Today we have been helping at Bedford Canoe Marathon - an annual canoe race along the Great Ouse in Bedford.  Viking Kayak Club run the race on behalf of the Eastern Region Hasler Races and I have in past raced, but today I thought perhaps Dylan & I could help out. We were asked if we could keep an eye on the youngsters in their Lightning Races - making sure they are  safe and on the start line at the correct time, so we took the canoe and Dylan came too.

Dylan did a great job making sure no-one fell out and that they started their races when the judge said "Go"

Dylan is nearly 5 months old now and the last 5 days have been amazing, but cold! Dani, Paul & I took the dogs Harley & Dylan to Cumbria to camp, paddle and walk. We had am amazing time with sunny weather mostly, but very cold nights. Sleeping in Paul & Dani's bell tent was great. We started by paddling Coniston on the first day, but didn't get on there until quite late, so ended up getting off at dusk.
Day 2 was a trip to Grassmere (see photo) where the lake was glass smooth and the views were amazing. Dylan of course fell in off the boat and had quite a dunking, but it hasn't put him off. We had a day off paddling on Day 3 so had a lovely walk. Then we went to Windermere on Day 4 for the most amazing paddle. I even managed to get the sail up although there really wasn't enough wind. Because the trips were much longer than Dylan was used to he got the hang of sleeping in the boat until we found land and then having a mad doodle dash!