Family Day Out

[nitrate__]

Hi

I'm new too the kayaking thing and im looking for a place near Scarborough ,North yorkshire area.or with in quick car distance to take me and my two young girls (8+10) out on a river for day out paddling our three seater has anyone any suggestion .

We 've done the sea to death and also the local lake . I would just like to show my girls something different

Sorry if ive posted this in the wrong section

Steve

[juliemaragh]

Hi

We take advantage of canals. They can give great perspectives of both urban and rural surroundings. I have just done a search and Driffield may be your nearest http://www.waterscape.com/canals-and-ri ... navigation

I hope this may have given you an idea.

Bye for now.

Julie

[nitrate__]

Many thanks julie we shall take a look and see if we can get out there

[WaterStillScaresMe]

Your best bet for finding local suitable rivers is probably to find your local club. Also a good thing to go with more experienced people anyway.
May be a question you've thought long and hard about - and if so please ignore the rest of this paragraph... ...but when you say you are new to kayaking have you been on some kind of training? If not don't underestimate the things that can go wrong if you are unprepared on a lake, the sea, or a river. Some simple training (you might even find this free in your local club) is a VERY sensible move if you haven't already sought this out. The biggest issue as a beginner is often that you don't know what the real risks are - there are some surprising/hidden ones if you've not thought of this before. For example, do you already know why, on a river, sunken tree branches are potentially very dangerous? Or what's particularly lethal about even some small weirs? And have you ever practised getting everyone back in the canoe after a capsize. The shore may look like it's close by... but how long would it actually take to swim in buoyancy aids and with two kids??

Beyond this - I'd also recommend a local club if there is one for your kids entertainment. Mine have had their main motivation for being involved from classes there, and the involvement of other kids. Time with me has been relatively less interesting for them. My eldest even enjoyed learning to roll a kayak before getting started with proper paddling.

[James G]

The Derwent from Forge valley to Ganton certainly qualifies as "something different". We did it with myself at the back controlling the boat and my Dad at the front with secateurs and loppers. It used to be dredged every year so you can see where everything used to get cut back to. It's deep, but very narrow at points. There are a couple of weirs in Ayton and a footbridge or two that you'll not fit under.

We completely filled the boat with twigs and debris and nearly capsized it near the end. An "interesting" day out, but I think you have to be a certain kind of individual to enjoy it (I did, immensely).

Perhaps one to try when you're a little more experienced and the girls are a bit older.

James