Kilvrough Trip Blog - Day 4

4th April 2019

THURSDAY: CANOEING

This morning we all barely woke up, dragging ourselves out of bed to smoking hot sausages with cereal. With full stomachs we listened carefully to our helpful instructors and collected all of our gear (which included: Life Jackets, Helmets and oars, as we knew it was going to raining) Once collected, we climbed onto the minibus and took off on a long drive to the canal.

Once we got there our instructors, Piers and Sam, told us how to put on and adjust our helmets and life jackets. Not long after we were shown how to take the Canadian canoes off the racks and safely onto the ground. After being shown how to get into the canoes we were on the water and learning how to paddle and steer the boats.

We all made a good start and headed off down the canal. Some of us had some encounters with some wild thorn bushes that inconveniently jumped out at us!! Then we had a break for lunch – again, yummy rolls, crisps and cake. Now we were re-energised and warmed up, we set off again.

This time, we paddled further, our confidence growing despite yet more rain and the odd clap of thunder! We stopped to look at the lock and how it worked before racing back (well, some of us) to our starting point. Once again, we had to dodge the overgrowing vegetation of the canal, including steering our boats under a fallen tree. Even though a couple of us capsized, we all made it back and were in good spirits, especially once in dry clothes!

Sadly, we are now packing to go home.

 

By Frankie and Qasim