It’s September, so it must be time for the annual autumnal weekend trip to the Jurassic Coast for CKC. It’s a trip we have been doing for many years, and we still love it! The coastline is always astonishing and for those that haven’t seen it from the sea before, it has truly amazing scenery. This particular trip was extra-special as it was the inaugural trip for Claire’s new boat (and roof rack). Although CKC supplies all boats and paddler’s kit needed for a weekend trip like this one, some members also own their own boats and kit.
We all travelled down on Friday afternoon and evening, setting up our tents in the campsite before the early arrivers went to the pub for an evening meal.
For some this was their first time camping and kayaking, so learned a few things about combining them. Like test out your camping items before you arrive: As Steve said “I’d planned on sleeping in my car but realised that I needed a better mattress and I might not be able to fit stretched out. Also, my tent was too big for one person, made it colder at night and definitely would have been even colder if it was closer to winter. So will research better options for next time!”.
Although winter would have been colder, it was certainly a lot chillier on Friday night than most had planned for, although some compensated on Saturday night to have the absolute pleasure of waking up under two sleeping bags and a blanket on Sunday morning. The less said about Friday night the better (when sleeping bags say good for 15 degrees, believe them) is Matt’s advice.
For others it was the packing the tent away that caused some difficulty on Sunday morning: “it is definitely not worth taking a huge tent for two days!” advises Rachel.
Ingo suggested that you check all technical gear before packing, e. g. batteries are charged, as it is easy to find that vital piece of camping kit doesn’t work just when you need it most.
Mike observed that waterproof maps are essential for the leaders, but it makes the trip more interesting for each paddler if everyone has one too.
Dancing Ledge
On Saturday we travelled along the coast from Swanage, passed some amazing scenery which many of the group had never seen from the water before, visiting caves and rock-hopping along the way.
Landing on Dancing Ledge we helped each other off the water in the 0.3m swell and managed to ensure than no-one capsized while trying to land.
After getting back on the water we investigated some large caves and headed around St Alban’s Head for lunch at a shingle beach.
The route back was more direct, cutting across to Anvil Point from St Albans Head with the wind (F3) and tidal flow behind us. The afternoon light on the cliffs made the cliffs look fantastic.
At the evening pub meal we attracted the attention of the waiting staff who were intrigued about what we were doing, as we seemed exciting! After great service and food, they thought they might try out kayaking too!
Old Harry
We all agreed that on Sunday we should do a shorter paddle and all of us loved the combination of the longer paddle first followed by the shorter paddle. On Sunday we launched from Poole Harbour and headed out to Old Harry. At Handfast Point we went through several arches and along to The Pinnacales.
Admiring the Pinnacles from the ocean, it felt really otherworldly and surreal. Despite losing count of the number of times that some of us have paddled from Poole Harbour to Old Harry, it still was as stunning a trip as the first time. For others it was the first time to visit Old Harry and it turned out to be a personal highlight, with the imposing and sheer white cliffs alongside us.
It was such a fun weekend, which everyone enjoyed. Whether it was practicing a deep water rescue in choppy water and using the ‘swimmer’ to act as a counter balance when emptying their boat. Or for some it was just being back on the sea after a break.
Although the paddling was phenomenal, we also met some locals who shared their experiences swimming. One had just had the magical experience of watching a sea horse in Studland Bay and saw how its shadow was highlighted by a sun beam, and was keen to share this magical experience.
In summary, we loved the trip planning under canvas. We had two great pub meals and a super campsite. Nipping around the rocks and through the arches was great fun! Maybe we should do this trip more than once a year?
