Captain's report
28 days, 20 different organisations, 299 guests and 112 shifts of voluntary helpers giving over 1200 hours freely. And so the Rotary Club of Abingdon Vesper completed the annual “Barge Trips” on the beautiful Kennet and Avon Canal.
Probably our driest and hottest season in 25 years! It was physically demanding but hugely rewarding and enjoyed by a lot of very happy guests.
For 2018, we introduced new routes in order to accommodate more flexible start and finish times, to provide shorter trips and to reduce time spent shuttling vehicles at the end of the day.
The Rotary Club of Abingdon Vesper provided trained skippers and crew, assisted by spouses, partners, family and friends. They also pay the full cost of hiring the barge from The Bruce Trust, from profits made from fund raising, but mainly at their annual Food and Drink Festival and Dragon Boat Racing events.
The reactions on the day, comments in the daily log, and the thank you notes we receive make you realise how much our guests both enjoy and gain from the time spent on the barge. The volunteers crewing also get a great deal from the days by helping those less fortunate than ourselves.
Groups benefiting from the 2018 barge trips
- Abingdon Archway
- Abingdon Breakaway
- Autumn
- Bridge House Care
- DSO - Down's Oxford
- Fitzwaryn School
- Flexicare Abingdon
- HFT Fettiplace
- HFT Clements
- Home Farm Trust
- Iffley Academy
- John Masefield Cheshire Homes
- Kingfisher School
- Pegasus School
- Style Acre
- Sycamore Barnardos
- Union School
- Wallingford Stroke Club
- Yellow Submarine
And Finally...
- For more information about the Barge trips, please fill in the contact form