Category: Paddler
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Paddle London: Seen from the Water – Gasholders
Beloved Victorian engineering or eyesore? I’ve always had a soft spot for gasholders and researching Paddle London has given me front-row views of some of the best ones from the water. In the latest “London, Seen from the Water” post, I paddle past the restored frames at King’s Cross and Bethnal Green on Regent’s Canal…
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Paddle London: Seen from the Water – Street Art
Vandalism, activism or art? Researching Paddle London has turned me into a bit of a street art spotter. Along London’s waterways, there’s the political, the playful, the beautiful and the downright odd. I’ve rounded up 10 pieces and places that stayed with me, from Camden to Hackney Wick and beyond.
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What my book Paddle London is all about
I wrote a book! After two years of researching, paddling, planning, photographing, mapping and working with Bloomsbury, Paddle London, my guide to 40 paddleboarding routes in and around Greater London, is now available to pre-order (https://amzn.eu/d/3BUBviV). It’s full of the practical details paddlers actually need: launch points, portages, distances, public transport, car parks, licences, safety,…
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Santa SUP Season: Festive paddles in 2025
Santa SUPs are brightening winter waterways across the country. Costumes, music and charity spirit make these events wonderfully social. And if you fancy joining in, there’s a handy list of 2025 festive SUP events included.
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SUP Tips: Who pulled the plug at Richmond?
The Richmond draw-off is when the PLA lifts the sluice gates and lowers the Thames between Richmond and Teddington to its natural tidal level for annual maintenance. Water levels drop – here’s why it happens, what changes on the river and what paddlers need to know.
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SUP Tips: Tides, Weir & Flow at Richmond, Thames
Ready for a Richmond Thames paddle? Know the tides, river flow and how the Richmond lock and weir impact paddling.
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SUP Stories: Duncan “Flussmensch”(Germany)
Like many in the SUP world, Duncan and I are Instagram acquaintances. We’ve followed each other for a while and share a passion for SUP. Plus, apparently, 168 mutual accounts. When I relaunched this blog, Duncan messaged to tell me about a little paddle he had done on the Rhine. It turned out to be…
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SUP Stories: Sophy (London)
Has anyone ever talked you into a charity challenge? A 10K run, a Tough Mudder, maybe even a marathon? That’s how Sophy found herself paddling 26 miles down the Thames in 2013, despite never having stepped on a paddleboard before. With just a few practice sessions under their belts, she and a friend participated in…
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SUP Stories: Tilda (London)
What do you get when you combine lower back pain, Bill Bailey and a love for travel? For Tilda, that’s how she discovered paddleboarding. An Unexpected Beginning Tilda didn’t set out to fall for SUP. She was just trying to fix her bad back and avoid the gym. A TV clip of Bill Bailey paddleboarding…
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SUP Stories: Daisy (North Yorkshire)
Great things happen when you step outside your comfort zone, especially in good company. Daisy first tried SUP six years ago, treating a friend to a birthday lesson close to home in North Yorkshire. They both loved it, but life and the pandemic put things on pause. It wasn’t until September 2020, after a refresher…
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SUP Stories: Louise (London)
If you’ve ever paddled on the Thames in southwest London, chances are you’ve seen Louise out on the water. Always smiling, always quietly outpacing the rest of us. She’s been paddling for over a decade and was one of the first to take the ASI instructor course with Steve West in Brentford back in 2012.…
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SUP Stories: Anu (London)
A New Series: Real Paddlers, Real Routes I’m starting a new blog series celebrating people who’ve made SUP part of their lives. Not pros. Not influencers. Just real paddlers, finding joy on the water. Each post will share why they paddle and their favourite route, one they’d recommend to two others, who I’ll then interview…
My SUP Stories 