Madam, I live with my family by, and occasionally nearly
in the River Wye. One early Monday evening, we answered
the door to a man with his young daughter who explained
that they were travelling down the Wye with the mother
and another child by canoe, and had missed their
rendezvous at Hoarwithy because a 'shingle beach' they
had been looking for was not evident.
This was due to the river being at high level and
running fast. The little girl was cold and shivering so
without hesitation I offered them a lift back up to
Hoarwithy which was gratefully accepted.
I drove across the fields to collect the other two and
their possessions, and we chatted on the short drive to
their overnight accommodation. All were freezing cold and
the dad told of his attempts to keep things together
through the day, as they were all quite scared by the
speed and power of the river. We all agreed that the canoe
hire company had acted irresponsibly by allowing a young
family with a six and eight year old to go on the water
when it was so swollen. Admittedly, the parents held large
responsibility too, but they are not the 'experts' on the
river as the people collecting the money profess to be.
The hire company collected the abandoned canoes
the following day, I did not see the signwriting on their
white minibus van, but surely for the sake of a day's hire
they should not be sending inexperienced families out on
a swollen river, with debris, tree roots, rapids and many
other hazards?
I would have forgotten all about this but felt
compelled to write after driving across Wilton Bridge
yesterday (Thursday) and seeing another family
transporting a hire canoe down towards the river, the
level of which was about a foot from spilling over the
banks. In my view, this is an example of operating a
business with reckless disregard to safety, and although I
sincerely hope not, will possibly lead to tragedy.
John Gartside, Sellack