Wading not drowning

Wet Wet Wet, GoodGym Love Is All Around

The night before this community mission Amy was stranded with a flat tyre and while she waited for the AA in the driving rain and darkness, concerned GoodGym friends sent messages of support and a hilarious meme about lemons to cheer her up. One lovely member suggested Amy deserved some R 'n' R the next morning....and as luck would have it Robert 'n' Rehka were both signed up to join her on a community mission with Maidenhead Waterways (MW)!

To say the weather was (still) uninviting at 8.30am the next morning as Amy got on her bike would be a huge understatement. By the time she arrived to meet Robert and the MW team she already looked like she had been in the river. MW leader Alisdair distributed waders, rubber gloves, high vis jackets and rakes, and as we set off through the rain on our three hour adventure everyone was asking the same question: "are we completely mad?"

Our task for the morning was to clear weeds from part of Widbrook, one of the streams between Cookham and Maidenhead, which feed into the Maidenhead town centre waterways. If weeds are allowed to clog the channel this impacts on the water level in town, so they need to be yanked up by volunteers in waders and hauled onto the banks by those with rakes - far enough to not slip back into the water, but close enough for any disturbed invertebrates to find their way home.

Trekking past the mighty confluence of the Strand and Widbrook streams...

This was our second community mission working on Widbrook and as far as GoodGym missions go this is about as adventurous as it gets, even before you add torrential rain to the mix. As you pass the meeting of the Widbrook and Strand streams on the walk out, you feel like Indiana Jones happening upon the junction of the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers, where the mighty Ganges is born. And when you reach the target stretch of water, the fun really begins...

If you're a wader, you enter the water in style by sliding down the steep bank on your bottom. Then you feel the pressure of the cold water pressing on your lower half and your balance and core strength is tested to the max. With every brave step you are checking the bottom for sudden changes in depth, and the lurking sludge teases you, threatening to suck you in. The vegetation towers over your head jungle-fashion, and as you wrestle with the weeds you hope that you don't win too suddenly and go flying backwards. That sweet moment when you do pull up a big handful of weeds is often accompanied by a pungent aroma and a splatter of mud in the face as you chuck it at the bank. Its exhilarating!

Up on dry land the upper body workout is something Joe Wicks could only dream of, and balance is just as important, as the banks are steep and often with a sudden drop-off. Souvenir mud splatter can also be won from this position, especially once the volunteers in the water have got their eye in.

Jokes aside, MW take their safety seriously: the kit provided is excellent, everyone is briefed on potential hazards, and no lone working is allowed so that we can look out for each other.

Wading not drowning

This was Robert's first waterways mission, and he signed up persuaded by Amy's enthusiasm for standing waist high in the water and her reassurance that no one drowned last time. Whether or not he found this Virgin(ia) Wade (pun credit to an MW volunteer who wishes to remain anonymous!) quite as fun as Amy had promised, he approached the challenge with a smile on his face, even when he lost his footing and went for a quick dip. Amazingly in a 'tale of two feet' he managed to only fill one leg of his waders with water and keep his arms dry(ish). Skills!

Wade a minute!

Rekha joined us a bit late today, which was totally excusable since she is normally very punctual (2 days early for her last community mission in fact!) She was the only member of today's team to run to and from the task so huge kudos to her, especially in the wet weather. She must have covered over 10km in total, especially if you include a few bonus laps of various fields as she used the 'ever decreasing circles' method to find us.

Rekha by name, raker by nature: the girl was a natural! She made the work look easy, chatting happily as she dragged large piles of weeds and brambles up the banks. She still looked fresh as she set off on her run home. Can you spot her disappearing off along the Greenway in one of the photos?

So, are we completely mad?

Yes! ....but did we have an exhilarating morning, facing the elements, using our muscles and making a difference? Yes! And did a hot shower and home made lunch ever taste so good!?