Kayaking on the River Dart - Loop Section

Today I have been out on the 'Loop' section of the River Dart in Devon. The levels were pretty low but it was still good to get out and help coach on the Cuckmere Valley Canoe Club trip.

Mick and I drove down from Taunton to meet up with Steve, Andy and Dean from Cuckmere Valley who were doen staying on Dartmoor for the weekend. 

We looked at breaking in and out, ferry gliding, 'S' turns and river reading. Mick found some good jets for a spot of tail squirting as you can see in the images. Overall a really good day and great to be back out on the white water.

Stag Party fun at Wimbleball Lake

Back at Wimbleball Lake on Exmoor today to deliver Mountain Biking and Kayaking for a stag party group of nine booked through Exmoor Adventures. 

We thought we would start with the mountain biking before the strong afternoon sun came out. Our route took us around the pump track at South West lakes Trust before following the green trail down to the dam. Once we crossed the dam we headed out on a loop over and around Haddon Hill taking in some single track, open moorland tracks and a short road descent back to the dam before heading back to our base.

After a short stop for lunch I took the guys for a sit on top kayaking session on Wimbleball Lake, from the lake side near the activity centre we headed across the lake and up the central spur where we got some competitive games going along with lots of getting wet. 

The nine guys were all up for a good time and with their competitive edge they took on all the challenges without hesitation. 

A really good day on Exmoor with a great group. I'm sure the guys will enjoy their climbing session tomorrow with Dan French at Valley of the Rocks.

Kayaking and Raft Building with NCS Students

It's a busy month with lots of work helping out Dan French from Exmoor Adventures. It's really refreshing when local companies can work together to provide a service.

Today I was at Wimbleball Lake on Exmoor working with a group of 12 NCS (National Citizen Service) students delivering a sit on top kayaking session and a raft building session. The 16 year old students are on a 3 week course designed to make them more rounded individuals with the emphasis being teamwork and confidence building.

The morning session we took the sit on top kayaks out on the lake looking at basic kayaking skills, a short journey and a few games for fun. A few capsizes and some great teamwork meant for a good session in the sun.

After lunch the students were split into two smaller teams of 6, given a set of rafting equipment and 45 minutes to plan and build their lake going contraption! As you can see from the photos one teams raft worked a treat whereas the other was a little worse for wear. The difining moment being the race winning team all entering the water to swim out to the sinking raft to help their fellow course members out and swim all the kit back into shore.

Another really good day with a great group of people in a stunning location. The weather is also spoiling us too!!

King Alfred School 2* course at Wimbleball Lake

For the last two days I have been based up at Wimbleball Lake in glorious weather delivering a BCU 2* course to Level 3 Sport and Public Services students from King Alfred School. This is the 5th year Discover Moor and Active Adventure South West have teamed up to deliver this course. 

Following a taster session at Apex lake in Burnham on Sea, the students spend two days at Wimbleball Lake undertaking a number of training sessions with the hope of achieving a 2* award. Some who have less experience only get to achieve 1* but the whole experience is a valuable one. They are also assessed in line with the Pass, Merit and Distinction Criteria for their 'Skills for Water-based Outdoor Education' module for their respective Level 3 Btec course. 

The students worked through all areas of the 2* award and also had the opportunity to try many different Paddle craft including, closed cockpit kayaks, sea kayaks, sit on top kayaks, Open Canoes (solo and tandem) and paddle boards.

All achieved their 1* with a few achieving 2*.