Maidstone Canoe Club

Club Activities

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Regular Leisurely Paddles & Tours

Mostly on the River Medway but occasionally on other local waterways in general purpose or play boats. The regular Sunday paddle is from the clubhouse either upstream to East Farleigh lock (5 km) or downstream to Allington lock (3 km). Newcomers generally don't get that far if they have not paddled before, as it can be difficult to keep a general purpose kayak going in a straight line the first time you try!  However, novices will always be accompanied by experienced paddlers.   General paddling takes place on Sunday mornings and on Wednesday evenings throughout the year - please check the calendar

Marathon and Sprint Racing and Race Training

This is done in single racing kayaks (K1) or double racing kayaks (K2). Training takes place on the Medway local to the clubhouse on Sunday mornings and in the evenings on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Newcomers are welcome to join in and if you are new to paddling a K1 we have a range of more stable boats for you to start off in.  Club members regularly compete in the Hasler series of marathon races between local canoe clubs and aim to progress to the National finals, which the club has done for the last two years. The marathon paddlers also take part in sprint races at the National Water Sports Centre at Nottingham and the 125 mile annual race from Devises to Westminster (DW) in which Maidstone paddlers have had considerable success.  

White Water & Flat Water Tours

Although there are plenty of local rivers in the South East where we can find flat water there is not an abundance of white water in the Kent area, but we do have  some at weirs on the Medway and small rapids on the Mole and West Rother. For more testing water we have to travel to various rivers including the Barle, Dart, Exe, Tryweryn, Usk, Wye and to the artificial courses at the National Water Sports Centre at Nottingham, Northampton and the new Lee Valley course.  Rivers and their features are graded according to the difficulty starting at 1 (flat water), we mainly paddle on no more than grade 3 water which is not too demanding, but the more skilled test themselves on higher grade water. The basic skills can be learnt in a swimming pool and on slower moving water at local weirs, such as Yalding.

Sea Touring and Surfing

Several members of the club enjoy paddling on the sea in specialised sea kayaks that have watertight compartments large enough to carry enough food, clothing and camping equipment to stay out for a week or more. Our favourite destination is Scotland and in particular the Western Isles, in May, when the midges are less numerous. The weather conditions are often unpredictable so experience of sea paddling is highly recommended before these trips are undertaken, but there are sea kayaking symposiums available where training can be obtained. Other good sea paddling venues include the Dorset, Devon and Cornwall coasts and West Wales, Anglesey in particular. We also take our plastic river boats down to the coast for a bit of surfing.

Pool Sessions

A warm swimming pool is the best place to learn to capsize and roll a kayak!  The club runs regular monthly pool sessions - see the club calendar for the next one.

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