My First Time Solo Canoeing

27/7/15

We're currently on holiday in Thailand (my home country) for the summer. Yesterday, my dad took the whole family out canoeing on the River Kwai after finding his old canoe in my grandparents' house.

First, I went with my dad just around the river. He taught me how to do a J-stroke. This helps to keep the boat on course, because when paddling on just one side, the boat moves to the opposite side that you're paddling on, a J-stroke corrects this. I had already learned Indian stroke before and carried on doing this for a while.

My dad left the canoe and let me and my mum go alone. I sat in the front and steered whilst my mum paddled to help the boat gain some momentum. It was fun paddling with my mum! Next my dad told me to go solo. I was quite frightened as I had never been in a canoe alone before. However, after a while, I got used to it and actually did quite well.

The Lake District: Day 3

4/5/15

As I woke up, it dawned on me that today would be our last day in the Lake District. It made me quite sad. But still, I got ready for the fun day we had planned.

We arrived at Brockhole, a great place for visitors to enjoy stunning views and a whole host of activities. (If you're visiting the Lake District I highly recommend it, http://www.brockhole.co.uk) We made our way down to the water and booked a canoe for an hour. As my dad is a four star canoeist, there was no danger of us falling in so we weren't frightened.

After lunch, me and my little sister went to the stables and booked a pony each for a 20 minute hack. My sister's pony was called Molly and mine was called Nip. Both were lovely ponies and we had a great ride! My sister got a little scared at the trot but we had a great time!

Next, we went to see the waterfall near lower Millerground, a beautiful sight! By then we were all quite tired after a jam-packed three days so we decided to go home.

I had a great time at the Lake District and I can't wait to go back!