Having calm seas and low winds and being able to get the kayaks out is my favourite part of summer!
July has been extremely kind to us so far and last weekend it was too perfect NOT to dust off the kayaks and head out onto the water under the beautiful sunshine. I joined Frankie and Niki on Saturday morning for a kayaking session down at Swanpool beach in Falmouth the make the most of the weather.
It was around 21 degrees, and pretty hot out in the sun, so being on the water was really the only place I wanted to be!
I still have my pair of Intex Challenger K1s that I bought off Amazon* about 5 years ago; they are still going strong and I can’t recommend them enough if like me, you’re a ‘hobby’ kayaker on flat seas and you don’t want to a) invest in an expensive fibre glass kayak, or b) your car is too small to tie two huge kayaks to the top! Yes, these guys are inflatable, and only take about 10 minutes to pump up and set up on the beach before you head out. I love them!
Plus they’re only £65* so you can’t really go wrong!
However you can also hire kayaks from the shop at Swanpool beach, who also offer SUP hire as well. Niki and Frankie took it in turns to use my spare inflatable kayak and the hired fibre glass one, and we all spent a lovely few hours lounging about on the ocean together.
The coast around Swanpool has tonnes of little caves to explore, and pebbled coves to stop off at along the way. There’s also a shipwreck somewhere between Swanpool and Maenporth beach, which you can spot at low tide, but we didn’t quite make it that far this time.
There is also a nudist beach hidden between Swanpool and Maenporth, which we ended up paddling past. There was a small cove next to it with no one on, so we decided to paddle up for a quite bite to eat and of course, some topless sunbathing! Feeling very much in the mermaid mood, I have to admit going topless by the water feels totally freeing and soothing.
We hopped back into the kayaks (tops on!) and went over to explore around the rocks.
Can you believe the colour of this water?
It was crystal clear and totally turquoise, and all three of us stayed here for ages just admiring the stunning view and taking plenty of pics. This would be a great spot for snorkelling, but sadly we were running out of time on the hired kayak to do this!
The breeze picked up on our way back to Swanpool beach, which made it a lot harder paddling back to shore than it had been heading out! We all pushed on through around the headland part of the coast, and made it back to the beach with aching arms and pretty tired, but feeling thoroughly satisfied at a well spent Saturday morning!
When was the last time you went kayaking?
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