Canadian Canoeing Sessions on Windermere, The Lake District. Wednesday 26th October 2016.

Well, things have quietened down for us now at Kendal Mountaineering Services after a busy October. Mind you, we have been away in India for the last fortnight! For us, the quiet season is the best time to go away!

One of our most recent bits of work was with Richard, Lorna & Lydia when we ran a Canadian Canoeing Session for them on Windermere during the October Half Term School Holiday.

Photo one sees the three as we prepared to get on the lake at Fell Foot Country Park.

This was an Introductory Canadian Canoeing Session for the three. The girls had apparently canoed in the past, but it was a new experience for Richard. We started off as two separate canoes - Iain & Richard in one and Lorna & Lydia in the other.

Paddling a Canadian canoe requires co-operation between the person in the front & the one in back. Initially, Lydia & Lorna struggled with this but eventually got the hang of it as we progressed up the west shore of Windermere where, eventually, we reached the small island of Silver Holme.

Here, we rafted up the canoes as we prepared to cross Windermere to make our return journey down the eastern shore of the lake. This was done by connecting the two canoes with a central wooden spar and then tensioning the two boats using the ropes (painters) at the front and the back. Rafting up two or more Canadian Canoes makes them much more stable/safe; and the teams in each boat can work together to make progress.

So why did we raft our two Canadian Canoes together? Well, for what was to come! Windermere at this point is about 600 metres wide; and a breeze had built up during the first half of our session.

Crossing the lake with two novices in one canoe and one in the other would have been a very risky business! Rafted, we managed the crossing without incident, but when we turned south into the wind, we found it too strong to make any real progress - so, back across the lake to the west shore we went!

We eventually arrived back at Fell Foot at about 5pm. Photo three shows a tired but satisfied group. No wonder they were tired as we had done a total of 5 & a half miles in three hours; and half of that was paddled against a headwind!

Our Introductory Canadian Canoeing Sessions in The Lake District start at just £45 per person for a four hour half day session. We do offer discounts for children and for this session, we charged £100 or a little over £33 each for Richard, Lorna & Lydia's half day session with Iain.

Canadian Canoeing is a great way to explore The Lake District's lakes & rivers and the best way to enjoy your first adventure on water where you are in control. Contact us here to book your Canadian Canoeing Session in The Lake District. You won't be disappointed!