Great Thames adventure
Rowing trip is listed as one of world’s best experiences
SCALING the world’s highest peaks or trekking through the rainforest are adventures many dream of for a lifetime.
Navigating the murky waters of the Thames in a rowing boat? Perhaps not quite so much. Yet that trip has been ranked alongside the likes of climbing Everest and rafting the Amazon as one of the greatest experiences in the world.
It joins a list, compiled by influential guidebook firm Lonely Planet, which also includes tracking mountain gorillas in Uganda and diving with sharks in South Africa.
But there’s room for other experiences closer to home, too, such as walking around the coast of Devon and cornwall and mountain biking in North Wales.
The Lonely Planet Great Adventures guide describes rowing the Thames as ‘like sitting on a conveyor belt watching living history pass you by on both banks.’ It continues: ‘It’s a gallery of archi- tectural evolution, meandering majestically through rural and city life, allowing you time to reflect on the meaning of all the bustling hustle onshore.’
For the ultimate experience, the guidebook recommends following the example of Jerome k. Jerome’s 1889 book Three Men in a Boat, and going in a skiff.
The 215-mile journey is featured in a list of 15 water experiences that include rafting the Amazon, kayaking in Antarctica and tracing the source of the Nile.
In the hiking section, alongside trekking in Nepal and touring Mont Blanc, the guide recommends walking the South West coast Path from Dorset to Somerset, taking in Devon and cornwall along the way.
The 630-mile path is described as ‘walking at its most diverse, most spectacular and most delicious’.
The guide recommends enjoying a cornish pasty while walking along the causeway at low tide to St Michael’s Mount near Penzance in cornwall, and visiting fishing villages such as Port Isaac, Polperro and Penberth. ‘It’s a cracker,’ it says. ‘The sea is a constant companion; the cliffs are immense and varied, ranging from outcrops steeped in Arthurian legend to Jurassic remnants thick with fossils.’ But those attempting the walk are warned to allow plenty of time, as it takes between seven and eight weeks.
Six of the 75 activities listed in the guide are found in this country.
Other British entries include mountain biking in coed-y-Brenin in North Wales and the Three Peaks challenge – climbing Britain’s highest peaks in one day.
caving in the Peak District of Derbyshire is also featured, along with ‘coasteering’ in Pembrokeshire in South Wales. This is the act of jumping from, swimming alongside and scrambling from seaside rocks.