I love kayaking but, for some reason, I don’t get to do much of it as work. So it was a real treat for me to get out in a kayak with a group for the morning.
After some warm up games and the usual safety brief, we got our kayaks on the water but left the paddles behind for the first 15-20 minutes. The main reason for doing this is that kayaks tend to spin very easily and a normal paddle blade ‘catches’ so much water that the boat seems to spin out of control so quickly. By using our hands to start with, I hoped that everyone would start to get a feel for how the boat responds to relatively small forces before introducing the paddles. This certainly seemed to help many, although there were still one or two members of the group that were thrown into turmoil as soon as a paddle blade touched the water!
A few games and races were thrown in but, due to the poor weather conditions, the group weren’t particularly keen on the thought of getting wet. It’s always virtually impossible to stay dry in a kayak but prospect of falling in was just too much for most. As a result, it was a fairly tame session in terms of fun in the water. I must confess to being a little disappointed as, being my first group kayak session for a while, I had all sorts of fun and games up my sleeve – maybe next time!
I don’t know if you can help me or not? We have just purchased our own cannoe, and i was wondering if we need permission to use any of the lakes in and around ellesmere?
The main Mere in Ellesmere is the only realistic option. You’ll need to sign a disclaimer from the council and seek permission for access each time you want to use it. There is a charge of £3 per boat per day.
I have taken canoes and kayaks on the water at Whitemere as well, but they are a sailing club and usually only grant access for canoes for official groups that are also sailing.
There is also the canal which runs through Ellesmere. In theory, you should have a license for this which would be covered by membership of the British Canoe Union.
I hope this helps! Feel free to get in touch if you need any more help.