Tag: lake

SUP Derwentwater

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Although notably less holy (and probably less graceful) than Jesus, I felt privileged to experience my first time standing on water in this beautiful place. Derwentwater is cradled by mountains on all sides, punctuated by explorable islands and delightfully less touristy than other lakes.

A quick bit of Googling that morning narrowed my search for a lake to SUP on to Derwentwater or Windermere. We’d settled on kayaking Coniston Water and hire didn’t appear as readily available at other places – I would have loved to try Wasdale below Scafell Pike but could only finded guided SUP tours. (We were set on hire due to cost, time and a stubborn, “I can do it myself” attitude).

Well aware of Windermere’s popularity, I called Derwentwater Marina with a few preliminary (probably silly) questions (see Beginner’s Advice: Stand Up Paddleboarding) and booked two SUPs for three hours from midday for £22 each. We left Ambleside and arrived 45 minutes later. The marina people were friendly and gave us a quick safety brief and a basic map, but didn’t bog us down with  rules or admin. Getting sized up for paddles and buoyancy aids was quick and easy, and I was pleased to be on (not in!) the water within a few minutes.

I kneeled until we’d left the harbour area as instructed, surprised by how stable the board felt. I was pleased to find it easy to stand up and balance after an initial, slightly wobbly stage. Then I had to figure out how I was supposed to paddle.

Being used to a kayak, I expected to have to change sides every other stroke or so or end up going in circles. I’m not sure how you’re meant to do it but I found that I had a surprising amount of control over my direction of travel paddling on just one side. It might have something to do with the paddle entering at a steeper angle and pushing through the water almost vertically. You can alter your course by tweaking the “shape” of your pull – this means you can turn right even if the paddle is on your right.

Derwentwater is a glorious location. We passed about six other SUPers in total during our three-hour stint and a few more kayakers, but given the size of the lake this was nothing; most were paddling around near the marina, and we went over half an hour without seeing a soul. We travelled south along the west side of the lake, feeling like we’d found heaven under the clear blue sky, between the hazy mountains and above the calm, dark water. The sun was hot so I relished a dip when we stopped for lunch at a secluded, smooth-stoned beach. The shallows were warm and brownish algae made the stones super-slippery but it got deep and cool very quickly. I didn’t drown, get bitten by a pike or poisoned by algae, so I can also recommend swimming in Derwentwater.

From there  we headed off south east, past a tiny, one-tree island and towards a large, forested island with a child-ridden beach. We paddled around its east side and headed back towards the marina. As the last slog usually does, and given that we were pressed for time having enjoyed the water so much, this was quite hard-going. The headwind disturbed the previously flat water and the sun beared down on our sweaty backs. This bit showed me that SUPing is actually quite a  good workout if you maintain a decent pace for a while – it really works your core, back, arms and legs. Google reckons that a 75kg person burns about 500 calories per hour.

We got back on time and reluctantly returned our kit. Reflecting on my experience, it’s not at all what I expected. I had this idea that SUPing was like a slower, boring version of kayaking – why stand when you can sit? Actually I think it’s incomparable. Seeing the water from a few feet higher up gives you a wider vertical field of vision, a totally different perspective. I’d almost say it feels more liberating as you can move your legs, so have greater control over your body position. It’s easier to twist, bend and lean. You’re more likely to fall in, but neither Bertie or I did and if we had it would have provided respite from the relentless sun! I’m sure it would have been different if we hadn’t been so blessed with the weather (with temperatures in the early thirties for most of the day).

So my final verdict is that SUPing is great, I’ll be going again and I’d recommend it to anyone – particularly at Derwentwater. If you’re thinking of trying it for the first time, see my post Beginner’s Advice: Stand Up Paddleboarding…  Enjoy!

Endnote: Derwentwater marina is at the northern tip of the lake, five minutes from Keswick – a bustling town offering plenty of post-SUP beer. Or you could be like us and climb/scramble Helvellyn via Striding Edge immediately after returning the SUPs and have to rush back to Spoons (last place to serve food) to avoid starvation… But that’s another blog post.

How to Impulse trip: Lake District, June ’18

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The weather has been incredibly un-British for the past few weeks and the week before last I (practically) finished my LPC, Masters and a legal work placement. Naturally I was desperate to run away somewhere wild, so on Monday my adventure partner booked the rest of the week off work and that evening we decided to hit the Lake District. After previous stunningly beautiful but grey trips, I couldn’t resist the chance to see the mountains in the sun.

 

Tuesday 26 June

Late-night packing complete, we set off about 5.30am and arrived about midday after a Morrisons breakfast at Newcastle-under-Lyme. We found a basic National Trust campsite, Hoathwaite, by Coniston Water, and were pitched and raring to explore shortly afterwards.

I’d recommend the campsite any day: with direct access via a footpath down to a lakeside beach, it’s perfect to take your own kayak or SUP. It has toilets, showers, washing up basins and water taps – basic but clean and an absolute luxury for us, having got used to wild camping. The Old Man of Coniston cradles one side of the campsite, and there are lovely views over other mountains, trees and the glistening lake. It’s on a hill, but there are plenty of flat spots to camp, no marked pitches and plenty of space.

We walked the half-hour footpath to Coniston, along the lake and across big fields, to explore and recce the pubs. It’s a really pretty town with dark stone buildings and a lively centre, with about four pubs, three small supermarkets and a couple of outdoorsey and gift shops, cafes, a bakery and a butcher. We walked around, got some shopping and went back to the campsite.

We cooked early, semi-planned the next few days and went for a gentle 5k run (I’m still recovering from injury) back towards Coniston, stopping on the way back to skim stones on the water. Tired from late packing and early rising, we went to bed early and slept like sloths.

 

Wednesday 27 June

On Wednesday we drove to Ambleside to get a map of Helvellyn. I’ve always used Ordnance Survey but a helpful man in Blacks told me that Harveys maps are sometimes more practical, so I welcome any input on this. There are four OS maps of the Lake District and we only had the Southern two, so we invested in the others and briefly walked around the town. I remember liking Ambleside before; it has a really lively atmosphere, plenty to see and an abundance of outdoorsey shops which make it seem like a hub for adventurous, active people – more so than tourist-saturated Windermere.

We’d never been Stand Up Paddleboarding before and I’ve been desperate to try for ages, so we hired a couple of SUPs for three hours from Derwent Water Marina near Keswick. We chose to explore Derwentwater over Windermere as it’s quieter and wilder, and had an amazing time surrounded by clear water and blue mountains, stopping at a beach for lunch and a swim. I’ll write about this separately as I definitely have more to say.

After SUPing we drove to Glenridding to climb Helvellyn via Striding Edge, setting off about 4.30pm in 30 degree heat. There’s a tourist path straight up the Western side but I wasn’t interested – I’d read about approaching from the East in The Great Outdoors magazine and insisted on the more picturesque, lengthy and difficult route.

Although sketchy at times, I loved scrambling up Striding Edge (much more so than Bertie) and reaching the clear, sunny summit of the tabletop mountain (third highest in England) at about 7pm – I couldn’t find words to do the clear blue and lilac, layered mountain panorama justice. I’ll write separately on the route we took. We got back to the car about 10pm and made it to Wetherspoons in Keswick with 10mins to spare, thanking heaven that they serve food until 11.

 

Thursday 28 June

We got up with the sun and walked down to Coniston Water to have breakfast by the lake and read books. We’d planned to hire bikes for the day and explore as far as we could get, but drove an hour through tiny country roads to Eskdale to find the place closed. Although a lovely drive, we’d seen that area before and I was cross at the wasted morning. I’d wanted to call to book but Bertie just wanted to get there, and he took about ten years searching the car for his lost wallet (because he left it in a stupid place) so he secured a place in my bad books.

We had a drink at the Woolpack pub and used the Wifi to find an alternative bike place. It was between hiring from Keswick and cycling the roads/bridleways, or from Whinlatter forest and doing proper mountain bike trails. I wasn’t aware of Whinlatter until then but had loved Grizedale previously, so it was a no-brainer for me.

After another hour-long drive, we picked up a couple of nice Cube hardtails for three hours and did the North loop of the Altura Trail (graded red / “difficult”, 9.5km) in 1-1.5 hours followed by the Quercus trail (blue / “moderate”, 7.5km) in less than an hour. I would have loved to have done the Altura South loop too but we didn’t have time, and I think Bertie – being less keen and confident than me (but probably equally skilled) – had had enough of expecting to die at any second. He was back in my good books as I loved it so much – long, fast, swooping sections of singletrack, tricky technical sections and berms to die for. That’ll be another post too, and I’ve sworn to return to the South loop.

That evening we walked to the Yewdale Inn at Coniston, ate pizza (which I highly recommend, generous amount of cheese) and drank cider while England lost to Belgium.

 

Friday 29 June

On Friday morning we packed up, got some barbecue food for lunch and took the kayak out on Coniston Water. Once again, the sun was blaring down and it was so peaceful; there was barely anyone else on the water. We stopped at Peel Island, which could have been straight out of a holiday brochure; leafy, rocky and surrounded by clear water. I swam around, not thinking of the Coniston pike I’d google imaged that morning.

We left and paddled back under a clear blue sky, surrounded by forests and mountains. It was surprisingly hard work against the breeze and we were starving. Eventually we got back to the beach, barbecued sausages and burgers, read for a while and went for a swim around the clear water. It was warm in the still shallows, but it was such a hot day that the cooler, deeper water was a relief. It shelved steeply and I came across a few small perch. The algae-covered stones were really slippery, and being naturally un-graceful I fell over and cut my leg. Dignity shattered, I dragged myself away from the water and packed up sadly.

The drive home was uneventful; we left about 5.30pm, had a meal deal at Preston and otherwise only stopped at Warwick Services, arriving home in Winchester just before 1am (thanks to loads of 50mph limits and a partially closed A34). We were up quite early on Saturday and spent the day enjoying our annual charity golf competition but already missing the North. We’d been blessed with mid-twenties to early-thirty degree heat the whole time, did loads of activities (the only disappointment was that I ran out of time for bouldering) and saw a lot of the Lake District under clear blue skies. I can’t wait to return.

 

 

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On Kayaking

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There’s something so liberating and solitary about kayaking on the open water, suspended between the earth and the sky and just existing. Keep still and you’ll feel simultaneously numb and hypersensitive; weightless and isolated, but acutely aware of sound, light and the feel of the air.

 

Perhaps my favourite thing about it is having the freedom to move without diversion.  On land our direction of movement is constantly influenced by paths, roads, walls, barriers and landforms, but on the water there are no waymarkers or boundaries beyond boats, buoys and the occasional rock. Without these predetermined “invisible arrows”, you have 360 degrees of glassy expanse to carve your way through before the water swallows up your trail. You could be the first and last person to ever take that exact route; echoing the eternal Fleetwood Mac, you go your own way. You’ll know what I mean if you try it.

 

Being in such a small vessel enables you to explore places you’d otherwise never see and discover creeks, beaches, woodland and countryside you didn’t know existed. At risk of sounding like the Youtube “Gap Yah” guy (I wonder what happened to him?), you’ll feel at one with nature as you immerse yourself in a new, bustling world of plant, bird and marine life.

 

Nature, enlightenment and self-discovery aside, paddling is great for core and upper body strength because it uses muscles that are often neglected, particularly in the shoulders and back. There’s something so satisfying about stretching out your arms and pulling yourself through the water, feeling your strength translate into each powerful stroke, and the burn in your muscles is one of those oddly “nice” aches. You also use your legs a surprising amount to stabilise, brace and manoeuvre the kayak.

 

Once you settle into a rhythm the repetitive motion is really therapeutic. This, combined with the healthy dose of fresh air and gentle lapping of the water, makes it both relaxing and invigorating. I particularly like messing around on tidal rivers as there’s something refreshing and restorative about the tang of salty air – it works wonders at blowing out cobwebs caused by one too many drinks the night before.

 

All that said, it’s a surprisingly versatile activity which doesn’t have to be all about flat water and balmy air. Getting out on a choppy sea or a fast-flowing river affords plenty of opportunities to try some whitewater action, which is understandably less relaxing but (depending on your outlook) more exhilarating.

 

I got out on the water last week for the first time in a while and it reminded me how much I love everything about it, so I thought I’d pay tribute to kayaking on my blog. If I convince one person to hire, buy or borrow a kayak I’ll be delighted and I’m sure they won’t regret it. And if anyone wants someone to go with, count me in.