Services
Guided paddles, self-guided routes, multi-day journeys, night sessions, hire and group programmes.
Three hours covering eight to twelve kilometres of canal or backwater with a guide, including a short lesson for anyone who has never paddled, a stop at a lock or an aqueduct and refreshments halfway. Boards, kayaks, paddles, buoyancy aids, dry bags and waterproof pouches are provided, groups stay under ten, and the route is chosen on the day for shade and water level. Departures run twice daily from April to October and at weekends through the winter.
Twenty to twenty-five kilometres in a day, usually one way with the van collecting at the end, broken by a proper lunch at a village restaurant and an afternoon stretch through the quietest section. Full days include two or three lock portages, which the guides handle with trolleys, and time to swim where the water is clean and deep enough. Suitable for anyone reasonably fit; no experience is needed, and the pace is set by the slowest paddler.
Boats delivered to your chosen launch point and collected at the far end, with a laminated route card marking distances, portages, landings, drinking water, the villages that serve food and the two stretches where the channel narrows. Routes run from ten to ninety kilometres over one to five days. A support number is answered throughout the day, and the van will collect anybody who stops early without charging extra for it.
Two to five nights paddling from village to village with luggage moved each morning, accommodation booked in small guesthouses and dinner arranged where the kitchen is open. Distances are set at fifteen to twenty-two kilometres a day, leaving long afternoons. A guide can accompany the whole journey or meet the group for one section. This is the trip that regular customers repeat every year, usually adding a day and inviting somebody new.
Ninety-minute evening sessions leaving as the light drops, returning under lanterns fixed to the bow with the canal completely still and the bats working the surface. Nights with a full moon are booked out months ahead. In summer we add a swim stop and something cold at the halfway point; in autumn, a hot drink. Groups are capped at eight, all lighting and reflective equipment is provided, and the route stays within two kilometres of the launch.
Boards and kayaks by the hour or the day from three bases, with buoyancy aids and a briefing included. Schools, clubs, companies and hen and stag groups can book private sessions with instructors, safety cover and catering, and we run an introductory programme for local schools at cost. Season storage is available for private boats, and our workshop repairs inflatables, replaces fins and services paddles for anyone who asks.