With Brighton often touted as ‘London on Sea,’ it’s no surprise that many tourists and residents alike are keen to dip their toe into the world of Brighton water sports. Kayaking and Canoeing are two of the most popular water sports available in Brighton. So, whether you want to paddle away in the more nimble and faster kayaks, or enjoy a more spacious jaunt in a canoe, Brighton has plenty of perfect paddling practice opportunities for you.
Hatt Adventures
Even if you have no previous experience of kayaking, Hatt Adventures offer a fantastic opportunity to explore Brighton via kayak, all while honing your sea-sailing skills. Based in Brighton Marina, just a 10-minute drive along the coast from Old Steine, Hatt Adventures provide a convenient, fun and professional introduction to kayaking.
Their highly qualified instructors will guide you through every step of the kayak process, from donning the kit, using the equipment and controlling the kayak. Under their expert guidance, you will paddle along Brighton’s stunning coast, kayaking under the chalk cliffs towards Ovingdean and Rottingdean. After your kayak session, you can opt to be led through a capsize drill, where you boost your confidence in kayak safety under expert supervision.
More experienced kayakers are also catered for through the Discover Kayaking Course. The course offers paddlers the opportunity to develop practical and decision-making skills required for kayaking and canoeing, such as a variety of paddling strokes and techniques, self-rescue strategies and river paddling. You have the opportunity to be assessed for the British Canoeing Award, as a reward for all your progress.
With prices of just £45 for a two-hour Kayak experience, and £105 for the 6-hour Discover Kayaking Course, Hatt Adventures offers expert guidance for paddlers of all levels, just a stone’s throw from central Birghton.
Website: https://www.thehatt.co.uk/kayaking-brighton
Telephone: 01273 358 359
Email: adventures@thehatt.co.uk
The Kayak Coach
Tiddler and teenage paddlers alike can learn the basics of paddling in a safe, sheltered and supervised environment with The Kayak Coach. Located less than half an hour from Brighton by car, near beautiful Steyning, The Kayak Coach’s Kids Only Kayaking sessions take place on the river Adur, a calm and child-friendly river making it easy to get to grips with paddling.
Children aged between 8 and 15 years old will learn river safety, boat control and paddling basics in a 2-hour session, as well as enjoying a range of kayak games and challenges, and a mini-adventure paddle down the river. And with children’s birthday parties available too, The Kayak Coach is a great way to help your young person feel at home on the water, and have fun while they do it!
But grown-ups aren’t forgotten! Also available are the 2-hour Intro to Paddlesport sessions, offering an introduction or taster to a range of different paddlesports, including kayaks, canoes, sit-on-tops and paddleboards. And, if you want to push yourself even further, why not try one of the courses?
Choose between the BC Paddle Discover courses, a nationally recognised award delivered over a 6-hour, one day course, designed for beginners. Paddlers with prior experience may enjoy the more advanced BC Paddle Explore Course, to improve your skills, confidence and safety on the water. For tailored and specialised coaching, take advantage of the private training and coaching sessions, including 1:1 sessions based around your needs, skills and targets, as well as closed courses for social groups and clubs.
Prices range from £30 for the Kids Only sessions, to £45 for the Intro to Paddlesport sessions. Whether you choose a solo, group, beginners or advanced paddlesport experience, you will be in safe hands with The Kayak Coach.
Website: https://www.thekayakcoach.com/
Telephone: 07796 203870
Email form: https://www.thekayakcoach.com/contact-us
Brighton Explorers Club
In operation since 1067, Brighton Explorers Club offers a range of water and land sports alongside kayaking, including Stand Up Paddleboarding, surfing, windsurfing, mountain biking and caving. During the idyllic Brighton summer season, the club offers regular sea kayaking sessions, every Wednesday evening from 18:00 to 20:30. Held at Brighton Sailing Club, just down from Churchill Square, these sessions are a great way to meet fellow kayakers and to enjoy the social side of a sea-sailing session.
While membership is compulsory to attend the sports sessions, the standard membership is just £56.70 for an entire year. And, with concessions for students, young people under 29 and people receiving a low income, you can enjoy a whole year of kayaking for as little as £20.60. If you are new to paddling, you must attend one of the club’s Kayak inductions before you can attend the regular weekly paddles. These cost just £10 and are available every 2-3 weeks.
If this tickles your paddling pickle, then Brighton Sailing Club offer New/Prospective Members Nights on the second Wednesday of each month, to learn more about the club, meet the other members and ask questions. This is a great opportunity to find out whether the kayaking on offer is right for you, and to meet your prospective fellow paddlers.
The club also offers occasional day-trips and weekend trips at an extra cost, including to local rivers, to enjoy flat and easy paddles, as well as day trips to White Water Centres. In Winter and Spring, expect weekend trips to low-grade white-water, and you can even expect the occasional trip to the Alps!
Website: https://www.brightonexplorers.org/
Email: newmembers@brightonexplorers.org for questions about joining, OR kayaking@brightonexplorers.org for questions about kayaking.
BK Kayaking
Offering fun, educational and adventurous kayaking experiences is BK Kayaking, conveniently based on Brighton beach.
Available experiences include a 3 hour introduction to Sea Kayaking, perfect for both brand-new beginner paddlers, and a refresher for those returning to paddling after a little while. Expect to learn skills such as forward and backwards paddling, turning, stopping, as well as capsize training and rescue strategies. Completion of this course prepares you for the B.C.U 1 star training test, allowing you to attend the casual coached club sessions and enjoy attending an adventurous coastal trip.
As well as regular casual coached sessions, BK Kayaking also offers Family Kayak Sessions departing from Brighton beach, suitable for children from age 8 along with their parents or legal guardians. Running weekdays only, these family sessions are for a minimum of 2 people per booking, priced at £30 per person.
Paddling afficionados will love one of the regular Cuckmere Haven / Berlin Gap trips, lasting between 5 and 6 hours. The trips give paddlers the opportunity to catch and BBQ their own fish, while enjoying hours of kayaking along the beautiful Sussex coastline.
Website: https://www.wtm360.co.uk/sales/bk-kayaking-1563458887
Mobile: 07971 047896
Email: kellyship@gmail.com
Martlets Kayak Club
On Brighton beach, between Brighton Marina and the Pier, is the friendly, volunteer-run Martlet Kayak Club. They provide facilities, an impressive range of club equipment and training from their many Canoe England paddle coaches and instructors.
The club is members-only, requiring a payment of £90 annually for adults, £40 for under-18s, or £160 for a family membership. Membership entitles paddlers to use the club’s kayaks, equipment and facilities for a year, open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from Spring to Autumn, and Sundays all year round.
As well as regular coaching sessions, keep an eye out for the rolling pool sessions in November and December, and year-round river running in line with trips. The club also enjoys many trips away to rivers in Wales, North England and Dartmoor, as well as visits to White Water Centres, and surfing trips to Cornwall.
The club offers members access to an impressive range of boats, including sea, surf, white water, touring and sit-on-top kayaks, Canadian canoes, play boats and pool boats. Available equipment includes paddles, buoyancy aids, spray deck, cagoules, wet suits, helmets and wetsuit boots, as well as specialist equipment including whistles, dry bags, river knives and boat repair kits.
Induction sessions are available, allowing you to try out kayaking with the club under the guidance of a coach, for just £12, which is deducted from the membership fee if you decide to join later.
Website: https://martletkayakclubbrighton.com/information
Email: martletkayakclub@hotmail.com
Brighton’s paddlesports scene caters to newbies, beginners, intermediates and experts alike, with a fantastic range of clubs, one-off sessions and trips away, to scratch the seaborne itches of the most ardent aqua-afficionado. Whether you’re looking for a casual family kayaking trip on a weekend, or want to get in the water three times a week as part of an enthusiastic club, you will be catered for, and enjoy a delightful trip along Brighton’s iconic coastline, or further afield.
