THE LOCAL DIARIES: Kayaking in Summer

I feel like I'm posting a lot lately around things to do and lifestyle, but it's what I've loved exploring and writing about lately so hope you don't mind! From next week I'll have some holiday themed pieces coming your way, but for today I wanted to share how you can get a little bit of holiday here, on the south coast.

For Father's Day I wanted to do something for my Dad that wasn't a gift - he's not really a "things" person, he's much happier just doing something with us. So I decided, seeing as we all love it down at The Salt Café, we would utilise the business next to it - The Paddle Club. I very easily booked two twin kayaks - one for Mum and Dad, the other for me and Adam - and set it up for Father's Day, followed by brunch. Unfortunately Father's Day was miserable so we were able to reschedule to the following weekend - which actually worked out better because Saturday felt like proper holiday sun.

Whenever we go away as a family, inevitably we always find somewhere to do a bit of kayaking or some sort of water based activity. My Dad and I are water babies, it's something we've always done together and have enjoyed. When I was younger Dad used to have a boat and I'd be the only one to go on it, he then sold it and got a jet ski and it was my favourite thing on earth. And as I said - on holiday we usually find something water based to do. So when I first saw The Paddle Club offered a few different water based activities I knew we had to give it a go. They do paddle boarding, and different sized kayaks - and it's actually pretty affordable.

I booked two of the twin kayaks for an hour, which were £30 each - and from holiday's it's always been more expensive. When we got there, they were incredibly helpful, got us all set up with life jackets, our kayaks and paddles and we were off. I wasn't sure how it would be around our area as it's never really somewhere I've thought would be beautiful and relaxing to paddle around because it's just "home", but it was so peaceful. I loved every minute of it - there's a lot to explore really and see, the scenery was stunning and it was just super peaceful out on the water. We also saw some jellyfish, herrins and a few fish - and we also managed to find a toy my dog had lost the year before at the field opposite where we were kayaking. He was very happy to get it back.

I'd highly recommend checking it out - it's something a bit different to do, especially in the nicer weather, and as it's next to The Salt Café you have the perfect after paddling location to grab a drink and maybe a cheeky cake.

Much love, Lisa May x