Trips

The Canoe Club operate trips throughout the year and all members are welcome to come along, private river and surf trips for more advanced paddlers are also run (usually very short notice and rain/surf dependant).

We have a wide range of equipment available to suit nearly everyone's needs! For trips we will provide a kayak, paddle and all the safety equipment you'll be needing, wetsuits are available for hire from the club.

Safety is provided by our more experienced paddlers who are trained in white water safety & rescue, if you turn out to have a natural talent for kayaking you could find yourself on the safety team by the time you leave uni!

For the first trip you probably won't have much gear - so anything windproof is good for your top, with some thermal clothes underneath, think fleecy. Then waterproof trousers or shorts for your bums.

For the winter trips you will be needing warm clothes to wear while off the water and it never hurts to have a warm drink. If you're considering taking a warm drink on the river with you make sure you do not use a glass thermos as it will break and ensure you have something to secure the flask inside your boat, we don't like littering our rivers!

Depending on the weather you will probably need a wetsuit or dry kayaking gear. Wetsuits are available for hire from the AU office, there are some old cags in the shed which can be used. If you decide you like kayaking your first purchase is probably a cag, this keeps the wind and water off and traps air inside to keep you warm... if you don't have a cag you can use a windproof lightweight jacket, anything that keeps the wind away is good.

Long hair needs to be tied up and you may not be able to wear glasses on some rivers.

Wetsuit gloves are not allowed as they are a safety risk. There are some types of gloves which can be worn, check with the safety team before using them to ensure that they are safe to use while kayaking.

We usually stop in a shop on the way to trips to get some food for after the river - but not always, and it's good if we don't have to stop.

The safety team and river leader will have all the safety and first aid equipment.

This is a camping trip to start the year off, you'll be needing a tent and/or a tent buddy!

For more information on our river trips, take a look at the Rivers section.

For more information about canoe polo, head over to the polo section.

We are very lucky to be situated on the coast and not only do we have excellent river paddling but we also have plenty of beaches all within half an hour of the University (some just over the road!), head to the surf section for more information.

Llandysul and CIWW are both just down the road, and we compete in BUCS slalom! Get in touch if you want to try it out.