Standup Paddleboarding and exploring Swansea Bay

11/05/2018


Swansea Canal


If you follow me on instagram you may already know that we recently spent a fantastic weekend exploring Swansea Bay and the Gower and wow what a weekend it was. Even though technically we don't live that far from Swansea as Cardiff is only an hour away we didn't actually realise how much of the Swansea peninsular we hadn't seen, despite having visited Swansea city centre and Mumbles before there is just so much more to this part of South Wales. It was a long overdue trip especially as I am very keen on watersports having grown up surfing in South Africa and the first activity of the weekend was Standup Paddleboarding with Matt from SUP Gower on the beautiful Swansea Canal at the Cyldach Heritage Centre.


Swansea Canal


Having not put my wetsuit on since before having my youngest 3yrs ago I was a little worried it was going to be on the tight side but luckily it was okay and I didnt even need to breath in too much to zip it up. Once all suited and booted Matt took me through the basics on land, showing me the differences in some of the boards, as well as basic health and safety. Luckily the sun was out and it had turned into a glorious morning on the canal as it's such a tranquil spot with plenty of walkers and birdwatchers and a great place for an introduction in to Standup Paddleboarding.

As it was my first time Sup'ing at they call it I spent the first few minutes paddling on my knees and getting to grips with all the equipment although with perfect conditions and a nice calm canal we were up and away in no time, meandering down the canal taking in the relaxing atmosphere away from the hustle and bustle of the city.


Swansea Canal

Swansea Canal


If your looking for a truly fun activity that is perfect for all ages and fitness levels than I highly recommend trying out Stand Up Paddleboarding and Matt is a fantastic teacher and a very experienced one having competed in Sup'ing internationally. If your looking for a more a bit more of an adrenaline hit then you can have lessons in the surf or head out to sea on a guided sup'ing season, all in and around Swansea so whatever takes for fancy from fast to slow that offer it all. 

After about an hour on the canal, smiles all round, we headed back and I have to say I have totally caught the bug and will be Sup'ing again sometime soon. After squeezing myself back out of my wetsuits we were back on the road and heading to The Mumbles, one of the prettiest little harbor towns in Wales and the perfect place to take the kids to fun some energy off. As it was lunchtime we went on the search for food, we had been recommended Verdis which looked fantastic but was full to the brim and impossible to get a table, which only serves to solidify the fact it's very good and we will have to return at some point to give it a try. Instead we decided to head further down towards the pier to see what we could find. 



Swansea Bay

Swansea Bay


We came across The Beach Hut which was perfect pitstops as it was welcoming, family friendly and offered some really great views of the coastline while digging into pizza and ice cream (I mean if you can't eat that at the seaside then when can you?). The interior is fun and colourful and the ice-cream parlor was certainly popular but with so many flavours I can see why. We then had a relaxing walk around the pier and down to the pebble beach, where the kids found some nice seashells and managed to have a quick dip of the toes in the water.


The Mumbles Pier

The Mumbles Pier


We couldn't of asked for a better day to start off our weekend exploring Swansea Bay, we were outside from morning to afternoon and enjoyed every second. We could have easily spent longer exploring the Mumbles but the kids just loved the time on the beach so much that we didn't want to rush them. We then took a slow walk back along the coastline before heading off to The King Arthur hotel on the Gower Peninsular, I will do a separate post about the Hotel but if your looking for a quaint place to stay right next to a traditional pub (but still very family friendly) then I recommend you check this out. 


Swansea Bay


Thanks so much to Swansea Bay for inviting us to discover this fantastic part of Wales. Words and views 100% our own.

14 comments:

  1. Go you on the paddle boarding - you look so in balance! I spent most of my attempts at paddle boaring scrapping my bottom on the coral in Mauritius!
    C x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was so much fun! In general I have good balance so really enjoyed it

      Laura x

      Delete
  2. Looks like a fun activity, you look like you are a pro at this your balance is great.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Nayna, it's really quite simple as the boards are really stable

      Laura x

      Delete
  3. Wow this looks like so much fun, I don't think I'd have the balance for something like this x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Give it a go Rhian, it's so much fun and a lot easier than it looks

      Laura x

      Delete
  4. Your balance is extremely good and you look like a pro on that board.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This sounds amazing! I can't say I've ever been tempted by paddle boarding but it does sound like you had a lot of fun x

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ohh wow this looks like so much fun! I would so love to try this although my balance is way off!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sounds like you had a great day, the closest I've got to Paddleboarding is Windsurfing but I spent more time in the water than on top of it

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow, I have never been one for water spots since I can't swim but I do love watching and it seems like you had loads of fun paddle boarding.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This looks amazing. My partner and I have been talking about doing more water-sports this summer and this looks like just the thing for us to do. As you say it's not too far from Cardiff. Great informative post, it looks like you had a great time!

    ReplyDelete
  10. This looks SO much fun! I'm not entirely convinced that its something I'd be able to do but I'd definitely give it a shot! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ive seen them doing this around Paddington station. It does look very fun

    ReplyDelete

Lovely comments

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...