For the next few days I’m working for Ellesmere College. They run a few different holiday clubs / courses, and have asked me to provide a few adventurous activities for their Adventure + programme. The course ran for the first time last Summer and proved very popular with those that took part. There are a dozen youngsters this time, trying various activities in two groups during the coming week.

Today saw me take them on a canoe trip on the Shropshire Union Canal. Starting at Ellesmere, the plan was to head east with the girls group until lunchtime when I would be met by the boys group, and head back to Ellesmere in the afternoon. Progress was rather slow this morning. This was largely down to how busy the water was with canal boats. Naturally, you expect quite a few canal boats on a canal, but this morning was exceptional. We spent quite long periods of time by the bank waiting for long queues of boats from both directions to pass by. However, we made good progress at times and, although some still have a lot to learn, everyone grew significantly in confidence and ability during the course of the morning.

In the afternoon, the boys group made significantly better progress. It’s fair to say that they managed to keep the canoes straight more effectively than the girls, but they also did not experience anything like the amount of traffic that the girls had had to contend with. As a result, the boys managed the return leg a whole hour faster than the girls, so we paddled on past Ellesmere to lengthen the trip a bit.

The whole day, but the afternoon particularly, was such a nice experience. Exploring along a beautiful stretch of waterway with great company and the sun shining down on us. It’s a hard life sometimes!