day 4

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Day 4:
Distance Travelled: 22 Miles
Money Spent: £4

I had not realised I was camping so close to a road and in the morning I noticed a BP garage was a stones throw away. I had to investigate in the hope they had coffee. As I got closer I realised it was attached to a McDonalds that had just opened. It was still only 0630hrs but the food went down a treat.
The rivers flow had slowed a tad and I was now fighting a bitter easterly wind. I plodded on pretty much non stop until 14.20hrs. My left shoulder was starting to hurt and my face chapped from the cold wind. It was much harder trying to appreciate the scenery when I was hiding behind a make shift scarf and hat.
One of the lock keepers to pity on me and made me some tea. I charged my ipod and phone in his hut while we chatted about all sorts. He suggested I camped on an island a couple of miles down river and make a campfire. I thought this was a brilliant idea and took his advice. I didn’t have much food left and he kindly gave me a tin of chilli con carne that I could heat on the fire.
With fully charged equipment, food and an ideal camp spot suggestion, I left in high spirits. Whilst floating along I was catching up on my text messages. Before I knew it I was at the island and pulled up beside it. Without thinking I got up to step out of the kayak not realising that my phone was still on my lap. I heard something drop in the river and then realised it was my phone. I put my hand in but could not find it. I was fuming as it had all my photo and video clips of the trip stored on the memory card.
I pulled the kayak out of the water, removed my gloves and delved back into the water. It was freezing and I could not even reach the bottom. I felt something tickle my fingers so I grabbed it and pulled it to the surface. To my surprise it was my phone but it was not working. I took it to pieces and left it out to dry.
After calming down, I found some wood and started making my fire. The location was perfect and the sounds from the forest were mesmerising. The sun was setting and I enjoyed the much needed heat from the fire.