Sunday 27 November 2011

River Greta from Ingleton

All this wild weather has done a great job of filling our rivers full of lovely water, including some that take quite a bit to start running.
So with lots of rivers a bit too massive for a leisurely sunday paddle, we headed to the Ingleton Greta in Yorkshire.
It's a great grade 2-3 river, through some hidden and gorgeous countryside.
It's definately a river of 2 halves. With the top section from Ingleton to Burton being very continuous grade 2 - 3ish, lots of fun with no boring flat bits and stacks of waves and stoppers to play in along the way.
Once you get to Burton - in - lonsdale you get a long grade -3 bedrock rapid which leads into some pretty woodland with flatter sections, interspersed with weir type drops. Nothing scary and always with a chute through.
The highlight of this section is a 1 1/2m ledge drop with a tongue thing river right for open boats and 3 or 4 different boofs along it for kayaks....lovely!
The only hassle was the get out at Greta Bridge. I got out river right below the bridge and hauled my kayak up some walls (mental!), but Ali decided to carry on down, join the Lune and get out at the next bridge on that. On reflection, whilst this is a bit of a trudge, it's probably a better egress for canoes and will keep the local residents, who live right at the get out, happier.
All in all a great trip for up and coming kayakers, never too hard, but still challenging enough to bring a big grin.
If you have a done a bit of river kayaking and are looking for a guided trip on something a bit more challenging, give us a call!
Cheers
Mark and Ali

Thursday 24 November 2011

River Kayaking

Had a great day today on the Ingleton River Greta with some students from Cumbria University.
We paddled from Ingleton to Burton in Lonsdale, a fantastic section of grade 2-3 kayaking, very continuous and definately a challenge and fitting end to this groups block of practical sessions, well done Joe, Jenny, Luke and Ben who all did amazingly considering this was their 3rd ever river and probably 5th time in a kayak.

Wednesday 16 November 2011

Autumn Canoeing

Autumnal Canoe Adventures in the Lakes

We had a great day Canoeing on Bassenthwaite Lake and the River Derwent today.
It was stunning! Blue skies, light winds, warm sunshine and a nice chill in the air, lovely!
These type of stunning days are out there, you just gotta keep an eye on the forecast and go for it and we are always available for last minute, impulsive bookings!

Wednesday 2 November 2011

River Canoeing in the Lake District


Had a fantastic day canoeing the Lower Derwent out of Lake Bassenthwaite near Keswick yesterday
.
This great river is only open for access from now until the end of January and offers a stunning and easy introduction to the wonderful world of river canoeing in the Lake District. Perfect for beginners and families. Give us a call or e-mail if you're interested.