Many of our members simply enjoy spending time on the water taking in the beautiful surroundings, socialising with their peers and mastering the skills of kayaking at a leisurely pace. This is absolutely fine, its a great way to enjoy the fresh air, have some fun and combine a bit of exercise at the same time to relax.

As a member of the club you are free to do as little or as much as you desire but be safe in the knowledge that there will be others members to engage with at all levels.

Canoe slalom is a timed race event where competitors navigate a course by passing through a combination of upstream and downstream gates. The aim is to be fast and clean as missing or touching gates incurs time penalties! A national league table, made up of 5 divisions, provides the competitive edge and allows paddlers to progress through the standards and onto increasingly more challenging water.

Slalom is a great discipline to build up fitness and hone tight and accurate boat control!

White water river trips are the art of navigating or 'running' a river. River running provides a great sense of adventure and a different way to experience the environment we usually see from the bank.

Sections of river, often known as rapids, are graded from 1-5 as an indication of their difficulty and severity. Paddlers begin their river running life gaining the basic techniques on 'simple' grade 1 and 2 water before progressing on to more challenging water.

Although paddlers are in their individual boats, river running requires an abundance of teamwork whilst on the water and is a great way to build confidence and leadership skills.

Our pool sessions provide the perfect setting to learn the skill of rolling in a safe and warm environment. Rolling is the art of returning the boat (and paddler!) to be the correct way up in the event of a capsize, all without leaving the boat!

Learning to roll is a great confidence booster for all paddlers and lots of fun is had in the process. The pool sessions also provide the opportunity to practice other rescue techniques and support strokes.

Safety on and around the water is paramount, canoeing and kayaking is an assumed risk activity where the environment can present a variety of dangers. At appropriate times through the year we run Safety and Rescue sessions with members to help familiarise and train all paddlers in the correct practices.

Whilst these sessions serve as an important educational experience the activities are great fun to participate in and always make for a fun day on the river for all involved.

The club coaches are the heartbeat of our club, they give their time and effort to facilitate the sessions, river trips and activities the club is able to offer. As new paddlers become established members and as their knowledge and experience grows we encourage those that wish, to embark on a coaching and leadership pathway.

Working alongside British Canoeing the club has been a leading force in developing a recognised accreditation at club level, which acts as a great gateway to developing the skills necessary to obtain wider Paddlesport Industry qualifications.