Disabled and Blind Open Canoeing with Bushcraft Lunch – Windermere

Journey down Windermere by canoe before lighting a fire and cooking your own
three course meal on a secluded beach.
The Day
Meet at our excellent active base, that’s fully accessible including the toilets and
showers (run by the National Trust), and get everyone kitted up with personal gear.
You then go down to the boats which are adjusted to suit everyones needs.
After a quick paddle briefing, boarding everyone and sliding in to the water it’s time
to wave goodbye to the shore and set off for the open lake.
Chris or Vicky will instruct from the motorised safety boat as the group journeys down
the lake.
On arriving at the bushcraft site we will unpack, reunite people with their mobility
aids and light our fires from a flint rod.
Then it’s onto cooking; Carrot and Coriander soup, Pizza for main and Apple Crumble
for desert is our typical lunch out all cooked over open fire.
Most find that time has run away by this point and choose to ride back in the
powerboat on the way home, but if there is time, some people paddle part or even
all the way back.
Open canoes can be boarded on the land and only when everyone is comfy and secure
will they be launched onto the water on a low friction mat. Once on the water we
paddle off to explore Windermere.
We have a variety of systems to support people with additional mobility needs
including outrigger floats to stabilise the canoes, supportive seats which give back
and lateral support, grip aids.
Access to and from the canoes can be on the land, which makes it ideal for those with
mobility impairments asv you can get right next to the boat before transferring in.
The remote beach we use for the bushcraft is not suitable for small wheeled
wheelchairs (they get stuck) but the National trust will lend us a Mountain Trike
wheelchair for your use. Our gantry hoist is great but can be a challenge to use
depending on lake levels.
We have raised fireplaces that direct heat upwards protecting low sensation leg
impairments, a prep table that works with most chairs and a great site to operate on
which is reasonably flat but may need a 15 meter assist for wheelchair users to access
from the beach.
The optional rudder is also fantastic for those that have energy limiting conditions,
grip impairments or upper arm mobility impairments to take an active role in the
sport.