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I think Alaska is probably my favourite place in the
whole world to kayak. I’m heading out there next
month with Helen and it’s something I would love
to do with her, so hopefully we will get the chance.
What about your favourite places to
paddle closer to home in the UK?
How many times a week do
you hit the water?
If i’m in this country I paddle every day. A lot of the
time that’s flat water kayaking because it’s the easiest
for me to do and probably the best exercise; but
there’s nothing I enjoy more than packing up the sea
kayak, pushing it out to shore and just going. Although
you have a rough idea of where you’d like to go, you
just have to let the tides, the currents and the winds
to a certain extent dictate what you’re going to do.
I love that freedom, it’s a bit like when you’re
a kid and you get your first bike, and all of a
sudden it is a pathway to an exciting future of
possibilities that seem to be limitless - well the
kayak as always done the same thing for me.
I think I am very much a generalist. I’ve never tried
to excel at any one discipline at any sport. What I like
best about paddling is that there are so many different
disciplines. Yesterday morning I got up and went stand
You said you go paddling to look at local
wildlife, we’ve also seen your encounter
with Sid the Swan on the Thames. What
advice do you have for paddlers who
want to observe wildlife on the water
but are worried about disturbing it?
As a conservationist and
someone who loves wildlife
first and foremost, I believe
Click here
that canoes and stand up
to watch
paddleboards are the best way
to watch wildlife bar none.
You’ll notice when you’re on the
water that most water birds are much more accepting
of you in a boat like a canoe than they would be
in any motorised boat, or on land and on foot.
It’s their environment so as long as you’re moving
relatively quietly and easily, and not making too much
noise they can be very accepting of you. If you see
any signs of stress, for example a bird trying to get
away from you, hold your ground and slowly move
away. Don’t push in close, there is no need too. Use
your common sense and watch the signs of bad
body language from the animals you’re observing.
There’s another reason paddlesports
mean so much to you, can you tell
us how you used kayaking as a form
of rehab after a serious injury?
After a near fatal climbing accident in 2009 I was
told I would never walk properly again after breaking
my back in two places and destroying my left ankle.
A friend got me into flat water kayaking as a way
of exercising; physically it was really useful for the
rehabilitation of my spine, but it also gave me the
psychological vent that I needed. It enabled me to
go to places where I could just vent and let rip.
So far you’ve mentioned whitewater,
flatwater and sea kayaking, do you
have a favourite discipline?
To hear more from
Steve Backshall
throughout National
Go Canoeing Week
head to our website or
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In the UK my favourite place to kayak is the West
Coast of Scotland. Around the Knoydart Peninsula,
Skye, Muck, Rum and Eigg. All of these little islands
have fabulously stunning geology and incredible
wildlife. The sea kayak allows you to go to places
that nobody else can go to. You can be pulling
up on a white sand beach you have entirely to
yourself, cooking mussels around a driftwood
fire at night and feel like you are in the back end
of nowhere. Nobody else can go there, even the
people in the flash sailing yachts can’t get into
some of those coves, but every single one of those
is accessible to you if you have a sea kayak.
up paddleboarding with my wife; we were looking at
all the nesting birds in our local area. This afternoon
I am going out in a whitewater raft and a whitewater
kayak, and in a few days time I am going off on a
sea kayaking expedition in Cornwall. So all in one
week you’ve done things which could not be more
different, yet they are all part of the one same sport.