If there is a learning/practice part to the course then take the opportunity to broaden your horizons and try something different, 2* is all about being happy in different types of boats and any chance to broaden your horizons is a good thing. However, use your own boat for the exam so you're in som...

I had a panic on the bottom section of the Washburn a couple of years ago when I heard lots of whistles. There was that initial bit of puzzlement because I was the only person in my group to hear the initial whistle and then the "Oh shit!" moment when there were several more blasts as we sat and lis...

Does anyone want to see a video of someone jumping off High Force?

Thought so...

https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/ ... ef=mr&lp=1

Keep an eye on the middle aisle at Aldi, they sell cheap heavy duty waterproof seat covers from time to time.

It looks like it's some sort of dodgem kayak.

If you put the seats down I bet you'd fit a play boat in a Fiat 500 ;-) I can't say I've paddled an inflatable but Seveylor have a decent reputation and if they come in at your price point then you know your'll be getting a decent product. Don't forget to save a bit of your budget for a buoyancy aid.

West Tanfield, River Ure = http://www.sleningfordwatermill.co.uk/

Linton Lock, River Ouse (with the new ww course coming soon) = http://lintonlockmarina.org.uk/camping/

There are many places where we access across private land with permission without any fee being charged. In fact I can only think of two places where a fee is charged for access to a river and they are both operated by paddlers. Whilst charging per paddler might be a legitimate choice for land owne...

Football will help with stamina and core strength. Another advantage I found was that you get used to dealing with pain and heavy impacts which means that it's less of a shock to the system if you get overly friendly with a rock.

35 out of my 38 places saved on Google maps are paddling related.

Just having a browse on eBay and came across this old Sevylor kayak from the 70's and it's unlike anything I've ever seen before, in that it's got a forked tail. Does anyone know about this sort of thing, was it a feature back in the day?


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kayak/182696557514

I don't talk to myself as such but in the lead up to something tricky I concentrate a lot on my forward paddling technique and almost run through a sort of checklist to make sure that feet, knees, legs and arse are doing what they should in the boat and I'm getting decent trunk rotation from my top ...

Palm also do a medium broad.

The 2 trees mentioned by Robofish have been removed however there is a new tree hazard below Burton which is a definite portage. The tree is in a fast flowing section probably about 1km-1.5km below Burton bridge, when the river starts to speed up a bit after the fishing huts/benches on the side of t...

We do often abbreviate it as WW which suggests it should be white water otherwise we'd just call it W.

So I can buy a decent pair of neoprene shorts for £30 or I can pay double that for some Neoprene shorts with some cloth attached so that I can wow the ladies when I am hanging around the river bank. Hmm.... let me see Fool ... money .... On holiday a couple of years ago I found a shopping bag with ...

An upgrade to a dry cag will probably keep you pretty dry but I'd also recommend checking out an O'Neill Thermo-X top (or something similar). It's a sort of fleecey stretchy material that fits like a compression top so you'd use it as a rash vest but it's much warmer and is great at wicking moisture...

Reed Chillcheater do a line of latex free dry suits. Not everyone's cup of tea but they seem pretty popular down here in Cornwall. I absolutely love their cags and would probably go for one of their paddle suits if I were in the market for a dry suit. Check it out! Denzil Am I reading the advert ri...

We do have a "news" section and an events calendar which are updated regularly which automatically post links to the news/events to our FB page and Twitter feed. Which calendar do you use that enables you to do this? I thought that FB only allows FB events and won't allow links to Google Calendar e...

We use a variety of communications channels for different purposes: Website - this is the primary source of club information and is the public face of the club on the internet. It is largely static in content and is designed for members and non-members to see who we are, what we do, where we are, ho...

Those rowers are absolutely the number 1 problem that canoeists have and I applaud BC in sorting it out. Social media is awash with stories of Steve Redgrave throwing rocks at kayakers and the number of times I've heard of that Matthew Pinsent chap slashing paddler's tyres beggars belief.

gp.girl- boats like the Loki are great for adding challenge without needing to add too much to consequences. I didn't want to go down the route of paddling ever larger rivers and drops as it is addictive to me and at some point would end in tears so I push the difficulty/challenge by paddling a low...

The most popular kids boat we use at our club at the moment is the Dagger Dynamo. A quick look on eBay shows that 1 boat has sold recently in your budget (with BA, Paddle & spray deck) but the majority of boats look to be in the £170-£250 range so it might be a while before another "bargain" comes u...

6 medium eggs (scrambled) with a salad of 2 tomatoes, 1 pepper, 1/3 cucumber and a good serving of sriracha sauce followed by a bowl of porridge (50g oats, 250ml milk) and maybe a caffeinated drink if it's an early start.

For those who indulge in the more extreme end of the sport, keep an eye out for a new type of cloud that only forms near waterfalls. I guess that technically it's not actually a new type of cloud but it now has a name so if you see a Cataractagenitus then you'd better start looking for an eddy. http...

Oh that's a good little video.

Father Christmas brought me a set of generic aero roof bars for my new car and they're now a permanent fixture on the car. There's no noticeable difference to fuel economy (then again, I never noticed anything with the old fashioned square bars on my old car) and I haven't noticed any wind noise fro...

I had an out of boat experience there on Friday and it was a right old pain to get out of the water. Swimming in to an eddy was straighforward but the swirly water in the eddy and the smooth sloping slimy sides meant that it was virtually impossible to clamber out and it was only after some undignif...

A local club would be a good place to start. You might need to invest in a wetsuit (opt for a Long John or a set of strides - legs only) and a waterproof top but most whitewater clubs would probably have all the other kit you need so you avoid the big outlay and you get to experiment with different ...

I made my first trip there late last year on a cold Saturday afternoon. By 4pm we had the whole (floodlit) course to ourselves which was pretty cool.