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Canoeing in Wales

for more information on canoeing in Wales email fran@activitywales.com

Snowdonia By Boat - Actor, Richard Hope and his family travelled north, to Snowdonia, to experience their first ever glimpse of this dramatic mountain landscape. We sent them off to enjoy an alternative view of its most famous mountain.

Mention the word ‘Snowdonia’ and it may simply conjure images of big hills. You will certainly find some. Here, a jaw dropping, eye rolling landscape of slate and stone, sharp cleft valleys, some of the country’s major mountain ranges like the Glyderau and Carneddau and wide rolling moorland, sit moody and majestic all at once. But it doesn’t have to be all about conquering these big hills, especially when you can stay sitting down to explore them.

Award winning actor Richard Hope jumped on board to discover Snowdonia by Canadian canoe.

It doesn’t really sound quite right though. Explore one of the nation’s best known and most loved mountain areas by boat? But if your boots aren’t made for walking you may well find it time to hang them up because for all the highs of Snowdonia, or Eryri, meaning the ‘place of the eagles’, there are the lows. Here, in the valley bottoms you will find a network of lakes and rivers, estuaries and streams that give a new perspective on the park’s 840 square miles. You can let the boat take the strain and make the water do the work giving you the chance to relax and soak in some alternative Snowdonian scenery.

For Richard his journey was to start right slap bang in the middle of it all. Nestled in the foothills at Capel Curig in the heart of the national park you will find an attractive whitewashed building. To the unsuspecting eye it could simply pass for a pleasantly positioned hotel. Don’t be fooled. There is more going on behind these walls than you might imagine, much more. This former coaching inn, once serving the London to Holyhead road has evolved into a hive of activity to become the National Mountain Centre. Come nine o’clock each morning this place is alive with the buzz of activity.

A sea of Gortex and fleece spills out into the car park as keen walkers, climbers and canoeists head out for the day to enjoy this wonderful environment. Hard to imagine that Queen Victoria once frequented its rooms and stared out upon the same magnificent view of the Snowdon Horseshoe. Not a fleece in sight in those days.

Lapping at its own back door is the beautiful lake, Llynau Mymbyr, the perfect starting point for an introductory journey into this landscape. The view looking down is impressive and perhaps the best to be found of Snowdon’s lofty summit and easily one of the most photographed. Carved by weather and eroded by time here is a place laced with a history of magic, myth and legend. It is a top this famous summit the giant ogre, Rhita, who was killed by King Arthur, is supposedly buried. Nestling below its mighty stone flanks is the lake Lyn Llydaw, where Arthur met with the Lady of the Lake to claim his Excalibur sword. Tall tales perhaps, but being told them as you float gently through this towering landscape, the wind whipping waves on the water, creates a certain kind of atmosphere where stories are to be believed and legends loved.

For Richard, who works largely in London, where a hectic schedule of rehearsals and commuting from the Tenby family home are the norm, Snowdonia’s commanding empty spaces and relative peace and quiet were a welcome retreat. Joined by his wife, Louise and two children Sinead (11) and Jack (9) they headed to the mountain centre, Plas y Brenin (PYB), for their first visit to Snowdonia and their first floating history lesson.

Perhaps best known for his television roles in Casualty, MIT and Holby City, as well as a multitude of classics like the Forsyte Saga and Brideshead Revisted, Richard will be a familiar face to many. He also played the lead in the Oscar winning film ‘See You At Wembley Frankie Walsh’. His life is a busy one. Enjoying family time is clearly important, but not always that easy. Richard explained: "For us with two young children it is hard to find expert tuition and activities where we feel they are safe and looked after. I can’t relax and enjoy it for myself when I’m worrying about them."

A broad smile and a wink of the eye and our trainee paddlers were welcomed onto their ‘Seeing Snowdonia By canoe’ course by top paddling coach, Leo Hoare. As one of the highest qualified instructors in the country Leo is not without his fair share of experience and made it clear he planned to have some fun with his trainees. "Don’t worry if you have never been in a boat before. Not a problem. They are easy to use, simple to paddle and dead safe. You are only going to get wet if you want to." Dangerous words when you have a nine year old and an eleven year old on board.

Before getting afloat Leo took his merry band of paddlers to get them kitted up from the PYB stores, the equivalent of a fully stocked outdoor larder of almost every bit of gear and kit you could imagine. Here they gathered wetsuits, cags, buoyancy aids, helmets and paddles. The kids delighted in having their own equipment, Richard, who at well over six foot, looked visibly relived not to have to squeeze and squelch his way into an ill fitting bit of neoprene. From the changing rooms they emerged dressed for action, paddles clamped close to their chests and ready to do battle.

" I’ve been in a kayak before, only our paddle had two blade bits", Jack enthusiastically chirped to Leo whilst staring a little bemused at his one bladed paddle. Confession time called for Richard who shared with us his last experiences of canoes. "I was in Scouts. Great fun but a long time ago, a very long time ago." Almost in a whisper he shared another secret: "We actually chose canoeing as Jack was quite keen to see what it was like. He’d seen it as a bit of a red Indian adventure." From the way Richard was eyeing up his canoe and brandishing his paddle he looked like he was also pretty keen to have a go to. Clearly this was a boy’s own adventure for all the family.

Next job up was to make sure the boats would be buoyant. This meant taking two biggish, rubbery air bags blowing them up and fitting them to the stern (back) and bow (front of the boat). Leo obligingly provided an air pump to make light work of the job. Jack, a very resourceful nine year old however managed to find enough of his own air to blow them up. Not bad going considering that when fully inflated the bags looked to be almost the same size as him.

Literally at the bottom of the garden at PYB you will find a mini lake, their own natural training pool, complete with a whitewater rapid. A wooden bridge spans the waters making an ideal viewing platform for activities below and for this particular Mum to capture it all on camera. Fed by the waters of Llyn Mymbr the water in the training pool flows on to become the river Llugwy. A peaceful, tranquil and sheltered spot shared with herons and tree creeper, this was to be the launch area and stage one of their journey through Snowdonia.

The group was deftly arranged in pairs by Leo. Sinead and her Dad were in one boat and Jack, whose request for the blue canoe was answered, joined assistant instructor Carl. Leo led the way going solo. Once on the water it was time to learn some of the basic skills that would allow them to journey further and travel the length of Llyn Mymbr. So first things first, forwards paddling, steering and stopping. Simple instructions were given, demonstrations and explanations offered and progress was made. For the kids just being out in the open, splashing around and having a good time seemed enough. Clearly for Richard a brush with an open boat was reviving some scouting skills. Hard to imagine this giant of a man as a small grubby knee’d boy, but Richard later enthused: "I hadn’t done that since I was a kid and really it was a lot of fun. It was a long time ago but I could still remember some of the strokes."

Spending an hour or so in the pool the team had progressed and soon was ready to head further afield. The shady forests and heather clad slopes of Llyn Mymbr’s shoreline were calling. Paddling into the wind and towards the wonderful horseshoe view Carl lightened the load with a story of a monster that was supposed to live in the surrounding mountains. To a wide eyed Jack and more disbelieving, but nonetheless intrigued older sister Carl explained, as they paddled, the monster had eaten people travelling to buy goods from nearby Betwys-y- Coed. Understandably the local folk were none too pleased. And as the story goes they killed the monster, firing an arrow into its eye. From the injured eye flowed the waters that made Llyn Llydaw. Clearly there is a lot more than meets the eye to Snowdonia. A journey here need not simply be all about big hills.

For our selection of exciting holidays and breaks that include these activities call 01437 766888 or email fran@activitywales.com