Make this the summer you get back out on the water, with fish plopping beneath you, bulrushes shimmying and kingfishers darting by. Even if you don’t have your own kayak or paddleboard festering in the garage, there are dozens of excellent hire places and guided tours up and down the country, on beautiful rivers, lakes, canals and coastlines. I’ve spent a couple of years researching a book about the loveliest, and here are five of my favourites.
Whisky and wildlife, Highlands
For many years the Old Forge Inn – often referred to as the most remote pub in mainland Britain – was well known for its live music sessions that would break out when the whisky started flowing. Locals and visitors were often moved to take down the musical instruments hanging on the walls and burst into tune. It sounded like the best party in the land, all the more so for the degree of difficulty it took to reach it, and the ridiculous beauty of the surroundings. It’s the only pub in the only village, Inverie, on the Knoydart peninsula, a heathery, mountainous hunk of the Scottish west coast that juts between three deep sea lochs, where seals play and white-tailed eagles soar.
And now it’s back. There was a period when things went off the boil under new ownership and the parties dwindled, but in 2022 it was bought by the community and thrives once more. Its pontoon has space for six boats, or you can pull up on the beaches nearby.
The village of Inverie. Photograph: John Peter/Alamy
The Knoydart Brewery, occupying a deconsecrated Roman Catholic chapel here, supplies the house ales, while a Knoydart venison burger (£18) from the local deer estate is a menu must, along with cullen skink (£11).
As there is no road access, people come by ferry from Mallaig, make the 15-mile hike from Kinloch Hourn (a taxi ride from Fort William), or even kayak over – a strenuous and splashy seven miles. Far easier is to hire a kayak when you get there from Love Knoydart and explore the edges of the pristine loch, looking out for sea otters.
On of the best places to stay is the Bunkhouse, which has dorms and camping with views to the Isle of Rum (dorm beds from £29pp).
Arisaig Sea Kayak Centre can tailor-make day and multi-day wild camping trips in the area from £130pp per day, minimum four people.
A beaver safari in Kent
A beaver at Ham Fen, Kent. Photograph: Whittaker Wildlife UK/Alamy
Hunted for their pelts to near extinction by the 16th century, beavers have been re-established in certain British rivers, including a stretch of the River Stour near Canterbury. They were reintroduced in 2001 at Ham Fen, a Kent Wildlife Reserve site near Sandwich, where they thrived and spread.
The most enchanting way to spot nature’s cutest carpenters is on a sunset safari by Canadian canoe down the chalk stream waterway, which ends at a riverside pub. Canoe Wild (£37pp) runs an atmospheric trip, timed to pass the places the beavers visit most frequently at dusk, when they’re most active.
Starting at Grove Ferry, you’re whisked by minibus to the village of Fordwich for a guided paddle back of just under five miles. On my September trip, a glorious pink sunset was the backdrop at Bootleg Lake, around which many beavers have dens, and we began to notice slippery mud chutes pocked with paw prints. Then, in the near dark … two loud splashes, and a dark shape careering into the water. “Definitely a beaver,” whispered the guides. “When they hear something coming, they whack their wide tails onto the water to scare away predators.”
Even a shadowy splosh felt Attenborough-level exciting under a blazing Milky Way, and we finished in the fairy-lit beer garden of the ivy-wreathed Grove Ferry Inn. Nethergong campsite nearby has pitches from £42.50, as well as a sauna, yoga and bushcraft classes.
A hidden brewery in Hampshire
A creek off the River Hamble leads to the Hidden Tap bar, where drinks are lowered down to the stream. Photograph: Gemma Bowes
This fantastically quirky paddle involves a hidden creek, accessible only at high tide, and a place where you can order your drink to be brought straight to your paddleboard or kayak.
This beer pilgrimage is on the tidal River Hamble, a baby river of 6.3 miles that flows east of Southampton towards the Solent. At its narrow upper end, near Botley, spidery creeks run off at the sides, including one leading to the Botley Brewery’s Hidden Tap bar.
Those with their own kit can park at Burridge recreation ground on the east side of the river, then follow a leafy footpath through woods to the water. Or launch further upriver from YMCA Fairthorne (for a £5.50 fee), which rents paddleboards and kayaks and has a cafe and campsite (hire from £20, pitches for four people from £39).
Heading upstream towards Botley, the river becomes gentler, narrower and shallower until it feels like an otherworldly bayou. Set off at least two hours before high tide so it’s high at the upper, final navigable end of the river, follow the stream through a tunnel and emerge at the foot of the brewery wall. You yell your order up and your pint is lowered down in a wooden box to be sipped while you float.
Another short channel, Curbridge Creek, leads to the Horse and Jockey pub’s waterside beer garden.
Let off steam by the Severn
One-way canoeing on the River Severn (you take the train back, avoiding paddling upstream)
Paddling back the way you’ve come can be a downer, not to mention hard work if it means going against the flow, so River Severn Canoes’ solution is rather brilliant. At the end of its self-guided trips down the River Severn from the Shropshire town of Bridgnorth you abandon your vessel and catch a steam train back on the Severn Valley Railway to Highley (£15). Routes of several lengths are available, including four hours to Arley (10½ miles).
Halfway along there’s a picnic stop on a beach at the village of Hampton Loade, where you could also have a cuppa and a jacket potato at the Unicorn Inn (mains from £7). It has nine (quite basic) B&B rooms as well as a campsite (pitches for one tent sleeping 2-4 people from £20), if you want to make this your base.
Finish in Upper Arley in Worcestershire, home to another traditional, 500-year-old pub, The Harbour. Trains run between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth, stopping at Bewdley, Arley and Hampton Loade. Those with their own kayak or SUP can take them on the train for a £5 fee.
In Bridgnorth, The Falcon Hotel (doubles from £140) has 14 rooms with whitewashed beams and exposed brick. River Severn Canoes also offers multi-day trips down the river, stopping at campsites.
Kingfishers and canoes in Cardigan
A geodesic dome at the Fforest Farm glamping site
Paddling along the thickly wooded tidal gorge of the River Teifi in Canadian canoes feels utterly otherworldly: peregrine falcons zip from steep banks, kingfishers dart above water busy with salmon, sewin (sea trout) and otters, and there’s a little patch of rapids to tackle on an otherwise gentle two-hour tour with Heritage Canoes (£45 adults/£32.50 children). From its woodland base at the Welsh Wildlife Centre and Teifi Marshes nature reserve it’s two miles upriver to Cilgerran, where a 13th-century castle towers above the river.
Stay at glamping site Fforest Farm (two nights’ B&B for two from £340), a 10-minute drive east of Cardigan, with a range of cabins and tents – the geodesic domes come with their own Japanese-style wooden bathhouse with a super-deep tub. The site has its own atmospheric pub, Y Bwthyn, in a barely converted barn only open to guests, where candles send their twitchy glow onto slate windowsills, cocktails are made with foraged botanicals and local ale comes fresh from the cask. Cilgerran has a couple of heartwarming pubs, including the Cardiff Arms (no website), with a coracle hung outside; or head to Cardigan’s waterside bar at Albion Aberteifi, Fforest’s hip apart-hotel, or, on the opposite bank, its Pizzatipi, which has a festival feel.
Hout Bay in Cape Town is a stunning seaside spot that’s a must-visit for anyone travelling to South Africa – but there’s a near-perfect alternative much closer to home
Porthdinllaen has been named as a perfect dupe for South Africa’s Hout Bay(Image: R A Kearton/Getty Images)
A Welsh coastal gem bears a striking resemblance to the breathtaking Hout Bay in Cape Town, South Africa.
With its spectacular scenery and crystal-clear azure waters, Hout Bay has established itself as an essential destination for travellers exploring South Africa. Yet there’s a remarkably similar shoreline much nearer to home for holidaymakers seeking an affordable getaway.
North Wales’s Porthdinllaen, featuring the magnificent Morfa Nefyn Beach, serves as Britain’s answer to Hout Bay, according to staycation specialists at holidaycottages.co.uk.
Both Porthdinllaen and Hout Bay are enchanting coastal settlements renowned for their golden sandy shores and dramatic clifftops, each boasting a lively local character with thriving harbours.
Hout Bay in Cape Town has a dupe quite a bit closer to home(Image: Getty Images)
Porthdinllaen, much like its South African counterpart, provides an ideal spot for wildlife observation, and whilst you won’t encounter any penguins as some fortunate Hout Bay visitors have, there’s still an abundance of creatures to discover, including seals, sand martins, and oystercatchers.
The Welsh coastal destination also appeals to those eager to enjoy a dip in the ocean or participate in more thrilling water activities such as kayaking and snorkelling.
Visitors to Porthdinllaen must make sure to grab a bite at The Ty Coch Inn, a quaint red-brick establishment situated on its own stretch of sandy coastline, which has been described as “world-class” and “magical” by guests. Dog owners will be chuffed to hear that Morfa Nefyn is a dog-friendly beach, but do remember to keep your furry friend on a lead near the Ty Coch area.
Porthdinllaen is the perfect location for wildlife watching(Image: Jason Wells/Getty Images)
The beach has been showered with praise on TripAdvisor, with one holidaymaker commenting: “Fantastic views, beautiful beach. Ideal for kayaking and paddle boarding. Lovely pub on the beach selling good homemade food. Naturally gets busy at peak times, bank holidays etc.”
Another visitor remarked: “I thought that this was a particularly good beach. It had sand, sea, boats, old buildings and mountainous views. It is definitely worth a go, if you are out that way.”
A third reviewer shared: “We were staying in a nearby holiday cottage and had a quiet, scenic, pleasant walk on a January morning. With it being out of season, it was pleasant having the entire place to ourselves for the walk. Would be lovely to visit again in better weather and with a picnic.”
