Autumn light and water

Below is a short piece describing a first time in a play boat for myself. Hope it makes you smile.

Autumn light and water.

The colours are changing. A brown orange glow eminates from the hills. The crispness of the day draws us in. The tourists are out in full force. A combination to please and upset any student about to partake in a little adventure.

Bill and I speed along the narrow Lake District Lanes, hoping we can bag ourselves a cheeky, free parking space. Our prayers are answered and quickly I reverse into a space outside the Skelwith Bridge hotel. Chelsea tractors roar past, devastated that two students have the last free space. They have more money than sense.

We unload the boats anxious to get onto the water. Changing was difficult as always but well worth the fun we’d be having in the next few minutes. Dodging car wing mirrors with our boats, the excitement grows. Signs pointing towards Skelwith force lead us on, and we see it. The perfect little wave. A narrowing in the rock and this spot is ours. We scramble down the steep embankment to put on. I worry, my boat looks awfully small and unforgiving but this is precisely why I bought it.

Exactly what I thought. Tippy, very responsive. I was uncertain of it at first but as the afternoon progressed and two swims later, I was powering into the wave, unafraid of the uncertainty.

What was interesting about this particular place was the amount of people watching. Intrigued by the sight of our Kayaks. Intrigued by this magical place. Nature. The flora and fauna. It wouldn’t have surprised me if fairies had come out to play. The water was crisply cool, that first winter bite taking it’s toll on your fingers.

Nevertheless, we continued to play, paddling hard into the flow, dipping my nose in, throwing my weight forwards and quickly back. The rush this gave you, although a simple technique to master, was amazing. The weight of the water pushing my bow felt good. It felt controlled. Balanced.

My arms begin to feel heavy. I know it’s time to get off the water but Bill is having so much fun. It would be hard to pull him away. It was hard to pull myself away. We clamber up the steep slippy embankment with our craft on our shoulders. An old man waits at the top. His inquisitive nature makes me smile and I wait to answer his question.

“What are these then?” His eyes glancing from mine to Bills brightly coloured boats.

“Kayaks!” I reply, “They’re shorter to help us play in waves”.

I’m pretty certain this makes no sense to him but we head off. Plodding in wet gear. We change on the roadside with southern tourists giving us the evil glance. Autumn is my favourite.