3 lakes endurance training in full swing

Breaking from tradition a little, we have been organising endurance paddles over the last few months, where the focus is on covering some distance rather than necessarily perfecting skills (though paddling technique has been under scrutiny!).

These peer paddles have been mainly local 'round trips' paddling up and down various sections of the River Avon as opposed to travelling to different sites and rivers further afield.

Why? Well, it all began back in late 2024 when I came across a posting on the Paddle Uk website about their Three Lakes Challenge.  The aim was to paddle the three longest lakes in the UK, namely Bala in Wales, Windermere in England and Loch Awe in Scotland.  I put it out as a suggestion on our club members' FB page not really expecting much interest but  ... 

On 6 April 2025 - a cold, crisp sunny morning - fourteen of us completed the 7 mile Lake Bala in a mixture of five open canoes, four touring kayaks and one sea kayak with very little wind initially - near perfect paddling conditions.  The scenery was stunning and it was warm enough for us to have a lunch break on a beach at the halfway point. 

Then on 12 July 2025, on a scorchingly hot summer day, six of us travelled up north and paddled the 11 mile length of Windermere from Fell Foot to Ambleside, this time with one open canoe, three touring kayaks and one sea kayak. It really was insanely hot but we sought shelter on an island near Bowness-on-Windermere for a welcome lunch break and cooling off!

So, with two of the three lakes done, our times  (two hours five minutes and three hours seven minutes respectively) recorded on the PUK leader board and certificates issued, only one remains ... Loch Awe in west Scotland!

At 25 miles in length, Loch Awe is the hardest challenge of the three, partly because of the distance, partly because of changeable weather along the length of the loch etc ... hence the endurance paddles!  The date is set for 27 May 2026 for this adventure with the goal to complete it in one day.  So far, a group of eight have signed up for this adventure  ... all of whom will be in touring kayaks!! 

Thanks to everyone who has shown an interest in this event (I believe six people have bought touring kayaks since I put the idea of the Three Lakes Challenge out which is amazing!).

Watch this space for our completion time on the day!!