Coached River Sessions and Social Paddling Sessions re-start on Tuesday 2nd April and Thursday 4th April. Both these sessions will be 6:30pm on-the-water, so please be at the boathouse at 6:00pm to get kit sorted.
At the moment these sessions are for not for beginners or for very young children. If you are not sure about your child’s suitability, please ask. For the social paddle, you must be able to paddle around the island (3.5 miles) on your own in a kayak, or in a pair in a canoe or K2. Social paddling must be in a minimum group of three boats, and member of the group must carry a phone.
Discipline training will also start on Tuesday 2nd April. At he moment it is only sprint and marathon, but we hope to develop slalom and polo later.
New for this year: Experienced marathon paddlers can social paddle marathon boats on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Talk to Graham to see if this applies to you. Other conditions apply.
Book through Michelle at the pool from this Saturday 2nd March, or message Michelle on 07951 581736
Session charges as of April 2024
Coached Sessions: 1st Session of the week £6.00 per person for a coached session. Any other coached sessions during that week are just £2.00 per person.
Social paddling session is £2 per session regardless of how many you have a week. Conditions apply.
River sessions are booked by the calendar month.
Membership fees for 2024/25 are due in April.
Please pay now if you can to reduce congestion at the bookings desk in April:
£15.00 per person
£40.00 per family of four
(Two adults and two children or one adult and three children)
Clothing Recommendations:
This time of year the water temperature will still be cold so we recommend suitable clothing to worn for paddling on the river. The minimum for paddling is long trousers and several layers on the upper body (one with long sleeves). Under garment fleeces are good for upper and lower body. We recommend manmade fibres rather than cotton as they are not so absorbent, and definitely not jeans. You should also wear a cagoule over the top (to keep wind chill down). A warm hat should be worn if it is cold and gloves or “poggies” on the hands are optional.
Wet suits can be worn, but they only really work if you get fully submerged to get the layer of water between the suit and you. If you choose to wear a wetsuit please wear clothing on top as above.
Dry suits can be worn, but please don’t rush out to buy one, they are very expensive.
Footwear is to be worn at all times, these may be old trainers, or ideally wet boots or wet shoes.
We will not be intentionally make you get wet but due to the nature of the sport you may capsize, so please bring a towel and a change of clothes.
We hope to have our new changing room open in April, but for a few weeks you may may have to use our existing room, or it may have to be closed altogether for a week or so during the works. The leisure centre changing rooms are open and we can use them. (the changing room for the sports hall is the better one to use rather than the swimming pool one).
Buoyancy Aids
(also known as PFDs, personal floatation device).
The club have a huge range of buoyancy aids in all sizes for you to use, and all are tested by us before the start of the season to check they still conform to EN ISO12402-5.
There is no need to buy your own, but if you do please discuss with a coach as there are many unsafe buoyancy aids sold on the internet. Please be careful buying from Amazon, eBay and discount supermarkets. For a recent notice issued by British Canoeing click here