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Category: Wild swimming

Sea pools are terrifying

May 15, 2025

As part of my quest to not be scared of being in the water rather than on it, I had a go at getting into sea swimming a couple of years ago. I will never love sea swimming – I don’t love chlorine in my nose or other people swimming at the wrong speed in … More Sea pools are terrifying

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Learning to like the sea

August 8, 2024

I know wild swimming/cold water swimming/sea swimming/whatever your preferred term might be has become the outdoor activity du jour. Women up and down the country, and indeed all over the world, are taking off their dryrobes and taking to the sea, or the river or the lake or whatever bit of untamed water they have … More Learning to like the sea

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    #girlguidingpaddles paddle holidays

    • Essays & Ramblings
      • Girlguiding
      • Kit
    • My Paddling Story
      • Training
    • Other water
      • Other watersports
      • Pool swimming
      • Wild swimming
    • Paddling
      • Canoeing
      • Kayaking
      • SUP
    I’ve only managed three or four selfies out on the water at the boathouse this summer - of the nine sessions I got to, one was at the pool, two were shore nights and we swapped two lots of kayaking for rafting, which only leaves four kayaking evenings and you do have to squeeze selfies around actually being a helper. But I want the occasional bit of photographic evidence I’ve been out on the water with Girlguiding, giving girls adventurous opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise have! #shepaddles #girlguidingpaddles #kayaking #haveadventures Please, picture me in the reeds… taking shelter for a few minutes from an appallingly hot sun! #shepaddles #gopaddling #canoeing It’s the end of term and end of the boat club season for this year, so we presented the girls with their badges - our very own boathouse badge and the Guides Water adventure badge. They used to earn the Outdoor Pursuits interest badge, discontinued around 2018 but we’ve finally run out of stock of those, so if anyone has any ideas for replacements, let me know. #shepaddles #girlguidingpaddles #guidebadges Old Harry dead ahead! Taking it slowly and gently and lazily along the coastline and out to my ultimate destination, landing on Old Harry Rocks. #shepaddles #gopaddling #seakayaking #studland Get it from the right angle and Studland can almost look quite tropical. #shepaddles #gopaddling #kayaking Made it all the way to the road bridge in record time! #shepaddles #canoeing Last boat club selfie of the season #shepaddles #girlguidingpaddles #kayaking For the last boat club session of the year, we took the girls on a mini expedition. It was supposed to be through the marina and round the outside but it was a bit windy and the sea was a bit rough outside the shelter of the sea wall so we retraced our steps. #shepaddles #girlguidingpaddles #kayaking After three seasons, I finally have a boat that’s “mine”. Some of the other instructors have marked one of our four identical Jives as theirs but I just grab whichever is closest that’s unmarked. Now I have one with the footrests set up for me with my name written across it that everyone knows is mine! It’s a bit wonky but not bad considering I was sitting in the kayak when I wrote it - upside down. #shepaddles #kayaking #girlguidingpaddles
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