We then came across Cambridge Kayaks, who had some touring kayaks on sale. Naturally, we had many questions, and thankfully, the people at CK were incredibly friendly. They answered all the questions we had, and talked for us for probably much longer than is necessary to make a sale. They genuinely just wanted to make sure we had the right information that we needed, which was lovely.
Testing My Dry Suit – Yak Strata
We knew as we fell in love with kayaking, that we were never going to be the kind of people who hung up our paddles over the winter, but instead we would be looking to paddle all the way through the colder months, when possible (health and weather aside). We’re sticklers for trying to have the right gear, so once we realised we were going to need a dry suit each, we started the hunt for something we could afford.
Canoe Club – VHF Winter Talk
Interacting with both the Coastguard and/or National Coastwatch Institute (NCI), can be daunting, however often while the etiquette for using the radio when sailing (which we have researched thoroughly), feels natural for us now, there were still unknown issues with regard to the radio etiquette for a group of kayaks on open water, which we needed addressing.
Winter Paddle on Llyn Padarn
That was it for snow. The whole place was covered in between six and eight inches of snow., but it was enough for us to fulfil our winter paddling ambitions, whilst also completing the first step of our Harryår, or Harry Year challenge. This is a Swedish challenge, named after a Fin, who questioned why his Swedish friends, were putting away their boats in winter and not paddling all year round.
Llyn Dinas – Accessibility
Llyn Dinas is a small but picturesque lake in Eryri (Snowdonia), nestled in a classic glacial valley with a mix of woodland and rugged hills surrounding it. Llyn Dinas is relatively small and elongated, stretching roughly 1 km in length, oriented roughly northwest to southeast. Its shape is narrow, typical of a glacially carved ribbon lake. The lake is fed by small streams from the surrounding hills and drains via the Afon Glaslyn.
Christmas Paddling 2025
The first adventure was with four of us on Llyn Padarn. For the longest time we have been seeing other kayakers, kayaking with fairy lights on their boats in December, which looked like wonderful fun, and we wanted to have a go ourselves. So we arranged to meet at the lake one evening, an hour or two before the sun was due to set.
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CK Explorer 430 Kayaks Review
We then came across Cambridge Kayaks, who had some touring kayaks on sale. Naturally, we had many questions, and thankfully, the people at CK were incredibly friendly. They answered all the questions we had, and talked for us for probably much longer than is necessary to make a sale. They genuinely just wanted to make sure we had the right information that we needed, which was lovely.
Testing My Dry Suit – Yak Strata
We knew as we fell in love with kayaking, that we were never going to be the kind of people who hung up our paddles over the winter, but instead we would be looking to paddle all the way through the colder months, when possible (health and weather aside). We’re sticklers for trying to have the right gear, so once we realised we were going to need a dry suit each, we started the hunt for something we could afford.
Canoe Club – VHF Winter Talk
Interacting with both the Coastguard and/or National Coastwatch Institute (NCI), can be daunting, however often while the etiquette for using the radio when sailing (which we have researched thoroughly), feels natural for us now, there were still unknown issues with regard to the radio etiquette for a group of kayaks on open water, which we needed addressing.
Winter Paddle on Llyn Padarn
That was it for snow. The whole place was covered in between six and eight inches of snow., but it was enough for us to fulfil our winter paddling ambitions, whilst also completing the first step of our Harryår, or Harry Year challenge. This is a Swedish challenge, named after a Fin, who questioned why his Swedish friends, were putting away their boats in winter and not paddling all year round.
Llyn Dinas – Accessibility
Llyn Dinas is a small but picturesque lake in Eryri (Snowdonia), nestled in a classic glacial valley with a mix of woodland and rugged hills surrounding it. Llyn Dinas is relatively small and elongated, stretching roughly 1 km in length, oriented roughly northwest to southeast. Its shape is narrow, typical of a glacially carved ribbon lake. The lake is fed by small streams from the surrounding hills and drains via the Afon Glaslyn.
Christmas Paddling 2025
The first adventure was with four of us on Llyn Padarn. For the longest time we have been seeing other kayakers, kayaking with fairy lights on their boats in December, which looked like wonderful fun, and we wanted to have a go ourselves. So we arranged to meet at the lake one evening, an hour or two before the sun was due to set.
Llyn Gwynant– Accessibility
Llyn Gwynant is a lake in Eryri (Snowdonia), nestled in a classic U-shaped glacial valley. The geography around the lake is striking because the surrounding terrain rises steeply on both sides, creating a dramatic mountainous backdrop. To the west and north, you have the Snowdon Massif and peaks such as Moel Eilio and Moel Hebog. To the east, the valley slopes rise more gently but still frame the lake with hills like Cnicht, giving it a sense of enclosure.
Canoe Club & Kayak Pool Sessions
So we met the club. Cerys and I had to go out on a couple of assessment paddles with the chair and membership secretary, so they could assess what help I might need, and see where we were in terms of paddling. We had good long chats with them, and they were all great. It was deemed that we were obviously still learning, but that we were okay to go into the pool sessions. We gained the tag ‘Improvervs’. Exciting.
Llyn Cwellyn – Accessibility
Llyn Cwellyn lies within a broad glacial valley in Eryri (Snowdonia), and its surrounding geography gives it a much more open and dramatic character than some of the smaller lakes nearby. The lake itself is long and narrow, aligned roughly northeast to southwest, and sits at about 150 metres above sea level. It was formed by glacial action during the last Ice Age, when moving ice carved out a deep U-shaped valley and left behind a basin that later filled with water.
Llynnau Mymbyr– Accessibility
The geography at Llynnau Mymbyr feels dramatic and immediate. Unlike larger valley lakes such as Llyn Tegid, these are two smaller connected lakes (Llynnau) set in a classic glacial mountain landscape in the heart of Eryri (Snowdonia). To the south-east, rises the unmistakable pointed summit of Moel Siabod, standing alone and dominant, and to the north-west, you can see the rugged outlines of the Carneddau forming a broad, rolling backdrop.