Exams are over yippee! So what does the self respecting/abusing paddler do with the free weekend they have before the new term starts? Go to the lakes with the canoe club! Advantages include sheep, air so clean its like scrubbing out your lungs with a bristle brush and um…..the chance to spoon with the entire club!! (see photo gallery)
The “love bus” left the chapel on Friday, when some poor slaving students had just finished their last exam, and made its way to Spark Bridge in Ulverston, Cumbria. There were about sixty of us all sleeping in one scout bunkhouse so things were quite cozy, more for some than others, ;o)
The weekend centres around a very cozy pub, more than happy to accommodate us. Previous years have seen an amicable relationship between the pub owner and one of our female members resulting in extended hospitality for the whole club, the kissing of every OAP in the place following a game of “21”, and a poor stuffed fox also falling victim to amorous paddler lips.
Saturday morning. The hardcore paddlers, lead by Laurent, supposedly left with minimum “faff” to do the Kent, Lune and Leaven, I was asleep, but I believe them because they were all wet when they got back. Traditionally the soft core paddlers go for a country walk, which is really refreshing and a good chance to get to know people who have joined late in the year.
After lunch, cheese sandwiches and world famous brownies kindly made by mummy Bina, I paddled the Crake. Less experienced paddlers are always put into groups with grade-6-fuck-yeah-could-do-it-with-my-eyes-shut-strap-on* paddlers, and I was feeling strangely calm under the guidance of Adam and Kev.
There were a series of gentle drops, some paddling though really nice wooded areas, and between scenic cliffs (one good thing about paddling is the way you see things from a new perspective, a bit like a hobbit in a boat or a duck). The final drop was big by my softie standards, but I followed the line of the person in front of me without any problems, so it was exciting rather than scary.
Best of all, the “get out” was right by our hut, so I could relax in the knowledge that I would soon be back in the pub, playing darts, and drinking old man ale, and later on, trying to avoid naked whipping. The lakes has rivers for all levels of paddlers, a shower so you can wash your hair, and is sort of like being on a brownie camp, except everyone is a grown up and they don’t have to listen to brown owl….…anyway …the lakes weekend, you cant beat it!!
*Paddling language is something mysterious, that develops and ferments over time. You could write a phd on its origins, probably, and people in the future on geekarama challenge will be answering questions on how the term “strap on” first came into usage when the renowned paddler monsieur Laurent unwitting told his fellow paddlers to “put a strap on” before a rapid. So don’t worry if it seems just a little bit confusing.
By Jennifer Coles
