60 miles in a coracle

60 Miles for 60 Years

As well as being Stinchcombe’s toad patrol warden, Jayne Kirkham is also a Canoe Safari Warden at Slimbridge Wetland Centre.  Next week she will coracle 60 miles down the river Severn in April to raise money for the UK’s leading wetland conservation charity – WWT.

The coracle adventure will begin at Upper Arley in Worcestershire, on Monday 17 April. Jayne aims to carry out 5 legs of roughly 12 miles by coracle, stopping overnight, until she reaches the Shepherds Patch Bridge at Slimbridge, by an aimed date of Friday 21 April.

In 2021 Jayne took part in the St Cyr’s sponsored walk along the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, but Jayne completed it in a canoe. As a seasoned canoeist this wasn’t much of a challenge so thought – next time let’s try it in a coracle, the traditional boat of the Severn.

And one thing led to another and, as Jayne turns 60 this July, the challenge escalated into a fundraiser of a 60 mile journey down the river Severn and finally finishing the last leg on the canal.

Jayne explains:

I love birds and I love boats – little ones: canoes, kayaks and coracles. So being one of the Canoe Safari Wardens at WWT Slimbridge is a bit of a dream job for me.

When I started I definitely knew more about boats than birds. But time spent at Slimbridge has allowed me to witness the comings and goings of so many different species and over the years I’ve realised just how essential wetlands are for life on this planet.

So I hope you will support me and make a donation to the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.”

If you would like to support WWT’s work, you can donate via Jayne’s Just Giving page