BBC learning and BBC1 have teamed up to promote a new initiate called Thrillseeker. The aim is to help thousands of people across the UK to experience adventurous activities for the first time, in the hope that more people will feel confident and knowledgeable enough to take their new interest further.

I ran two canoe sessions this morning on The Mere in Ellesmere. Both groups were blessed with some great weather (considering how the last few months have been) – we even had some sunshine!

The first was an adult session, concentrating on a variety of paddle strokes and techniques, helping the participants to feel as though they were beginning to control the canoe rather than the other way round. We practiced different strokes for both the front and rear paddlers, giving each pair a variety of ways of combining their efforts to get the desired effect. All seemed to be going well till we swapped over to have a go from the other seat, when it took it little while to reprogram brans!

The second session was aimed at the younger age group and, after introducing a few basic hints for controlling the canoe, we spent most of our time playing games – always fun. I normally like to finish off with a few wet games and challenges but, with the water being so cold at the moment, decided to give it a miss for once.

Amazingly, no one took an unexpected dip in The Mere, so everyone finished with smiles on their faces.