shadow of Haverfordwest’s Old Bridge, where people walking above stopped to watch us pass underneath.

As we glided under the 16th century bridge, Sam pointed out thin, bony stalactites which had begun to form on the archways.

Moments after passing under the bridge to Perrot’s Road car park, the riverbanks started to look a lot greener, and the noise of traffic died away.

The river north of Haverfordwest quickly becomes green and thickly forested.

The river is full of life.

Tiny black butterflies danced across flowering plants on the shoreline, and clouds of small flies could be spotted in the sunbeams between tree branches.

Natural Resources Wales have recorded the ancient fish lamprey in the gravel beds of the river, and just the other week I was lucky enough to spot an otter going for a swim.

As we made our way up river, we passed alongside another of Sam’ canoes coming back downstream, a father and his boy aboard waving as we passed.

A father and son canoe downriver.

We passed low-hanging branches which Sam and his team had clipped back and he described how they had become custodians of the river.

Not only had they trimmed tree branches, but removed shopping trolleys and rubbish from the riverbed.

“We have to live together with the wildlife here,” said Sam. “It’s about making sure we can use the river while looking after it.”

The slow glide upriver soon came to an end as we approached a weir, the roofs of Withybush hospital poking out over a hill to our right.

On a pebble bank: one of the northernmost parts of the mini-adventure with Paddle West.

Sam turned us around (with a splash!) and the trip back down river towards town was surprisingly quick.

Though not quite white-water rapids, the speed was enough at points to kick up a breeze.

Sam had seen much more excitement than this in his years on open waters.

He first learned to canoe growing up in Essex, and cut his teeth kayaking rapid waters in the Ardeche gorge in France.

After moving to Pembrokeshire some years ago, he met a group of people who had the ambition to bring boats back to Haverfordwest.

A seagull starts up from a log in the town centre.

Sam’s journey to make this happen has been long and complex, and his expertise on the ownership of rivers is now second to none.

“The county council owns the land on the riverbanks, but the crown owns the riverbeds, and then Natural Resources Wales is responsible for managing the waterway,” he said.

Our own journey on the river was coming to an end.

We were soon back under the arches of the Old Bridge and ashore – all in under an hour.

“We call it a mini-adventure because you could come and do this on your lunchbreak if you wanted to,” said Sam.

It had felt like we had been somewhere new, interesting and special, and all it took was half an hour’s jaunt on a boat to get there.

Back on dry land: the oars lined up neatly.

Paddle West’s canoes will be at the Riverside Shopping Centre, Haverfordwest every weekend this June, and will be there every day of the summer holidays (all weather permitting).

The cost is £15 for an hour. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Each canoe fits between one and three people.

Visit the Facebook page for more info.