Water sports – Berkeley Square Barbarian

Kayaking from Battersea to Greenwich with the London Kayak Company

October 20, 2024 2 Comments

Ellie and I moved to London roughly 20 years ago, and for 20 years we’ve been seeing the yellow kayaks of the London Kayak Company on the river Thames. Every time we saw them, we said to each other, that we must book a tour with them. But for one reason or another, we never got up to any paddling. Until yesterday late afternoon. THE LONDON KAYAK COMPANY WAS FOUNDED ALMOST 30 YEARS AGO Harry, the founder, owner, and lead guide, runs most tours himself. Since 1996. For almost 30 years. He has one other guide, occasionally joining him or running tours on his behalf. All pics, incl. feature photo, (c) London Kayak Company, kindly taken by Harry on the day. HOW TO BOOK WITH THE LONDON KAYAK COMPANY We purchased our two tickets for the regular three-hour Thames tour on the London Kayak Company’s website two weeks […]

Fun, London, Water sports

Best Long Distance Open Water Swimming Events in and near London

March 1, 2023 6 Comments

Truth be told, I’m not a great swimmer. Don’t get me wrong, you could probably drop me a few miles off the sea shore on a stormy day, and I’ll find my way back without overly exhausting myself. I like to think that I’m a strong swimmer. The thing is, it will take me a very long time to swim back. I’m just so slow. TAKING PART IN LONG DISTANCE OPEN WATER SWIM EVENTS While I’m working on improving my technique and becoming faster, for the time being, the problem still persists. So I should mention upfront that I’ve not completed a lot of long-distance open water swimming events so far. Over the years, I did take part in quite a few. RESEARCHING FOR THIS ARTICLE At those events, at my swimming club, and elsewhere, I also spoke with a lot of long-distance open water swimmers and asked them about […]

Fun, Water sports

Paddleboarding the Severn Source to Sea – PART I

September 18, 2022 4 Comments

Can’t believe I’m actually paddleboarding the Severn source to sea. Only one and a half years ago, my buddy Markmeister got me into stand-up paddleboarding. I was incredibly bad at it. I fell into the water during the two-hour introductory course, I had booked. Something, which, the instructor assured me, only happens very rarely. Then, when Mark and I met at the sea in Brighton, to practice, I wasn’t able to stand up at all. Not a single time. Every time I tried, I fell into the water. Non-stop. For three hours. EVERYONE NEEDS SOMEONE WHO BELIEVES IN YOU Mark kept his faith in me, and a week later we set off to do the first part of our Thames source to London adventure. I was probably even more surprised than Mark, when I didn’t fall into the water a single time. Not on the first four-day part, and […]

Fun, Water sports

Ocean Rowing Taster Course – Blisters and Bliss

August 25, 2022 2 Comments

I recently did an ocean rowing taster course. But first things first. About a year ago, I heard of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge for the first time. I was immediately drawn in. THE OCEAN ROWING TASTER COURSE AND THE TALISKER CHALLENGE Every year in December, some crazies take off from La Gomera in the Canary Islands, then row their tiny little rowing boats all the way across the Atlantic to Antigua in the Caribbean, a distance of almost 5,000km. The event is called The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Rowing Challenge. It was founded in 1997 by Sir Chay Blyth. THE “EASY” WAY AND THE HARD WAY If you would just sit on your bottom in your rowing boat, sleep, eat, and occasionally tweet, you’d make the trip in about four and a half months. Even if you haven’t completed an ocean rowing taster course. This is due to the […]

England, Fun, Water sports

Paddleboarding with Somerset Adventures in Creech St Michael

January 12, 2022 4 Comments

During a recent trip, Somerset Adventures very kindly invited me to go paddleboarding in Somerset with them. As usual, whenever Ms B and I go on a trip these days, the weather forecast was horrific. Then the forecast was gradually amended when it came closer to the day. It turned even more abominable. YOU CAN’T CHOOSE THE WEATHER WHEN PADDLEBOARDING IN SOMERSET Obviously this is not Somerset Adventures’ fault. To the contrary, I very much appreciated them acting responsibly and not taking any risks. That said, the weather forced us to reschedule the trip twice. Initially I had been looking to do some paddleboarding in Somerset in the sea along the cliffs. Then we had set our minds on a canyon-like fast-flowing river inland with some of the county’s best beauty spots. LET IT RAIN During the day when my paddleboarding in Somerset experience was scheduled, one month’s […]

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