I wasn't firing on all cylinders, but decided that I was well enough to help lead a group on a 'paddlesport weekend' on Anglesey. Friday night involved a night walk through the arches of Menai Bridge, to see where we'd be canoeing the next day.
It was a murky start from the slipway, but the tide and wind allowed us to paddle through Menai Bridge and down to Britannia, with some rafted canoes all loaded up with camp food and provisions.
We moored up on the 'secret' island and set about making camp for the day. It was tough work getting a fire going in the clearing of the wet woods, but perseverance paid off and we were able to brew teas, cook sausages on sticks and even flame grill some burgers. To return on the tide and get back to the mainland before dark involved a hurried pack up as time had flown by. The journey back through the Swellies was an exciting one, with big rapids and whirlpools to negotiate. We had a big seal pop up and say hi on the journey out, but we were moving way too fast on the return leg for seals. A huge flock of Oyster Catchers and Canadian Geese did a great low flyby though.
On Sunday, we swapped canoes for Paddleboards as it was a perfect morning for it. The lake was quiet, calm and as smooth as glass.
We soon made some ripples and paddled up to the end, via a hot drink at Pete's Eats in the village. I'm still honing my skills on this new craft, so it was good that conditions were easy! They are great fun to use and we all enjoyed mucking about at the end - it was a real hoot to jump onto other boards and try to evict the owner without taking a very cold dunk!
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