Early Bay Adventure Gathering Wye Valley 2014 - Not a Show

Early Bay Forum

Help Support Early Bay Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

cotswoldiver

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 18, 2008
Messages
1,158
Reaction score
1
Location
Oxfordshire/Berkshire borders ....
I spent some time with the SSVC at the weekend, not at their technical gathering at Vicky Farm but over in Symonds Yat East.
And yes, it was nice and friendly and welcoming ...
It was an event organised by Rikki James following a family visit he had there last year.

I know SSVC have already booked a date for next year, but Ian who runs the campsite wants to keep the numbers nicely manageable (no more than 40 units) so the chances of invading it on mass from Earlybay are really small, and I think there is something rather nice about having a small event but with a common interest.

So, the thought entered my head that we could have our own gathering for Earlybay Forum members on a different date, that doesn't clash with SSVC and tries to avoid the key VW show dates so that as many that wanted to make the weekend could. I spoke with Ian yesterday and I've bounced the idea via one of the mods and so this post is going up just to see if there is enough interest before we firm up dates and block the campsite for our sole use.

Designed for just a chilling weekend with a little bit of adventure - so no show and shine, no selling of parts, t-shirts, fluffy pillows, egg cups or anything remotely similar just a gathering of folks that are fans of lowlights. If there is enough interest we will have this up as a sticky. Payment would be in advance via a special earlybay link on the SYE website

I've attached the link to the actual campsite http://syecampsite.co.uk/ and as you can see its not grand, its not large, but it has all the basic facilities including shower block, loos, and grass site right along side the river but no hook up - plus just a short amble to a couple of pubs and eating places. Plus as well as the canoeing, it's great for walking, ideal for bring along bikes and generally a place to switch off and chill and even fish for your supper

It's perfect for families as they really looked after the children that wanted to go canoeing with safety high on their list with a full briefing before the river run, and they wanted to know if there were people not so confident on the water. On Saturday there was a lovely mix of families, singles and couples and a few dogs as well some that ventured into the canoes as well. Canoes were pairs and triples and families could have two canoes strapped together if they wanted to. There should have been a group of 57 in total, so it was really well supported.

The aim would be a Friday & Saturday camp out, with a group trip in the canoes on the Saturday with a stop of for a (bring your own) picnic lunch. If we wanted to we could sort a run/cruise to a suitable place for a photo opportunity maybe a local ruin or as we are in Herefordshire maybe a small cider site, and give the buses a collective run out - or nothing at all, just chill. We were lucky with the weather, but there were still a few aching shoulders and sore bums and plenty of stories to tell and that was after being taken to the launch site by minibus and gently paddling back down stream!

Rough idea of costs at this stage would be £16 for the two nights camping per adult, £8 for children and the canoeing would be approx £14 per person. Minimum age for children in the canoes would be 4 years old. Because of their busy summer season and the opportunity to get a discounted price for us as a group, we would probably be looking at September next year as a likely date. Once we have enough numbers we can firm up on the costs

I'm quite happy to pick up the arrangements with Ian at SYE Campsite, so if you like the idea of committing to this list your forum name and size of group including children and we will see how the numbers grow. Needs to be pretty firm on commitment so that we can book our weekend solely for Earlybay forum use

David
 
I like the sound of this but it depends when it is (bit of a trek for me, but like excuses to travel)!
 
We were there this weekend in our Earlybays and had a great time, although the SSVC guys are not as friendly as us lol

The camp site is great, clean warm showers with no waiting in line, proper toilets and amazing views.

We also did the canoeing and that was real fun. Three and a half hours to do the nine mile route and so relaxing.

Count us in

Steve
 

Latest posts

Top