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Paddle Boarding in London with The Indytute and Active360

Disclosure: We were invited on this day out for the purpose of this post however all opinions are my own.

A few weeks ago The Indytute invited me to try out their service – offering gift experience and days out across London. But, unlike other gift experience sites, The Indytute have a really eclectic mix of experiences and things that I have never heard of or seen advertised before. The Indytute promises to uplift the soul and the handpicked experiences could teach you new skills, give you some culture or just inspire you to try something new or have quality time with your partner or friends.

When I was browsing The Indytute’s experiences I thought it would be nice for Dave and I to do an experience together. We don’t have time as a couple very often so I looked for experiences that we could do as a couple and decided on paddle boarding in the end.

Now, we have only paddle boarded once on holiday in Greece last year but we loved it and the thought of paddle boarding in London was eye opening. I had no idea it was even possible but it sounded like something we would love to experience – and The Indytute made it all happen.

As soon as the experience was confirmed with The Indytute we were sent all the information we needed to book the experience direct with the supplier, Active360 who offer paddle boarding at various sites through London. Active360 took information from us, told us what we needed to take with us and assured us that there were storage for our belongings on the day as well as somewhere to get changed and showers afterwards if we needed them.

Paddle Boarding in London with The Indytute and Active360

On the day I met Dave after he finished work in London and we had a lovely walk around Regents Park before heading to the Paddington Basin for our paddle boarding session. We’d never been to the Paddington Basin before, or that part of London really, and it was so beautiful. A real hidden gem that you could easily walk around the block and miss if you didn’t know it was there.

Paddle Boarding in London with The Indytute and Active360

We met the lovely Active360 team who gave us buoyancy aids and a quick paddling lesson before we got out on the water. I was impressed that we all ended up on a paddle board without getting wet and before we knew it we were paddling along the canal an through Little Venice – another incredibly beautiful part of London. We started off paddling on our knees and stood up as soon as we felt confident enough.

Paddle Boarding in London with The Indytute and Active360

By halfway through the session everyone was standing on their boards and we were in a group of about twelve people. So many people stopped at the sides of the canal to wave, take photos and just watch us paddle boarding as it obviously isn’t something you see every day – but, it was such an incredible experience.

Paddle Boarding in London with The Indytute and Active360
Paddle Boarding in London with The Indytute and Active360
Paddle Boarding in London with The Indytute and Active360
Paddle Boarding in London with The Indytute and Active360

The Active360 team showed us how to paddle, how to stand, how to turn around and how to safely navigate the waterways. For a beginner lesson we felt quite accomplished afterwards and had a really great two hours on the water.

Paddle Boarding in London with The Indytute and Active360
Paddle Boarding in London with The Indytute and Active360
Paddle Boarding in London with The Indytute and Active360

Dave and I drove home from London so energised from our paddle boarding experience and feeling so motivated to do it again in the future. It was so different to anything we have done in London before and without The Indytute we would never have done it – or even known it was possible!

Paddle Boarding in London with The Indytute and Active360
Paddle Boarding in London with The Indytute and Active360
Paddle Boarding in London with The Indytute and Active360
Paddle Boarding in London with The Indytute and Active360

The Indytute have so many great experiences, just like this one, and they are the perfect gift too. Plus, if a gift isn’t suitable for the recipient they are always happy to exchange them as well. They have gifts suited to every interest and they are a great way of just dipping your toe into something new too. Many of our fellow paddle boarders were doing it by themselves and I can imagine it, or other The Indytute experiences, being a great way of meeting new people too.

You can see the full range of The Indytute experiences over on their website.

(I should probably add that the green water is actually just duck weed that’s grown incredibly fast due to the weather. It’s not toxic or harmful in any way and a completely natural occurrence on waterways like this at times.)

Paddle Boarding in London with The Indytute and Active360

Author

  • Donna Wishart is married to Dave and they have two children, Athena (13) and Troy (11). They live in Surrey with their two cats, Fred and George. Once a Bank Manager, Donna has been writing about everything from family finance to days out, travel and her favourite recipes since 2012. Donna is happiest either exploring somewhere new, with her camera in her hand and family by her side or snuggled up with a cat on her lap, reading a book and enjoying a nice cup of tea. She firmly believes that tea and cake can fix most things.

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