A 5am wake-up call on a Saturday is pretty normal for us. My son, Freddie, is in the Welsh squad for slalom kayaking (he’s the youngest person in division two in Wales) and I’m on the committee for our local club, too. It means Saturdays are often spent outside, racing or practising on the river. We actually started kayaking together, though now he’s significantly better than I am!
A big breakfast is non-negotiable, particularly for Freddie who needs lots of energy. It’s usually something protein-filled like scrambled eggs on toast before we hop in the car to wherever he’s racing. Somewhere we’ve been a lot recently is Symonds Yat on the River Wye, which is about an hour away. Race days are long – sometimes eight or nine hours, though gaps between runs mean you might have technically only “raced” for five minutes on the river.
We’re both big book nerds and love listening to audiobooks on car journeys to races. Our latest was Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow – we’re both desperate for the next one to come out. While driving, I run through a mental checklist of what we’ve packed – things like my Dryrobe and walking boots are must-haves for river terrain. I’ll always bring rope and scissors so I can fashion some kind of washing line to hang Freddie’s wet kit on, as well as peanut butter and rice cakes.
From about 7am Freddie will typically be on the water at the race venue, learning the course and what’s required of him that day. It means I’ll spend the morning running up and down the river, shouting encouragement or asking if he needs water or snacks. I volunteer for the club and act as a safeguarding officer, so I’ll make sure the other participants are all happy too. It’s generally fairly busy – there can be anything from 60 entrants for a small race to up to 250 for a large venue.
Kayaking has definitely taught us both patience. Recently the start of the race was delayed by three hours to allow the river to drop after heavy rainfall. It meant we ended up sheltering by the river, watching enormous trees floating by, thanks to the stormy weather. The last race Freddie did in west Wales had a four-hour gap between runs, which meant a lot of sitting around and chatting, which is actually really lovely. We’ve had some treasured moments outdoors in nature, just shooting the breeze.
We’ve made lots of friends through kayaking and as they’re a sporty bunch, there are often plenty of games going on behind the scenes. Someone always brings a football to kick about and the kids and their siblings usually bring their own entertainment too. Recently, Freddie mastered the Rubik’s Cube thanks to his kayaking mates!
We’re pretty adventurous as a family. If we’re not rushing home – if, say we’re staying overnight for another race – we’ll try to make a trip of it and visit other places, too. Last time we were in Llandysul for a race, we drove to New Quay [Wales] afterwards. There’s a beautiful gelato place we’ve found with a view where you can often see dolphins – it’s lovely to head there after a busy day and chill before the next day of racing. Next month we’re staying in a big, shared house in Nottingham with 10 other kayaking families, which will be great fun.
Driving home with Freddie is one of my favourite ways to spend time together, it’s really special. I’ve got really fond memories of being in the car with my dad when I was younger, particularly in the winter – huddled in the back with heavy rain outside.
Because kayaking is such a social sport, if Freddie’s not racing, we try to take things easy. That usually involves playing board games on a Saturday – we’ll sometimes take a few and head out to a local coffee shop to play. At the moment, Freddie’s favourite is poker and he has a big wad of fake money, which he likes shuffling using his electric shuffler (it’s very loud and garners lots of stares). I’m glad he’s not really interested in tech or gadgets yet as it means we get to spend plenty of quality time together.
Another of our big shared passions is theatre and we both really love Matthew Bourne’s ballets. If Freddie isn’t racing, we’ll try to go to see something together on a Saturday night. Or if we’re flagging, I’ll cook something simple at home (I often get a request for roast potatoes) though Freddie’s energy levels are pretty incredible.
Race days or not, late nights are quite normal for us. Because Freddie’s training ends late in the week (it’s often around 9pm before we’ve even got home), he’s used to staying up late on weekends, too. Most Saturdays he’ll head to bed around 10pm after playing with Lego and I’ll potter about, tidying things up or reading a couple of pages of my book before I finally admit defeat and head up, too.
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