Progress was quick on the way back up the river as I was now going with the flooding tide. I passed and of course chatted with a group of 8 or 9 kayakers who had just set off from Derwenthaugh Marina and were planning to head into the city centre also. It was good to see a group out in all different kinds of boats, some were in whitewater boats, plastic sea kayaks, composite sea kayaks and even an open canoe. They were a canny bunch and I bid them a pleasant journey as I carried on up the river. Now that the water level was higher I was able to paddle upto an abandoned boat which sits on the banks of the Tyne near Lemington on Scotswood Road, I've noticed this boat as I cycle past it regularly but I can't find any information about what it is or how it came to be there? All I know is that it has been in it's current location since 2003 and had it's engine removed possibly for environmental reasons in 2012. It is certainly a bit of a fixer upper!

I got back to my put in at high water which made getting the boat out of the water a lot simpler than getting it in and I was ready for some food. It had been a good 13.5 mile paddle which I could definitely feel in my arms and shoulders. Good training for an upcoming expedition in the spring. I intend to paddle the entire length of the Northumberland coast from St Abbs head in Scotland to Tynemouth, approximately 90 miles including a detour out to the Farne Islands which I hope to complete over 4 days while wild camping for 3 nights. It should be quite an adventure and one I am really looking forward to. I need to paddle as much as possible in preparation for it. Fingers crossed the weather settles and I can get out on the sea again soon!

The Problem Of Plastic...

With the recent airing of the legendary David Attenborough's, Blue Planet 2 which focused heavily on the impact of plastics I was also keen to observe the state of the plastic problem on the River Tyne. Plastic is the most prevalent type of marine debris found in our oceans where it has a huge impact on wildlife. Birds, fish, turtles and many other marine species are affected, becoming entangled in our waste or ingesting it and dying as a consequence. Entire food chains are affected as micro-plastic particles are ingested by those right at the bottom of the chain, passing on these pollutants to the larger fish that make up the rest of the food chain. More than 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in our oceans each year, a truly staggering figure. I recently read a blog post from Lizzie Carr where I found out that 80% of this plastic pollution originates from inland waterways so I was ready to keep an eye out for any plastic pollution on the river.

As I began paddling towards Newcastle I didn't see much in the way of pollution on the water itself, however it was low water and rivers have a tendency to dump what they are transporting onto the river banks and sure enough there was an abundance of waste on the banks. As I progressed further towards the city and the water levels rose with the flooding tide I noticed more pollution floating by, plastic bottles, takeaway containers, plastic bags, beer bottles, footballs etc... It was a bit of an eye opener. On my way back up the river at high water all of the debris that I had previously seen on the banks was now picked up by the river and was making it's way to the sea. It really hit home how over the course of a few days or weeks all of this waste will inevitably end up in the North Sea which is one of the best places in the UK to spot Whales, Dolphins and Seals and with the Northumberland coast being an area of outstanding natural beauty its a problem we must pay attention to.