LONDON


ADVENTURE CAPITAL


KAYAKING, ZIP-LINING AND FREERUNNING THROUGH LONDON OFFERS THREE VERY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES OF THE CITY. WORDS: ZANE HENRY


On water I’m not at my most noble during the first half of my Big Ben by Twilight tour on the Thames with Kayaking London. The water is warm and dark brown


and I don’t really want to think about why. My paddling technique is terrible, and I’m quickly developing a blister between my thumb and forefinger. My kayaking partner is meant to be steering but insists that our rudder isn’t working; we driſt alternately to the centre traffic of the river, or off to the tide-washed walls. Our guides gamely offer


encouragement and instruction,


clucking gently over us like mother geese dealing with errant goslings, but boy does it feel like hard work. Then, suddenly, things change. Or,


rather, our position changes. We turn around under the London Eye at the mid-point of our tour and start paddling with the tide, back towards Chelsea. Sure, my partner still occasionally tries to kill us by steering belligerently at buoys, but everything feels much more relaxed and manageable as the current carries us along. Iconic landmarks slide by in the still evening air, and we’re gently rocked by the wake from passing river buses. We slip between barges and


listen to trains rattle overhead as we splash under Battersea Bridge. We duck beneath Vauxhall Bridge and I watch the sunset turn MI6’s windows into an emerald kaleidoscope. Our guide throws facts about the


river across the water, but they driſt over my head as I lean back and breathe in deeply. I feel content, happily listening to London noisily happening on either side of the river. Then we crash into a buoy.


DETAILS: Kayaking London, Cremorne Riverside, London SW10 0QH. kayakinglondon.com


Adventure September 2018 45


Kayaking on the Thames


IMAGE: GETTY


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84