Seven paddlers from Glasbury Paddlers Canoe Club and other volunteers had a ‘long but satisfying day’ of picking up litter on Sunday, April 24 - covering the stretch of water from Glasbury to Hay-on-Wye.
As well as 40 bags of rubbish, the group collected a host of other unusual items which had found their way into the fourth-longest river in the UK. This included several tyres, a mattress, fishing tackle, old buckets, a watering can, dog toys, a rubber duck, a few hats, an umbrella, a large plastic composter and a 45-gallon drum.
Pete Mayall, head coach at the club, said: “A massive thank you all the members of Glasbury Paddlers and their families who worked really hard today, paddling in to a head wind with a heavily laden canoe is a challenge!
“Also a thank you must go to members of the public who came and helped litter pick the Bont.”
Peter also thanked Rob and staff at the Paddlers Rest Cafe for the morning coffee and cake, as well as Josh at Wye Valley Canoes for lending three canoes and providing transport.
The litter pick represents the resurgence of an annual activity run by the canoe club, which has restarted for again after a two-year year gap caused by the pandemic.
The club has been teaching local youngsters and adults to paddle for over a decade, led by Pete Mayall as head coach. Pete also shares his love of wildlife and respect for the environment during the various activities and events throughout the calendar.
The litter pick is testament to the community spirit in the area and the paddlers from the club itself, showing how much they love the river and its environment. The group were supported by two of the outdoor activity centres in Glasbury as well as local residents..
The club is now looking ahead to next year’s event, and is on the look out for more hands to help out.
“Even if you can only spare one hour land based litter picking the Bont in Glasbury or the Warren in Hay, it all helps,” said Pete.
“What would be great is more assistance on the river. You just need to be reasonably fit with some canoeing experience (we can teach you) and keen to help work as a team to get the job done!”
Glasbury Paddlers Canoe Club welcomes new members, adults and children. They can teach you to paddle and enjoy the beautiful River Wye from a different perspective.
The club is affiliated to Canoe Wales and they currently run training sessions on Tuesday evenings. They also do recreational river trips, white water trips and sea kayaking/camping trips. They are small community club run by volunteer members for their members.
Junior membership is £10, adults £15, family £40 (two adults plus two children).
For more information visit the Glasbury Paddlers page on Facebook.