You can also find out more about MMake this the summer that you return to the water. You’ll see fish swimming beneath you, bulrushes moving and kingfishers darting past. There are plenty of places that offer guided tours and hire kayaks or paddleboards, even if yours is in the garage. These can be taken on stunning rivers, canals, lakes and coastlines. Here are my five favourites. I spent two years researching for a book on the most beautiful places.
Highlands Whisky and Wildlife
The Old Forge Inn – often referred to as the most remote pub in mainland Britain – was well known for its live music sessions that would break out when the whisky started flowing. Locals and tourists were often inspired to remove the musical instruments from the walls, and start singing. It was the most beautiful party, made even more impressive by the fact that it took so much effort to get there. It’s in Inverie – the only village on the Knoydart, a mountainous, heathery hunk along the Scottish west coast, which juts out between three deep sea lakes, where white-tailed Eagles soar and seals play.
Now it’s here. The parties were dwindling under the new owners, but the community purchased it in 2022 and now the place is thriving. The pontoon can accommodate six boats or you can park on nearby beaches.
You can also find out more about the following: Knoydart Brewery, occupying a deconsecrated Roman Catholic chapel here, supplies the house ales, while a Knoydart venison burger (£18) from the local deer estate is a menu must, along with cullen skink (£11).
There is no road to Mallaig so people take the ferry and travel 15 miles. hike from Kinloch Hourn (a taxi ride from Fort William), or even kayak over – a strenuous and splashy seven miles. You can hire a boat when you reach the area. Love Knoydart Explore the edge of the pristine Loch, keeping an eye out for the sea otters.
One of the best places for accommodation is the Bunkhouse, which has dorms and camping with views to the Isle of Rum (dorm beds from £29pp).
Arisaig Sea Kayak Centre can tailor-make day and multi-day wild camping trips in the area from £130pp per day, minimum four people.
A beaver safari in Kent
Beavers, hunted by the 1600s for their pelts and nearly extinct in Britain, have been reestablished on certain British rivers. One of these is a stretch of River Stour near Canterbury. Ham Fen was a place where they were reintroduced to the wild in 2001. Kent Wildlife Reserve Site near Sandwich where they flourished and spread.
A sunset canoe safari down the waterway of chalk stream, ending at a riverside bar is the most magical way to see nature’s cutest carpenters. Canoe Wild (£37pp) runs an atmospheric trip, timed to pass the places the beavers visit most frequently at dusk, when they’re most active.
After a minibus ride to Fordwich village, you will be guided on a paddleback of less than five miles. Bootleg Lake was the setting for my September trip. A glorious pink sunset surrounded many beaver dens. We began to see slick mud chutes marked with paw prints. Then, in the near dark … two loud splashes, and a dark shape careering into the water. The guides whispered, “Definitely a Beaver.” When they hear predators approaching, they will smack their tails on the water.
The Milky Way was so bright that even a small splosh seemed exciting. We ended our trip in the fairylit beer garden at the ivy covered pub. Grove Ferry Inn. Nethergong campsite nearby has pitches from £42.50, as well as a sauna, yoga and bushcraft classes.
Hidden Brewery in Hampshire
This is a fantastically quirky paddle that involves a hidden, only accessible at high tide creek and a place you can order drinks to be delivered directly to your paddleboard.
This beer pilgrimage takes place on the baby River Hamble. It is 6.3 miles long and flows east from Southampton towards the Solent. Near the narrow upper end of the river, near Botley there are many creeks that run along the side, one leading to Botley Brewery. Hidden Tap bar.
If you own your own kit, park at Burridge recreation grounds on the east side and then take a footpath through the forest to reach the water. Or launch further upriver from YMCA Fairthorne (for a £5.50 fee), which rents paddleboards and kayaks and has a cafe and campsite (hire from £20, pitches for four people from £39).
The river is gentler and narrower as you move upstream toward Botley. It feels like a bayou from another world. Set off two hours before high water so the river is at its highest point at the upper and final navigable part of the river. Then, follow the stream into a tunnel to emerge at the bottom of the brewery wall. You shout your order and your beer is brought down into a wooden box for you to drink while floating.
Curbridge Creek is a short, narrow channel. Horse and Jockey pub’s waterside beer garden.
Severn lets off steam
Paddling back the way you’ve come can be a downer, not to mention hard work if it means going against the flow, so River Severn CanoesIt’s a brilliant solution. After a self-guided trip down the River Severn, you leave your boat in the Shropshire Town of Bridgnorth and take a steam train back on the Severn Valley Railway to Highley (£15). Routes of several lengths are available, including four hours to Arley (10½ miles).
Halfway through the walk, you can stop for a picnic on the beach in the village of Hampton Loade. You could also grab a cup of tea and a potato jacket at the local pub. Unicorn Inn (mains from £7). It has nine (quite basic) B&B rooms as well as a campsite (pitches for one tent sleeping 2-4 people from £20), if you want to make this your base.
The journey ends in Upper Arley (Worcestershire), home to another traditional pub with a 500-year history. The Harbour. Trains travel between Kidderminster, Bridgnorth and Bewdley. They stop at Arley, Hampton Loade and Bewdley. Those with their own kayak or SUP can take them on the train for a £5 fee.
Bridgnorth The Falcon Hotel (doubles from £140) has 14 rooms with whitewashed beams and exposed brick. River Severn Canoes offer multi-day river trips, including camping stops.
Cardigan is home to kingfishers, canoes and other watercraft.
Canoeing along the thickly forested tidal canyon of the River Teifi with Canadian canoes is an experience like no other. Kingfishers are busy catching salmon, sea trout, and otters while kingfishers dart around the water. Heritage Canoes (£45 adults/£32.50 children). The woodland base of the Welsh Wildlife Centre and Teifi Marshes nature reserve Cilgerran is two miles upriver, and a 13th-century castle can be found there. castle Towers over the river.
Glamping is a great way to relax and enjoy the outdoors. Fforest Farm (two nights’ B&B for two from £340), a 10-minute drive east of Cardigan, with a range of cabins and tents – the geodesic domes come with their own Japanese-style wooden bathhouse with a super-deep tub. The site has its own atmospheric pub, Y Bwthyn, in a barely converted barn only open to guests, where candles send their twitchy glow onto slate windowsills, cocktails are made with foraged botanicals and local ale comes fresh from the cask. Cilgerran has a couple of heartwarming pubs, including the Cardiff Arms (no website), with a coracle hung outside; or head to Cardigan’s waterside bar at Albion AberteifiThe hip Fforest apart-hotel or its opposite bank. PizzatipiIt has a festival-like feel.
Gemma Bowes’ Paddle and Pub Published by Bloomsbury (£19.99). You can order a copy of the book at guardianbookshop.com.. Visit for more details about paddling and safety tips. gopaddling.info
