Today saw the last session of this Summer’s Active Adventures program taking place on the Mere in Ellesmere. The circus were also in town and encamped on the banks of the Mere, which made it a little interesting getting the canoe trailer in and out, but we managed to squeeze through!

We had a family canoe session with both father & son and mother & daughter pairings taking part, which was a great way to finish the Summer holiday off. As you might expect, there were some vastly differing attitudes to the thought of getting wet with some younger paddlers eager to dive right in whilst others were keen to stay dry at all costs.

Having the parents at the back of the boat certainly made the steering and forward paddling much more efficient than it could have otherwise been. This meant that, other than a few basic helpful hints on technique, we could concentrate our time on exploring the Mere and playing a few games. The game involving pelting me with lots of soggy balls seemed rather too popular!

With most of the group declining the chance to risk a swim at the end, Felix was left to take on a few challenges single handedly – he actually did remarkably well. With no one else prepared to take him on, it fell to me to provide Felix with an opponent for a canoe version of the ‘slippery pole’ and there could only be one winner. Sorry – I’m sure you’ll dry out in the end!