Where and When
Please arrive at High Rid reservoir promptly or shortly before the designated start time which you should have on your sign-up email. (Please allow time for parking and walking up the lane). We will start with a welcome briefing which is an important and compulsory aspect for the session so we ask that you please arrive on-time for this. If you are early then you are welcome to wait in the classroom (if available) or bankside but please wait away from the water and slipway area where we will be setting up. If you are super early then feel free to get 2000 steps in by walking the 1 mile route around the reservoir which takes about 20 minutes 🙂 .
The reservoir is on High Rid Lane, which is a continuation of Fall Birch Road off Chorley New Road; the nearest postcode is BL6 4LD but that won’t get you all the way to the gate which is on the left a few hundred yards up the rough track. We would advise approaching from Chorley New road due to the poorer road conditions when approaching from Old Kiln Lane.
What3Words location: https://w3w.co/deploying.limit.lost
On-site parking is limited and so is only available for coaches who have their own Kayaks and Canoes and for people with accessibility requirements which should be pre-arranged; please therefore park on the road/lane, being careful not to cause an obstruction.
Typical Agenda :
– Prompt start in the classroom for an intro and safety briefing
– Get Kitted Up
– Warm up
– Split into 3 groups
– Briefing of Craft 1 & On the water with the instructor(s) for that craft.
– Quick snack/drink, Briefing of Craft 2 & On the water with the instructor(s) for that craft.
– Quick snack/drink, Briefing of Craft 3 & On the water with the instructor(s) for that craft.
– De-kit and Debrief.
What to bring:
Feel free to bring your own soft kit (wetsuit etc) if you have it however we have wetsuits, buoyancy aids and wind/spray-proof jackets (cag) available to borrow.
For the introduction session, we will provide boats and paddles. We ask that on this occasion that you don’t bring your own craft (if you have one) unless this has been pre-arranged due to special requirements. For the introduction day, we typically use open canoes, Stand up paddleboards and Sit-in or sit-on kayaks.
You will need to wear something under the wetsuit, usually a swimming costume, possibly with a rash vest, thermal top or t-shirt depending on conditions.
A thin fleece for over the wetsuit / under the cag may be useful, High Rid can be very exposed to the wind and can often feel colder than you might expect. You must also wear suitable footwear. Aqua shoes or Trainers that you are happy to get wet will be fine (not boots, crocs, sandals). During sunny/warmer days, sun cream and sunhat is also advised.
We’re not planning to get you wet but as this is a water sport so you should assume that it might happen, only wear stuff that can get soaked and bring a full change of clothes and a towel.
We do have changing facilities and toilets available, but they are basic and we do not have drinking water on-site.
Drink/Snack – You will be spending about an hour to an hour and a half paddling in total with short breaks between sessions, it’s always good to stay hydrated. Please bring hand sanitiser to use after sessions and before eating any food.
We advise that you shower when you return home particularly if you’ve been in the water as all UK water courses are susceptible to contaminants, we would also advise that you try your best to not ingest water should you fall in.
Additional Information
You will be assigned to one of three groups on the day, if it is important to you that you are in the same group as somebody you know who is also attending then please let us know by email (admin@boltoncanoeclub.org.uk) as groups are assigned the day before.
As kitting up and changing crafts can take a variable amount of time depending on the groups and we don’t like to shorten the fun time on the water, the finish time is an estimate but could vary slightly, this is usually only by 10-15 minutes and if this happens, it is usually after the end time.
Junior participants (up to and including age 17) must be accompanied by a responsible adult who can also be a participant but must remain on site for the whole session, Juniors (participating or not) must be supervised by a responsible adult whilst off the water.
You are not required to try all three craft, you can sit out of a craft session however they are all fun and we would encourage you to try them all if you are able to. We do however expect that you try at least one craft. If you do wish to sit out of a craft then that’s absolutely fine, but please can you let your instructor know at the start of the individual craft session. If you have any illness or condition which may affect your ability to participate safely before or during the session then you must let your instructor or our club welfare officer know.
The club does not take responsibility for any personal items at any time. Where these need to be taken onto the water (e.g. glasses), these should be safely secured, e.g. with an appropriate floating strap. If a club representative does help by looking after something for you then whilst they will do their best, no responsibility is accepted by the club or as an individual for any damage or loss. We will have people bankside and changing rooms may be locked during the on-water part.
Anyone who approaches the water or goes on the slipway will need to wear a buoyancy aid, including non-paddlers. We expect all paddlers to be confident in the water and able to swim 50m in light clothing, there is no set style or time limit but you must make reasonable progress to get from A to B. New members will be required to demonstrate this, although you won’t be asked to do this on the introduction day.
Weather conditions and water quality can affect our ability to run sessions, please keep an eye on your emails or our Event Page in the event that we may need to cancel or postpone at late notice.
Nobody in the club (committee and coaches) are paid to be here, all generously offer their time for free. The cost of intro days, membership and session fees pays towards the upkeep of the clubs resources, insurance and other necessary operational outgoings. This gives great value and we will keep our fees as low as we can to ensure as many people as possible can enjoy this sport, we prefer this to having fancy changing rooms and hope you can appreciate this approach 🙂
As a polite request, please can you ensure that when you are booked on, this is circled on your calendar or otherwise not forgotten and could you give as much notice as possible should you no longer be able to attend as we usually have a lot of other people waiting on spaces to join our club. Thankyou.
Please do not leave the site until the debrief is completed. If you do however need to leave early for any reason then please let a coach know.
Now that’s the boring but important stuff out of the way….we’re very much looking forward to meeting you, and hope that you will enjoy the session. If you have any questions then please see our FAQ’s or contact us.
Checklist:
Swimming Costume / Swim Shorts
Rash Vest, thermal top or T-Shirt that can get wet
Thin Fleece (if cold) that can get wet
Footwear such as Trainers (not Crocs or Sandals) that can get wet
Change of Clothes
Towel
Sun cream, Sunhat/cap, sunglasses based on weather
Floating Strap for Glasses
Hand Sanitiser
Water and Snacks for between sessions.
A folding camping chair if sitting between sessions or during briefings is important.