Black Tunnels & Blinding Sunsets

It’s 6am on a Sunday morning in March.

 

You can barely open your hands after rowing 15 miles along Wiltshire’s Kennet and Avon Canal the day before.

 

Today, you face a further 25 miles on the water, this time racing alongside strangers. Oh and you’ve spent the night under canvas, breathing in the bitter air, with spring yet to make its presence truly felt.

 

For the 24 members of LWC’s DW Team, this is the final (ironically titled) warm-up before they embark upon the notorious Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Race.

 

“The most difficult thing is needing to eat when you feel sick with exhaustion,” explains LWC Lower Sixth Former, Sophie. And yet in the same breath, she continues, “DW is the hardest and yet most rewarding thing I’ve ever done and may ever do.”

 

Welcome to the world of marathon canoeing at LWC. From black tunnels to blissful sunsets, blistered hands to heart-racing finishes. This is a sport of extremes, which culminates every year in a 120-mile challenge to race from the Wiltshire market town of Devizes to the country’s capital.

 

“I was new to LWC this year,” explains Sophie. “My boat partner, Alannah and I wanted to do a sport where we were starting at the same level as everyone else. This was a good way to make friends and form connections, but we barely knew what the letters DW stood for. I’d not even been in a boat like this before!”

 

For fellow Lower Sixth Former, Eddie, it was a case of coming to the party with a little more experience: “My brother trained with the DW squad last year,” he explains. “I’d heard it was an amazing opportunity that few schools offer. I wanted to put myself out there and make the most of the opportunities, but I never realised what an incredible thing it is to have on your CV. People have told me that they’ve hired employees based upon the fact that they’ve done the DW Canoe Race – it’s one of the most physically and mentally challenging things you can do as a teenager and it’s motivated me, taught me leadership skills and made me more resilient.”

 

“It’s wonderful to see young people who may never have had much to do with one another forging into this incredibly strong and cohesive group, making friendships across Houses, genders and backgrounds”

— Adam Reid, Head of Marathon Canoeing

 

And so, the latest LWC cohort of paddlers are bracing themselves for the 2026 Devizes to Westminster Race. The College will enter 12 boats, significantly more than any other school and following on from having swept up silverware at November’s National Schools’ Kayak Championships. They’ve been training since September, with a typical week involving three gym sessions and two or three lengthy paddles on the water.

 

“The difference between my first fitness test and my last one is unbelievable,” admits Sophie. “You just don’t realise how much you’re training.”

 

Part of the ‘not noticing’ seems to be down to the camaraderie involved in marathon canoeing.

 

“I just love the social side,” admits Eddie. “You’re with your friends the whole time. We do our time trials and we come back exhausted, but we’re there singing along in the minibus on the way back.”

 

“We have dinner together every Tuesday and Wednesday with hot chocolate afterwards,” adds Sophie. “My closest friends do DW.”

 

Head of Marathon Canoeing, Adam Reid, is well aware that his discipline sits apart from many others on the vast co-curricular offering at LWC:

 

“This is not like the 1^st XI Hockey or the 1^st XV Rugby Teams who may have been playing together for years. DW draws students from all quarters. It’s wonderful to see young people who may never have had much to do with one another forging into this incredibly strong and cohesive group, making friendships across Houses, genders and backgrounds.”

   

But back to that 6am moment on the water. When you’ve forced breakfast down in barely-above-zero temperatures, have already capsized once and now face 25 miles of damp paddling…what gets this group of 16, 17 and 18-year-olds through it?

 

“At the start your hands are so sore,” admits Sophie. “Everyone gets tendonitis from gripping the oars too hard. But the biggest challenge is mental. We’re always taught that when you’re down, your partner must be up and vice versa. You’re constantly supporting one another.”

 

“If I’m having a tough session, I’m thinking about racing. It’s priceless crossing that finish line,” adds Eddie. “When my partner Abi and I won the mixed pairs sprint at the National Schools’, the adrenaline rush was amazing. I just couldn’t stop shaking. This is one of the best things I’ve ever done.”

 

And the unique experience offered by marathon canoeing is far from confined to the paddlers alone.

 

“When my mum’s explaining it to friends and family, she will always say that she encouraged me to sign up to it, not realising that she was also signing up,” Sophie laughs. The invaluable efforts of each student’s family stretch way beyond the odd encouraging cheer from the riverbank, but involve preparing huge amounts of food, feeding the paddlers by hand at portages and having to keep up with their rapid rowing on foot and by car.

 

“It’s not just two people in a boat. It’s a huge commitment from everyone supporting us,” admits Eddie.

 

This year’s DW will undoubtedly create lifelong memories for those taking part (and their families) – who will all forever be linked by their shared experience.

 

And for Adam Reid, observing his students in these last few moments before they race are some of his proudest:

 

“It’s almost unrecognisable at the time, but they suddenly start to step up and you begin to see them at their very, very best. They really start to lock in, work together, push themselves (and each other) and show real commitment, resilience and ambition. When that moment comes, I know that whatever DW throws at them, they’re going to be ok.”

 

The LWC DW squad will be raising money for Pancreatic Cancer UK by undertaking this challenge. You can find their fundraising page here.