loving life in my 50s

I have daydreamed about having a kayak since I was a child – to know the joy of meandering along waterways making all kinds of discoveries – and finally I have one. I am loving life in my 50s!

Why did I wait so long, you may wonder? I have had good reasons not to buy one in the past: not living close enough to places to kayak; or if I did, there were bull sharks known in those rivers (no thank you!). And when I seriously looked at buying one, the ridiculous weight of those I tried, made it a real battle to hoist them up onto the car’s roof racks (my poor back!).

Inspiration strikes

On a rare and balmy English evening recently, we took a lovely walk along the canal towpath near our home and noticed a couple paddling along, their laughter bouncing across the water. I did a double-take; was that an inflatable kayak? Yes it was, and it was moving along at a good pace, looking sturdy and seaworthy.

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This could change everything! We did some research, talked about pros and cons, and within days our new inflatable kayak (Challenger K2) arrived! We did a practice set-up yesterday, relieved it only took 10 minutes to inflate everything, including the seats and little buoyancy bag. The weather was perfect and it didn’t take much effort to pack it into the car and drive to the lovely village of Kintbury in Berkshire, where we could apparently launch it onto the Kennet and Avon Canal.

Time to launch

I had looked at some YouTube videos on how to safely get into a solid kayak from the shore, but at this launch site, the edge of the canal had wooden sides (splinters!), a 40cm drop down to the water and our kayak was inflatable plastic. I hadn’t seen any videos about that …

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Luckily all the decisions we made actually worked, as the canal was deep and murky and we really had not wanted to fall in. The plastic floor held our weight as we individually stepped onto it and quickly sat down on the comfortable blow up seats, we could reach our paddles and water bottles, and slowly we edged away from the dock.

I just wanted to wait to make sure you didn’t sink or need any help

“Not bad”, I thought, before noticing a woman smiling at us. “I just wanted to wait to make sure you didn’t sink or need any help,” she said kindly. Maybe we did not look as professional as I had hoped? We laughed and talked with her as we paddled and she walked along the towpath. While we gradually settled into our paddle, we managed to keep up with her stroll for a few hundred metres then we got the hang of it and with a wave, we were off.

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Making it happen

It felt amazing to be in the middle of the canal, paddling along in an inflatable kayak, doing what we had talked about for ages; making it happen. Colourful canal boats lined the bank on one side, some with people sitting at the back with glasses of wine or working on their boats, and always happy to call out for a quick chat with us. People walking on the towpath also smiled and waved.

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Tall reeds and berry bushes lined the other side for a stretch of water. I was about to comment that it would be great to come back when the berries were ripe and pick some for pies – but then I remembered about the only downside to having an inflatable plastic kayak – the big sharp thorns on those bushes would quickly have us sinking into the water!

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A totally new perspective

Enjoying the landscape from a kayak offers a totally new perspective and I notice so many things, especially as we can stop paddling and take in the scenery. When I’m walking, I have to constantly watch where I’m going as I have a tendency to be so engrossed in what’s around me that I have tripped and fallen over tree roots and even down a rabbit hole.

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In a kayak, we’re low down to the water and can get fairly close to families of ducks and the white swans, we can see into some gardens and boats (I can’t help myself!), the crops look high, and there are so many different trees lining the canal with a variety of birds flitting in and out of them. Come autumn, this paddle is going to be even more spectacular!

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In the moment

The bright blue sky, warm sunshine, birdsong and gentle movement across the water gave me such a sense of peace and tranquillity. It’s easy to be ‘in the moment’ and to let any worries dissipate when I’m doing this.

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By the time we returned to the dockside, I was so relaxed and getting out of the kayak went well for us both. Picnickers nearby watched with interest and if I’m honest, I think they had expected some fun as we got out. I was not sad about disappointing them – not that I would have let that stop me from our lovely experience!

Packing everything back into the car was easy. We toyed with the idea of going into the nearby pub for an early dinner and although we were both very keen, I realised my leggings were soaking wet. I had not heeded the advice of the experts – so there were no clean, warm clothes to change into.

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We may have spent a large part of the lockdown on a bit of a health kick – but after burning thousands and thousands of calories paddling (I may be exaggerating!), there was nothing left but to head to our local Chinese restaurant for a long awaited takeaway …

I am so happy that I didn’t give up on my kayak dream

I am so happy that I didn’t give up on my kayak dream – and that I am still so lucky to be loving life in my 50s! Here’s looking forward to our next kayaking adventure!

For more information, visit the British Canoeing website here (where you can also get your Waterways Licence)

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