Source to Sea: Thames River Relay

Now in its fourth year, the Source to Sea River Relay will take place throughout September.

The journey will start with the bottle being filled with fresh Thames water at the source of the river in a field near Kemble in Gloucestershire. It will then be relayed down river by different groups travelling on Stand Up Paddle Boards. As the bottle changes hands and weaves its way towards London different events will take place along the way, including a mass paddle and SUP marathon, education on water conservation, river clean ups, SUP yoga and SUP taster sessions.

The Relay will engage and encourage people to use the river recreationally and most importantly have fun on our waterways. Stand up paddle boarding is an emerging sport and is both accessible and easy to learn. By using SUP we hope to highlight the relationship between recreation and water conservation.

The relay aims to raise awareness of the epidemic of plastic waste and the significant impact that this has on our waterways and oceans. This is an inclusive and diverse event where people of all ages, abilities and experience are invited to participate.

Event Highlights

The SUfC Mass Paddle starts at from Kew Bridge to Richmond, return. The Marathon starts at 8am from Shepperton to Kew.

For those of you who would like an extra challenge and would like to test your paddleboarding skills competitively, Naish will be running a paddleboard race at Kew. This is a short course sprinting race with 10-12 participants per race, open to all abilities.

Evening Paddle and Watertrek Blue Talks at Chiswick Pier
Monday 19 September, 6pm

An evening paddle from Kew Bridge to Chiswick, followed by a series of talks on the Thames to be held at the Chiswick Pier Trust.

Thames21 Litter Count and Clean Up
Wednesday 21 September

Starting at Hammersmith Bridge, a chance to paddle about and do some good for the River at the same time.

The Race to Big Ben
Saturday 24 September from 1.30pm

Registration for this event has now closed, but come and watch a once in a lifetime sight as a team of paddleboarders make their way from Putney Bridge to Westminster Bridge and back again.