INTRODUCTION

My Active Health has started this year's paddling activities off by offering some NHS members of staff three introductory kayaking sessions. We met on Thursday evenings in May and spent 2 evenings on the water in Poole Harbour and the 3rd session we visited the Stour at Wimborne, journeying up River from Canford Bridge to Julian's Bridge returning with the river flow.
We had eight paddlers booked on to each session though not all of them made every time. We had a range of abilities from complete beginners to some who'd done a little bit of SUPing.
Whilst the seals in the harbour were a little shy we managed to spot some sea birds and a fish or two jumping out of the water. On the Stour we were accompanied by some Kingfishers, a couple of Herons said hello and we gently glided past a Swan family with 3 cygnets piggy backing between their parents wings.
The smiles in the photos say it all really but some of the comments were;
"lovely to do something for me"
"we felt safe and looked after"
"so peaceful and calming"
We hope we provided a break from the stress of work, allowing a bit of relaxation.
My Active Health is a not for profit side of Active Paddling, we now have our own resources so we can deliver more activities in 2023.