Latest news with #communityowned
The Guardian
04-08-2025
- The Guardian
‘The river becomes an otherworldly bayou': five of the best paddleboard and kayak adventures in the UK
Make this the summer you get back out on the water, with fish plopping beneath you, bulrushes shimmying and kingfishers darting by. Even if you don't have your own kayak or paddleboard festering in the garage, there are dozens of excellent hire places and guided tours up and down the country, on beautiful rivers, lakes, canals and coastlines. I've spent a couple of years researching a book about the loveliest, and here are five of my favourites. For many years the Old Forge Inn – often referred to as the most remote pub in mainland Britain – was well known for its live music sessions that would break out when the whisky started flowing. Locals and visitors were often moved to take down the musical instruments hanging on the walls and burst into tune. It sounded like the best party in the land, all the more so for the degree of difficulty it took to reach it, and the ridiculous beauty of the surroundings. It's the only pub in the only village, Inverie, on the Knoydart peninsula, a heathery, mountainous hunk of the Scottish west coast that juts between three deep sea lochs, where seals play and white-tailed eagles soar. And now it's back. There was a period when things went off the boil under new ownership and the parties dwindled, but in 2022 it was bought by the community and thrives once more. Its pontoon has space for six boats, or you can pull up on the beaches nearby. The Knoydart Brewery, occupying a deconsecrated Roman Catholic chapel here, supplies the house ales, while a Knoydart venison burger (£18) from the local deer estate is a menu must, along with cullen skink (£11). As there is no road access, people come by ferry from Mallaig, make the 15-mile hike from Kinloch Hourn (a taxi ride from Fort William), or even kayak over – a strenuous and splashy seven miles. Far easier is to hire a kayak when you get there from Love Knoydart and explore the edges of the pristine loch, looking out for sea otters. On of the best places to stay is the Bunkhouse, which has dorms and camping with views to the Isle of Rum (dorm beds from £29pp). Arisaig Sea Kayak Centre can tailor-make day and multi-day wild camping trips in the area from £130pp per day, minimum four people. Hunted for their pelts to near extinction by the 16th century, beavers have been re-established in certain British rivers, including a stretch of the River Stour near Canterbury. They were reintroduced in 2001 at Ham Fen, a Kent Wildlife Reserve site near Sandwich, where they thrived and spread. The most enchanting way to spot nature's cutest carpenters is on a sunset safari by Canadian canoe down the chalk stream waterway, which ends at a riverside pub. Canoe Wild (£37pp) runs an atmospheric trip, timed to pass the places the beavers visit most frequently at dusk, when they're most active. Starting at Grove Ferry, you're whisked by minibus to the village of Fordwich for a guided paddle back of just under five miles. On my September trip, a glorious pink sunset was the backdrop at Bootleg Lake, around which many beavers have dens, and we began to notice slippery mud chutes pocked with paw prints. Then, in the near dark … two loud splashes, and a dark shape careering into the water. 'Definitely a beaver,' whispered the guides. 'When they hear something coming, they whack their wide tails onto the water to scare away predators.' Even a shadowy splosh felt Attenborough-level exciting under a blazing Milky Way, and we finished in the fairy-lit beer garden of the ivy-wreathed Grove Ferry Inn. Nethergong campsite nearby has pitches from £42.50, as well as a sauna, yoga and bushcraft classes. This fantastically quirky paddle involves a hidden creek, accessible only at high tide, and a place where you can order your drink to be brought straight to your paddleboard or kayak. This beer pilgrimage is on the tidal River Hamble, a baby river of 6.3 miles that flows east of Southampton towards the Solent. At its narrow upper end, near Botley, spidery creeks run off at the sides, including one leading to the Botley Brewery's Hidden Tap bar. Those with their own kit can park at Burridge recreation ground on the east side of the river, then follow a leafy footpath through woods to the water. Or launch further upriver from YMCA Fairthorne (for a £5.50 fee), which rents paddleboards and kayaks and has a cafe and campsite (hire from £20, pitches for four people from £39). Heading upstream towards Botley, the river becomes gentler, narrower and shallower until it feels like an otherworldly bayou. Set off at least two hours before high tide so it's high at the upper, final navigable end of the river, follow the stream through a tunnel and emerge at the foot of the brewery wall. You yell your order up and your pint is lowered down in a wooden box to be sipped while you float. Another short channel, Curbridge Creek, leads to the Horse and Jockey pub's waterside beer garden. Paddling back the way you've come can be a downer, not to mention hard work if it means going against the flow, so River Severn Canoes' solution is rather brilliant. At the end of its self-guided trips down the River Severn from the Shropshire town of Bridgnorth you abandon your vessel and catch a steam train back on the Severn Valley Railway to Highley (£15). Routes of several lengths are available, including four hours to Arley (10½ miles). Halfway along there's a picnic stop on a beach at the village of Hampton Loade, where you could also have a cuppa and a jacket potato at the Unicorn Inn (mains from £7). It has nine (quite basic) B&B rooms as well as a campsite (pitches for one tent sleeping 2-4 people from £20), if you want to make this your base. Finish in Upper Arley in Worcestershire, home to another traditional, 500-year-old pub, The Harbour. Trains run between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth, stopping at Bewdley, Arley and Hampton Loade. Those with their own kayak or SUP can take them on the train for a £5 fee. In Bridgnorth, The Falcon Hotel (doubles from £140) has 14 rooms with whitewashed beams and exposed brick. River Severn Canoes also offers multi-day trips down the river, stopping at campsites. Paddling along the thickly wooded tidal gorge of the River Teifi in Canadian canoes feels utterly otherworldly: peregrine falcons zip from steep banks, kingfishers dart above water busy with salmon, sewin (sea trout) and otters, and there's a little patch of rapids to tackle on an otherwise gentle two-hour tour with Heritage Canoes (£45 adults/£32.50 children). From its woodland base at the Welsh Wildlife Centre and Teifi Marshes nature reserve it's two miles upriver to Cilgerran, where a 13th-century castle towers above the river. Stay at glamping site Fforest Farm (two nights' B&B for two from £340), a 10-minute drive east of Cardigan, with a range of cabins and tents – the geodesic domes come with their own Japanese-style wooden bathhouse with a super-deep tub. The site has its own atmospheric pub, Y Bwthyn, in a barely converted barn only open to guests, where candles send their twitchy glow onto slate windowsills, cocktails are made with foraged botanicals and local ale comes fresh from the cask. Cilgerran has a couple of heartwarming pubs, including the Cardiff Arms (no website), with a coracle hung outside; or head to Cardigan's waterside bar at Albion Aberteifi, Fforest's hip apart-hotel, or, on the opposite bank, its Pizzatipi, which has a festival feel. Gemma Bowes' Paddle and Pub is published by Bloomsbury (£19.99). Order a copy at More details on paddling and safety advice at
The Guardian
04-08-2025
- The Guardian
‘The river becomes an otherworldly bayou': five of the best paddleboard and kayak adventures in the UK
Make this the summer you get back out on the water, with fish plopping beneath you, bulrushes shimmying and kingfishers darting by. Even if you don't have your own kayak or paddleboard festering in the garage, there are dozens of excellent hire places and guided tours up and down the country, on beautiful rivers, lakes, canals and coastlines. I've spent a couple of years researching a book about the loveliest, and here are five of my favourites. For many years the Old Forge Inn – often referred to as the most remote pub in mainland Britain – was well known for its live music sessions that would break out when the whisky started flowing. Locals and visitors were often moved to take down the musical instruments hanging on the walls and burst into tune. It sounded like the best party in the land, all the more so for the degree of difficulty it took to reach it, and the ridiculous beauty of the surroundings. It's the only pub in the only village, Inverie, on the Knoydart peninsula, a heathery, mountainous hunk of the Scottish west coast that juts between three deep sea lochs, where seals play and white-tailed eagles soar. And now it's back. There was a period when things went off the boil under new ownership and the parties dwindled, but in 2022 it was bought by the community and thrives once more. Its pontoon has space for six boats, or you can pull up on the beaches nearby. The Knoydart Brewery, occupying a deconsecrated Roman Catholic chapel here, supplies the house ales, while a Knoydart venison burger (£18) from the local deer estate is a menu must, along with cullen skink (£11). As there is no road access, people come by ferry from Mallaig, make the 15-mile hike from Kinloch Hourn (a taxi ride from Fort William), or even kayak over – a strenuous and splashy seven miles. Far easier is to hire a kayak when you get there from Love Knoydart and explore the edges of the pristine loch, looking out for sea otters. On of the best places to stay is the Bunkhouse, which has dorms and camping with views to the Isle of Rum (dorm beds from £29pp). Arisaig Sea Kayak Centre can tailor-make day and multi-day wild camping trips in the area from £130pp per day, minimum four people. Hunted for their pelts to near extinction by the 16th century, beavers have been re-established in certain British rivers, including a stretch of the River Stour near Canterbury. They were reintroduced in 2001 at Ham Fen, a Kent Wildlife Reserve site near Sandwich, where they thrived and spread. The most enchanting way to spot nature's cutest carpenters is on a sunset safari by Canadian canoe down the chalk stream waterway, which ends at a riverside pub. Canoe Wild (£37pp) runs an atmospheric trip, timed to pass the places the beavers visit most frequently at dusk, when they're most active. Starting at Grove Ferry, you're whisked by minibus to the village of Fordwich for a guided paddle back of just under five miles. On my September trip, a glorious pink sunset was the backdrop at Bootleg Lake, around which many beavers have dens, and we began to notice slippery mud chutes pocked with paw prints. Then, in the near dark … two loud splashes, and a dark shape careering into the water. 'Definitely a beaver,' whispered the guides. 'When they hear something coming, they whack their wide tails onto the water to scare away predators.' Even a shadowy splosh felt Attenborough-level exciting under a blazing Milky Way, and we finished in the fairy-lit beer garden of the ivy-wreathed Grove Ferry Inn. Nethergong campsite nearby has pitches from £42.50, as well as a sauna, yoga and bushcraft classes. This fantastically quirky paddle involves a hidden creek, accessible only at high tide, and a place where you can order your drink to be brought straight to your paddleboard or kayak. This beer pilgrimage is on the tidal River Hamble, a baby river of 6.3 miles that flows east of Southampton towards the Solent. At its narrow upper end, near Botley, spidery creeks run off at the sides, including one leading to the Botley Brewery's Hidden Tap bar. Those with their own kit can park at Burridge recreation ground on the east side of the river, then follow a leafy footpath through woods to the water. Or launch further upriver from YMCA Fairthorne (for a £5.50 fee), which rents paddleboards and kayaks and has a cafe and campsite (hire from £20, pitches for four people from £39). Heading upstream towards Botley, the river becomes gentler, narrower and shallower until it feels like an otherworldly bayou. Set off at least two hours before high tide so it's high at the upper, final navigable end of the river, follow the stream through a tunnel and emerge at the foot of the brewery wall. You yell your order up and your pint is lowered down in a wooden box to be sipped while you float. Another short channel, Curbridge Creek, leads to the Horse and Jockey pub's waterside beer garden. Paddling back the way you've come can be a downer, not to mention hard work if it means going against the flow, so River Severn Canoes' solution is rather brilliant. At the end of its self-guided trips down the River Severn from the Shropshire town of Bridgnorth you abandon your vessel and catch a steam train back on the Severn Valley Railway to Highley (£15). Routes of several lengths are available, including four hours to Arley (10½ miles). Halfway along there's a picnic stop on a beach at the village of Hampton Loade, where you could also have a cuppa and a jacket potato at the Unicorn Inn (mains from £7). It has nine (quite basic) B&B rooms as well as a campsite (pitches for one tent sleeping 2-4 people from £20), if you want to make this your base. Finish in Upper Arley in Worcestershire, home to another traditional, 500-year-old pub, The Harbour. Trains run between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth, stopping at Bewdley, Arley and Hampton Loade. Those with their own kayak or SUP can take them on the train for a £5 fee. In Bridgnorth, The Falcon Hotel (doubles from £140) has 14 rooms with whitewashed beams and exposed brick. River Severn Canoes also offers multi-day trips down the river, stopping at campsites. Paddling along the thickly wooded tidal gorge of the River Teifi in Canadian canoes feels utterly otherworldly: peregrine falcons zip from steep banks, kingfishers dart above water busy with salmon, sewin (sea trout) and otters, and there's a little patch of rapids to tackle on an otherwise gentle two-hour tour with Heritage Canoes (£45 adults/£32.50 children). From its woodland base at the Welsh Wildlife Centre and Teifi Marshes nature reserve it's two miles upriver to Cilgerran, where a 13th-century castle towers above the river. Stay at glamping site Fforest Farm (two nights' B&B for two from £340), a 10-minute drive east of Cardigan, with a range of cabins and tents – the geodesic domes come with their own Japanese-style wooden bathhouse with a super-deep tub. The site has its own atmospheric pub, Y Bwthyn, in a barely converted barn only open to guests, where candles send their twitchy glow onto slate windowsills, cocktails are made with foraged botanicals and local ale comes fresh from the cask. Cilgerran has a couple of heartwarming pubs, including the Cardiff Arms (no website), with a coracle hung outside; or head to Cardigan's waterside bar at Albion Aberteifi, Fforest's hip apart-hotel, or, on the opposite bank, its Pizzatipi, which has a festival feel. Gemma Bowes' Paddle and Pub is published by Bloomsbury (£19.99). Order a copy at More details on paddling and safety advice at
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Yahoo
'You can hear it draining' - vanishing water at North Wales reservoir leaves people mystified
Walkers hiking past a serene lake have been startled to see an alarming dip in its water levels. Some have reported hearing the sound of water 'draining away' as if a plug had been pulled from beneath. The former reservoir, on the hills high above Corwen, Denbighshire, is now listed as a 'tourist attraction'. However it still performs an important role, feeding a community-owned hydro-electric plant in the town centre opened in 2016 with its own purpose-built 'waterfall'. Located within Coed Pen y Pigyn, the small reservoir is a popular focal point for walkers taking advantage of the area's excellent trails and vantage points. The oak woodland has animal sculptures and a Giant's Trail, along with a Gorsedd stone circle erected for the National Victory Eisteddfod in 1919. READ MORE: Expert debunks '10% speed camera myth' and explains how fines are determined READ MORE: First image of missing woman as major Menai Strait search continues The occasional red squirrel can be spotted scurrying around and a 12ft royal cairn with flagpole peers down on the town. This viewpoint is where Welsh prince Owain Glyndwr, in a fit of rage, is said to have hurled his dagger with such force it left its outline in a rock below. As the reservoir has a thriving population of fish, fast-shrinking water levels have sounded local alarm bells. Questions began appearing on social media earlier this week. 'Anyone know why the water level has dropped so much?' wondered one woman. 'Never seen it as low.' Another insisted: 'I have never heard of the reservoir being drained to that point – and I've lived here all my life.' Sign up now for the latest news on the North Wales Live Whatsapp community Half-heartedly, this summer's drought was blamed for the water's mysterious disappearance, though human intervention was considered more likely. The finger of suspicion fell on Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, whose engineers had been spotted carrying out 'inspections' in the area. Earlier this year the company completed a £9m upgrade to its Corwen wastewater treatment works. This was designed to reduce phosphate levels in the River Dee into which it drains. However the work was independent of the reservoir, which is is not connected to Dŵr Cymru's water network. The loss of water was first reported last week. At the time, a local man said: 'The Corwen reservoir is going down pretty fast through the stream part of the dam, not the overflow? Just wanted to know if this is normal?' It wasn't. Dŵr Cymru has now confirmed it drained the reservoir to carry out remedial work. A spokesperson: 'Routine repairs are being carried out to the dam wall at Coed Pen y Pigyn. 'The management of water levels, already low following the recent dry weather, is allowing us to carry out the work.' Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox The reservoir was last drained in 2020. That episode has left residents fearful of what might happen this time. 'The last time they did this, all the koi carp vanished,' sighed one person. Find out what's happening near you
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Celebrations as last pub in Burton-in-Lonsdale is now owned by the community
RESIDENTS of Burton-in-Lonsdale have been celebrating after getting the keys to the now community-owned Punch Bowl pub. Faced with the closure of the only pub in the village, residents rallied together, and set about raising the more than £600,000 needed to buy the pub and secure it for the village. In February last year, they set up a Community Benefit Society, which resulted in investments from 360 individuals and businesses, including the Community Shares Booster Fund, delivered by Co-operatives UK. The campaign has also received advice from community business specialist, Plunkett UK. And, just before Christmas last year, the village received £300,000 from the Government's Community Ownership Fund. Work is now underway on a refurbishment programme at the pub, which includes guest rooms, and a manager's flat; and the development of community allotments. The management committee is also on the look out for a manager to run the pub, which it is hoped will open later this year. Professor Ian Clarke, co-chair of the Punch Bowl Inn Management Committee said: 'What started out as a small bunch of friends determined to save the pub turned into a movement that not only encompassed our own local community but a huge range of supporters far and wide. "We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has played a part in the Punch Bowl story so far and are looking forward to giving you all a warm welcome when we open later this year.' Fellow co-chair Peter Thompson added: "Our efforts now turn to two important tasks; the search for a new manager to run the pub and redevelopment of the listed building's interior and exterior including community allotments, greater accessibility and guest bedrooms. We can't wait to get started." Anyone interested in job opportunities at the community owned pub can find out more at:
BBC News
15-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Promoted Merthyr to compete in National League North
They are the football club proud to come from the south Wales valleys – but have been told they will be a 'northern' team next were huge celebrations when community-owned Merthyr Town won the Southern Premier League South it has been confirmed they will now play in the National League North next term – with 300-mile away trips to Darlington and South Shields among their away days in a regionalised front of more than 3,000 fans at Penydarren Park last month, the part-time outfit sealed promotion to English football's sixth tier, their highest level in 30 years. The Martyrs had played in the Western and Southern Leagues since being reformed after Merthyr Tydfil's liquidation in the club had been aware the potential make-up of the teams next season at sixth tier level – and the large contingent of teams from the south of England - could see them having to plan to head south of England sides, Dagenham & Redbridge, Ebbsfleet and Maidenhead, dropping out of the fifth-tier National League would have given organisers a headache in how to split National League confirmed its allocations for the 2025-26 season on Thursday, although says those are subject to appeal.A Football Association spokesperson said: "We make every effort each season to allocate National League System [NLS] clubs to the most geographically suitable league possible. "The clubs are allocated to a league based on the step in the NLS that they will be playing in, and their location in the country. These allocations are subject to appeals. "Geographical suitability continues to play an important part in NLS allocations, and we always try to balance this against the number of teams in each division to ensure sporting integrity is maintained." Merthyr are not alone in the anomaly: Oxford City, Hereford United and Bedford Town have also been placed in National League North, whose other new clubs include Robbie Savage's Macclesfield game at Hereford's Edgar Street will be Merthyr's shortest away day, with a 43-mile, one-way trip taking around an it will take fans – and players – as much as 12 hours on the road in a round-trip for their game at South the time of their promotion, chairman Les Barlow said their placing would make "no difference" as they revelled in a season in which they enjoyed a 32-game unbeaten won the Welsh Cup in 1987 and went on to upset Italian giants Atalanta in the following season's European Cup Winners' season, they turned down a lucrative offer from the Football Association of Wales to join the Welsh league system, a decision manager Paul Michael says was vindicated by their promotion.
