Canoeing With Kids – at Tittesworth Watersports and Activity Centre

We’ve been wanting to get out on the water with the kids for a while. We’ve taken them on boats, but Freckled Face number 1 has been wanting to go kayaking or canoeing for a couple of years. Life just gets busy and it was not high on our priority list – but this summer we decided to take all of the kids canoeing. We are SO glad we did! We thought we would share a few tips with you.

We went to Tittesworth Reservoir, in Leek, and hired out 2 Canadian Canoes for and hour. We thought an hour would be plenty for the first time with all of them – but next time we will do longer.

All of our Freckled Faces were super excited – especially when they put the life jackets on! As we got to the water and got in the canoe nerves set in. The younger 2 clinched to the seat and didn’t move and the older 2 asked looked on edge. They went over (again) what they should do if they fell in/the canoe tipped. After 10 minutes of paddling it on the lake they were fine and loved it! We went for a leisurely paddle around various parts of the Reservoir, we had a few races against eachother and we even got the kids swapping canoes and trading places. Towards the end they were stood up paddling back in to shore! I felt like I was in Venice 😉  It was an experience we were are so glad we had and are looking forward to going again!

Tips for Canoeing with Young Children 

• Let them watch it first. Whether it be on TV/YouTube or real life – it’s easier for them to get an idea of what it’s all about if you talk about it while watching it.
• For the first time it is best to find a calm reservoir/lake.
• Explain what a life jacket is and what it does – but don’t scare them! 😆
• Teach them how to paddle. All 4 of ours had a go a paddling. The older ones were better but it helped with everyones confidence.
• You need to make sure you stay calm. Nothing major went wrong for us – the oars were dropped in the water a couple of times but noone was told off or freaked out. We just showed them how to get it back.

Here is a link to the place we went to – we paid £30 for 2 Canoes for an hour. The staff were great. We would suggest you phone and book first as it can get busy. They do all sorts of watersports! Tittesworth Water Sports and Activity Centre.

We had a picnic (they have a few picnic tables or there are a few spots around where you can put a blanket down) and went for a walk afterwards too. It’s a beautiful place!

Thanks for reading!