Uploaded March 2021 | Updated September 2026, 6 hours ago
In this video, I am finally back out on the water in my cedar strip canoe. I decided to explore a lesser known and lesser paddled bit of water, the river Gipping in Suffolk which eventually becomes the Orwell further downstream.
Once a valuable trade route, the river was canalised in the 1790s with the building of fifteen locks to allow for the 90 foot height difference between the town of Stowmarket, where the navigation begins and the port of Ipswich. The locks gates were removed in the 1930s when the navigation was abandoned due to increased profitability of rail transport, but the locks themselves survive, a series of weirs and sluices used instead to control the flow - adding to the challenge of the paddle!
I paddled just a short section of the river between Needham lakes and Stowmarket and encountered many obstructions across the river, not to mention the weirs themselves - all adding to the fun of the journey!
A barbecue lunch stop of cheese burgers with wild garlic cooked on the Honey stove made the adventure complete - a thoroughly enjoyable morning!
I hope you enjoy the video.
Thanks for watching!
Links
River Gipping Trust
rivergippingtrust.org.uk
Honey Stove
backpackinglight.co.uk/bushcraft/RD103.html
PCF Hot Sauce
https://www.perkoschilefarm.store
Contact me at:
simonablokeinthewoods@gmail.com
Or by mail at:
Simon, a bloke in the woods
PO Box 384
Diss
Norfolk
IP22 9DB
UK
Facebook - Simon, a bloke in the woods
facebook.com/Simon-a-bloke-in-the-woods-636523033219227/?ref=br_rs
Instagram - simon_a_bloke_in_the_woods
instagram.com/simon_a_bloke_in_the_woods/?hl=en
Music:
Firefly By. Chris Haugen
Future King of Heaven. By Zachariah Hickman
In this video, I am finally back out on the water in my cedar strip canoe. I decided to explore a lesser known and lesser paddled bit of water, the river Gipping in Suffolk which eventually becomes the Orwell further downstream.
Once a valuable trade route, the river was canalised in the 1790s with the building of fifteen locks to allow for the 90 foot height difference between the town of Stowmarket, where the navigation begins and the port of Ipswich. The locks gates were removed in the 1930s when the navigation was abandoned due to increased profitability of rail transport, but the locks themselves survive, a series of weirs and sluices used instead to control the flow - adding to the challenge of the paddle!
I paddled just a short section of the river between Needham lakes and Stowmarket and encountered many obstructions across the river, not to mention the weirs themselves - all adding to the fun of the journey!
A barbecue lunch stop of cheese burgers with wild garlic cooked on the Honey stove made the adventure complete - a thoroughly enjoyable morning!
I hope you enjoy the video.
Thanks for watching!
Links
River Gipping Trust
rivergippingtrust.org.uk
Honey Stove
backpackinglight.co.uk/bushcraft/RD103.html
PCF Hot Sauce
https://www.perkoschilefarm.store
Contact me at:
simonablokeinthewoods@gmail.com
Or by mail at:
Simon, a bloke in the woods
PO Box 384
Diss
Norfolk
IP22 9DB
UK
Facebook - Simon, a bloke in the woods
facebook.com/Simon-a-bloke-in-the-woods-636523033219227/?ref=br_rs
Instagram - simon_a_bloke_in_the_woods
instagram.com/simon_a_bloke_in_the_woods/?hl=en
Music:
Firefly By. Chris Haugen
Future King of Heaven. By Zachariah Hickman
