Last August, I went on a 1 day SUP adventure with Gutsy Girls in Bath. This was ran by Wild Swim Bike and a Gutsy Girl Host.
I fancied a change of scenery and with Bath only a 2 hour drive from me, it made for a perfect day trip.
We all met at The Angelfish Cafe, for introductions, safety briefing and the plan for the day. The cafe is located in the Brassknocker Basin, Bath on the only remaining section of the Somerset Coal Canal. We paddled on the Somerset Coal Canal for around 500m before joining the Kennet and Avon Canal. We then paddled on the Kennet and Avon Canal, passing over 2 aqueducts, Dundas and Avoncliff, the views were pretty special!
We paddled around 5km to Cross Guns Avoncliff, Bradford-on-Avon, we then portaged out of the canal, over to the river. Before setting off down the Avon River, we had coffee and cake at the 16th Century pub.
We then paddled downstream on the Avon River, with the river flow gently behind us. This was such a fun paddle, meandering through the peaceful Cotswolds countryside even spotting a couple of Kingfishers on route. Rafting our boards together we had a floating picnic, gently drifting downstream.
We portaged over a weir, made our way through reed beds and had several races/games along the way. We paddled another 5km passing under the Dundas Aquaduct, the one we paddle over on the canal that morning. This marked our end point, as we made our way back to the Angelfish Cafe.
It was such a fun day out, great weather, company and an amazing way to explore somewhere new.
I hope to get out paddling more this summer too, just like last year. What day trips have you got planned this summer?
Ness x
Ness' bit of everything 