Kayaking The Full Length Of Lake Windermere!!!

We kayaked the full length of Lake Windermere. This is the longest natural Lake in England with a distance of 11 miles. I completed this challenge with my friend Connie! We set off at around 12:30 and our aim was to complete this challenge of kayaking Lake Windermere in 5.5 hrs. The day begin with us trying to find a car parking space which resulted in us packing around a mile away from the start (which is Fell Foot) and instead starting off at Newby Bridge.
Having finally got our gear on and kayaks in the water we set off on this momentous challenge. #kayaking #adventure #lakedistrict #windermere #alzheimers #fundraising

This was the route description which we followed - “Start from Fell Foot Park, a National Trust property. As you paddle out of Fell Foot Park, take in the view of the beautiful National Trust building on your right hand side. The southern end of the lake is a popular spot for mooring boats.
In order to take the most direct route north, we suggest continuing to paddle along the eastern shoreline all the way to Storrs Temple approximately 4 miles from the start, identifiable on the right hand side by a small headland with the Temple clearly visible. As this route is very similar to the ferry route, we recommend trying to stay close to the bank. This section of the lake is also quite open so it helps get a little shelter by keeping close to the shore.
After you have passed and enjoyed the sights of Storrs Temple, it is approximately one mile to Belle Island and the small cluster of surrounding islands. Approximately 500 metres before the island, look out for the cable ferry, which travels between Ferry House on the west shore and Ferry Nab on the east. At this point there are two routes you can take;

Heading to the right of Belle Island, towards the Eastern shore line. We suggest meeting your support crew at Cockshott Point, the grassy headland sticking out just before Bowness Bay. You need to be very aware when paddling in this area as it is busy, with marina traffic and a couple of large passenger ferries that head out on regular sightseeing trips. Navigate carefully through this section of the lake.

After passing the islands, continue north. In approximately three miles you will see Wray Castle on the western shoreline. From here, start to head northeast, towards the finish point at Waterhead, situated at the north eastern end of the lake. The landing site is a small beach section beyond the steamer pier which has short jetties situated either side. On approach to your get out be careful, as the ferry also navigates this stretch into shore.

The sights and views from Lake Windermere were spectacular! We kept stopping to give updates to the videos after every few miles but quickly begin to realise this was slowing us down and our arms were getting more sore by the hour. So we decided to get a few miles in and get into a rhythm of paddling. Once we reached Bowness we felt a sense of relief, this was over half way and we knew that the finish was in sight. Then eventually we reached the low wood we knew at this point that Ambleside was just round the corner. As soon as we spotted the lake ferry pull into Ambleside jetty we knew the finish was in sight. With our shoulders aching we kept paddling and we finally got to the finish. What a relief and what a fantastic challenge complete! THANK YOU SO MUCH CONNIE!!!!

This was an idea which I had for challenge number 11 out of 22 fundraising for The Alzheimer’s Society. As soon as I thought of this I knew I needed to carry it out, maybe not thinking too much about how hard this challenge was in fact going to be. However, after researching we discovered this is an intermediate level challenge, I haven’t had any past experience of kayaking this length of distance and Connie hadn’t done this for a long time, therefore I think we both did an brilliant job, and what a fantastic experience we both had!

Any donations for my 22 challenges for 2022 raising money for the Alzheimer's Society would be much appreciated,
THE LINK TO DONATE is https://www.justgiving.com/fundraisin... 💓

I am also going to keep everyone up to date on my instagram   / beccakeen   and TikTok   / beccakeen5   💫. Please also subscribe to this channel to keep up to date with my future challenges, in the attempt to raise as much money and awareness as possible for the Alzheimer's Society!

Thanks for watching 🤍