Self Guided ‘Ride With The Tide’ Paddle Adventures in Richmond, London.
“To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides ….. is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.” Rachel Carson
Why choose Self Guided ‘Ride With The Tide’ Adventures?
Less than 20 minutes from central London by train, leave the hustle and bustle behind and enjoy the peace of the river here in Richmond.
We are blessed to have a ‘half tidal’ river due to the sluice gates by Richmond Lock. This means that for a good part of the day, we are not affected by the tides at all, but….. when the incoming tide reaches the same level as our part of the river, the gates open and the water comes flooding up river.
As the tide reaches its highest point the water becomes ‘slack’, before it starts to ‘ebb’ towards the sea again. Time this well and you can ‘ride the tide’ all the way up river to Teddington Lock as it floods and then back again with the ebb tide!
Your ‘Ride With The Tide’ Adventure with Back of Beyond gives you the freedom to canoe, kayak or SUP with a little help. As tide comes in you’ll paddle up river more easily and as the tide goes out, you’ll ‘fly’ back!.
As a Self Guided option, you’ll get to explore the river with the people you want to adventure with!
Rates
£42.50 - 2.5 hour ‘Ride with the Tide’ Adventure
£50.00 - 3 hour ‘Ride with the Tide’ Adventure
£60.00 - 4 hour ‘Ride with the Tide’ Adventure
Minimum Age:
Ride with the Tide SUP and Kayak Adventures - 14 years
Ride with the Tide Canoe and Tandem Kayak Adventures - 12 years
Groups
We know that some groups like to paddle independently, so we love helping you to organise self guided ‘Ride With The Tide’ adventures and events for your birthday, stag or hen celebrations or even for your team building, office away day or offsite activities.
Please get in touch for a bespoke itinerary and quote.
Suggested Itineraries.
Our suggestions for your adventures can be found below. They are just suggestions.. after all it really is your Self Guided Ride With the Tide Adventure to take!
The 2.5 hour 'Ride with the Tide' Adventure, Richmond
Duration: 2.5 hours
Departure point: River Lane, Petersham, Richmond What3Words: alone.puddles.chin
Cost: £42.50 per person (minimum of 2 people)
Craft:
Open canoes - 2 seats. All paddlers must be aged 12 years or over
Tandem Kayaks - 2 seats. All paddlers must be aged 12 years or over
Kayaks - 1 seat. Weight capacity is 142kg. All paddlers must be aged 14 years or over
Stand up paddle boards (SUPs) - 1 person. Weight capacity is up to 110kg. All paddlers must be aged 14 years or over
Scheduling:
These start approximately 1.5 hours before the high tide at Richmond Lock.
Suitable for more experienced paddlers, confident around water.
With your 2.5 hour Self Guided ‘Ride with the Tide’ Adventure, you can go further and faster, with a little help from the daily tide.
Suggested itinerary
You’ll receive a (re)introduction to paddling, along with some guidance on where to paddle, and we’ll provide you with a dry bag that you can use to take a towel, food, phone and wallet with you.
Once on the river, you’ll find yourself taking in your surroundings as the tide gently pushes you along past Marble Hill House and Hammertons Ferry. Before long you’ll be at Eel Pie Island home to several artists and one of the oldest rowing clubs on the Thames - Twickenham Rowing Club. As the tide helps to keep you moving you’ll see Radnor House School, with its clock tower and beyond is Swan Island, home to Jawbone Brewery. If you can find it, the high tide means there is enough water to quietly paddle in behind the island. Many people cross the river at Swan Island and paddle back along the right hand side of the river towards Eel Pie Island and the beautiful White Swan pub for a a well deserved break, but, if you’ve made good time so far, you may decide to push on towards Teddington Harbour, where you’ll find the Flying Cloud Cafe serving tea, coffee and homemade cakes.
Suitably refreshed, you’ll return to the Thames to paddle down stream with a little help from the outgoing tide. Remember to allow 45 minutes to an hour to get back from Teddington and about 20 to 30 minutes to get back from Twickenham.
Once back at River Lane, you’ll hand back your buoyancy aids, paddles and dry bags and could walk in to Richmond with an icecream, or head the other way and take the ferry across to Marble Hill.
The 3 hour 'Ride With The Tide' Self Guided Adventure in London
Duration: 3 hours
Departure point: River Lane, Petersham, Richmond What3Words: alone.puddles.chin
Cost: £50.00 per person (minimum of 2 people)
Craft:
Open canoes - 2 seats. All paddlers must be aged 12 years or over
Tandem Kayaks - 2 seats. All paddlers must be aged 12 years or over
Kayaks - 1 seat. Weight capacity is 142kg. All paddlers must be aged 14 years or over
Stand up paddle boards (SUPs) - 1 person. Weight capacity is up to 110kg. All paddlers must be aged 14 years or over
Scheduling:
These start approximately 1.5 hours before the high tide at Richmond Lock.
Our 3 hour Ride With The Tide Adventures are typically booked if people want to stop for lunch along the way!
Suggested itinerary
As part of your micro-adventure, you’ll receive a (re)introduction to paddling, along with some guidance on where to paddle, and we’ll provide you with a dry bag that you can use to pack a towel, spare clothes, phone and wallet to take with you.
Having explored our picturesque section of the River Thames, just 20 minutes from Central London, you can paddle back down river and land at the slipway of the beautiful and historic White Swan pub for a well deserved lunch and chat with friends and family. The pub will take bookings for tables inside the pub, unless it is a rugby or event day, and, if starting at 11:30am, we’d recommend booking for 1:15pm and ordering food on arrival. Tables in the garden are available on a first come, first serve basis overlooking the water and the infamous Eel Pie Island.
Suitably fed and watered, you will return to your boats or boards for a post lunch paddle back to River Lane, where you’ll hand back your dry bag, buoyancy aids, paddles and craft, before heading off to explore Richmond Park (if you’ve got more energy to expend), or perhaps simply head back to your hotel to freshen up before getting married… yes, you read that correctly - it’s happened a few times now!!
The 4 hour Self Guided 'Ride With The Tide' Adventure
Duration: 4 hours
Departure point: River Lane, Petersham, Richmond What3Words: alone.puddles.chin
Cost: £60.00 per person (minimum of 2 people)
Craft:
Open canoes - 2 seats
Tandem Kayaks - 2 seats
Kayaks - 1 seat. Weight capacity is 142kg
Stand up paddle boards (SUPs) - 1 person. Weight capacity is up to 110kg. Each person must be able to paddle independently.
Scheduling: Available on request
Many people choose the 4 hour Self Guided Adventure starting at 10:30 or 11:00am for a good old fashioned picnic!
Suggested itinerary
As part of your active picnic adventure, you’ll receive a (re)introduction to paddling, along with some guidance on where to paddle, and we’ll provide you with a dry bag that you can use to pack a towel, spare clothes, phone, wallet and (more importantly) food to take with you.
Pack your hamper into your craft (some people also decorate their canoes as well, but we’ll leave that to you to decide) before launching onto the Thames to journey along the river between Richmond’s iconic bridge and riverside and Teddington Harbour. Having paddled upstream you can raft up, or moor up for a swim, and then enjoy your picnic.
Once you’ve eaten all of the ‘quintessentially English’ cucumber sandwiches you possibly can and have enjoyed a refreshing elderflower pressé (!) you can paddle downstream past the islands and backwaters to Petersham Meadow from where you can wander along the riverside or walk up to Richmond Hill to enjoy the view that Turner so loved!
