A Day On Lake Windermere

Where's my paddle? ...

There’s more to the Lake District than just hiking. There are plenty of towns to visit, scenic drives and museums to explore whilst in the Lakes. But if you’re after an adventure, just not on land, why not head to the water for some kayaking and stand up paddle boarding?

My October visit to the Lake District was inspired by Where’s Mollie’s Global Travellers event, which I was lucky enough to be a part of. I signed myself up for a weekend of adventure; exploring this beautiful corner of England.

This event brought together like-minded travellers from across the UK, plus a few internationals, to capture their love of the outdoors and reconnect with people rather than technology. And this weekend did just that, proving that we are stronger together than any WIFI signal!

For our first adventure, we headed to Bowness-on-Windermere for a day of water sports. The weather was a little undesirable, but for October, we were pretty lucky. The light rain that we did get died down before we ventured out on to the lake. Our water adventure was guided by Windermere Canoe Kayak.

All sixty of us geared up ready to take on kayaking or SUP (stand up paddle boarding) across Lake Windermere. Having had previous experience both kayaking and paddle boarding, I was feeling quite confident, until I caught sight of the paddle boards. Never have I ever seen such large paddle boards! We found out that we were going to be paddle boarding in groups of eight which was going to make things a little more complicated.

Credit and thanks to Lydia Collins for the above photo

Credit and thanks to Lydia Collins for the above photo

After a slow start and one group capsizing, RIP John’s glasses, we were making progress. We paddled our way over to Belle Isle, a small island in the middle of the lake, where we met up with the kayakers. We warmed up by a campfire, where we roasted marshmallows, sipped on tea and coffee and shared many a laugh.

After defrosting our toes, it was time to head off the island and make our way back to the mainland. Jumping into the 2-man kayaks this time round, we paddled back to Bowness. It didn’t take us long to realise that this was the much easier activity of the two, but equally as fun. Nikki and I powered across the lake, impressing ourselves with our kayaking skills. We didn’t even capsize! Tokyo Olympics 2020 better keep an eye out for us!

Credit and thanks to Lydia Collins for the above photo

Credit and thanks to Lydia Collins for the above photo

Adventure one complete. Our next adventure would have to wait for the following morning. Check out my Hiking in the Lake District post (coming soon) to find out where adventure two took us.