How to get there - From the A421 roundabout on the east of Bedford take Standard Way into Priory Business Park. Go straight over the roundabout and turn left into a road leading to a riverside car park.
You will need to leave a car at Great Barford (
see End Map) where there is roadside parking. Alternatively you can ask at
the Anchor pub where you are likely to have a drink at the end of your trip.
Suggested Launch Site - From the car park portage across the footbridge and launch from the platform just downstream of the lock.
General
Description - A nice trip for a short afternoon, though two cars are necessay for the start and finish. It takes about three hours including the stop at the Danish Camp.
Starting at Cardington Lock, then paddling downstream. not much to see, but Priory Park and the Finger lakes are up to your left. Very quickly you come to the old Bedford to Sandy railway bridge, now a national cycle route and worth doing on another day. On the left there are several small side channels worth a short exploration. You can see the one we went up, which unfortunately came to a dead end, but worth doing all the same.
Castle Mill lock is next and demands a portage on the right (you can see the weir), after which you pass under the new road and the aptly named Castle Mill Viaduct. The river now is hidden from the road and becomes more interesting with lots of small bends and even in the summer, a little current. At one point you pass some fabulous weekend retreats, as you can see. The river is little used by boat traffic and we only saw three moving boats on the Sunday we descended the river.
After the holiday home and just before Willington lock, there is
the Danish Camp, for a welcome stop, especially on a hot day. You can also look back down on the river from the balcony. The lock at Willington is next and if there is enough water, it is easily run in both kayaks and Canadian canoes, though you can see one of my group took it a bit to far and ended up having a little swim!
After rescuing the canoe we paddled on down stream to where you can see the beginnings of an old lock on your right. This is easily run in a canoe and a welcome diversion from the main river. Shortly after this, you can see the bridge at Barford, with the new additions built on top of the original bridge. It is now a Grade 1 listed ancient monument and still used by traffic today. If you leave the river on the left there is welcome pub for a final bit of refreshment.
[In the right conditions aand with the right experience this trip includes weirs which you may be able to shoot. If you are not certain of the conditions and your abilities the only sensible thing to do is portage the weirs and wait until you have had appropriate training or are under the supervision of a suitable specialist].
