We are delighted to announce that we are now approved providers for the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme for walking as well as canoeing. The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme has been running for 60 years with almost 2.6 million participants achieving an award. If you think your child’s school might be interested, please give us or them a shout

We are extremely proud of this new accreditation and believe it to be the perfect fit with our approach to adventure training. Managing Director Ashley Kenlock commented “ As a team we have completed many long distant hikes and walks including the Coast to Coast, West Highland Way and more locally the Greensands Ridge, we are looking forward to sharing our skills and passion around hiking with the participants. We believe in the D of E 110% and will be a hub for high quality provision in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire”.

Over the years Co Director Richard has presented the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Awards at St James Palace to lots of deserving recipients and this award scheme is a great fit with our company values.

Duke of Edinburgh Canoeing Programmes

We run Bronze and Silver Awards providing the following:

Bronze Award

• 3 days of training with our instructor team
• Practice Expedition (2 days)
• Assessed Expedition (2 days)
• Access to the latest equipment
• Logistics
• Camping Equipment (optional extra)

Silver Award

• A further 2 days of training
• Practice Expedition (3 days)
• Assessed Expedition (3 days)

Locations

Canoe Trail has excellent personal and local knowledge of trails and locations around the UK. In particular on the Bronze and Silver Award we have some fantastic hikes and walks around Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and the Three counties. Locations include rural hiking in North Bedfordsshire, The Ouse Valley Way, Greensands Ridge (Bedfordshire’s long distance trail at 42 miles) and of course locations further afield such as the ancient Ridgeway Trail and walks in the Peak District.

We have good knowledge of local campsites as well as our own private woodland called Matchstick Wood adjacent the River Great Ouse.

Our Approach

Our approach is to teach a mix of skills to meet the award requirements but also ensure participants are inspired to progress their technical skills and personal adventures. This is something our coaching team are passionate about and all of them have experience completing adventures and expeditions in a wide range of locations including Scotland, Norway, Sweden, Yukon, Alaska, Nova Scotia, Africa, New Zealand to name a few.

The Canoe Trail are delighted to announce our listing in the Top 50 Weekend Adventures for Canoeing and Camping on a global list in Lonely Planet Magazine in February 2017.  Being recognised as a global destination for weekend activities is a real accolade for our family owned business and a real coup for Bedfordshire. A huge part of the attraction which was recognised in Lonely Planet is the easy access from large cities including London, Birmingham and Cambridge.

Many of the Canoe Trail customers travel over 2 hours to enjoy the River Great Ouse and our stunning wilderness campsite. The Canoe Trail canoe and camp option allows people of all ages to experience rural canoeing and kayaking on our river and plenty of wildlife including otters, kingfishers, Herons and Egyptian Geese to name a few.

Dont take our word of it or that of Lonely Planet please do come and see for yourselves.

Thanks

Canoe Trail Team

Aaron Buckingham is the newest member and director of the Canoe Trail team, he is a white water adrenaline junkie loving both white water kayaking and white water rafting.

Canoe Trail has been recognized again for our work in promoting our home town of Bedford and as a great local business. We have received two awards for giving back to the community with charity events and youth programmes and for being a strong force for Tourism.

Charity is really important to us. We have been lucky enough to support a wide range of charity endeavours raising money for great causes. This year has been no different with multiple events raising thousands for different charities. Read more about us giving back.

Corporate Team Building Events For Global Companies

It has been another busy year for the Canoe Trail with lots of corporate events provided for big global brands and local companies. Our corporate team building events based around watersports and adventure activities are tailored for each client’s objectives. Over the past couple of years we have hosted groups from:

• RSPB,
• Easyjet
• Wilmott Dixon
• American Express
• Ordnance Survey
• Anglian Water
• Hyundai
• NHS
• Young Farmers
• Team Beds and Luton
• Cambridge Boat Race Team

to name a few of our prestigious list of 'blue chip' clients. Why not contact us for your corporate event…?

‘The canoe trail trip was an excellent experience for all of the team involved! Ash and the team made everyone feel really welcome and the briefing before we set off was brilliant. Would highly recommend canoe trail for any team building days or just for an outing on the river, really helpful and friendly staff, the whole day was thoroughly enjoyed by all (ages 19-62)’.

Ross Pinney, Wimott Dixon

“I just wanted to say thanks to you and your crew for a cracking day out on Friday J. We all really enjoyed the day and I got lots of great feedback over the following few days (awesome cakes too). 

Hopefully we’ll have other events like this from time to time so I’ll pass your details onto the other organisers with a hearty recommendation.

David Gandle, Project Governance Manager, RSPB

I have used canoe trail many times to organise; river trips, team building trips for work and an epic sea kayak trip. They are always friendly and helpful, they know there stuff when it comes to canoeing, kayaking and paddle boarding. One of Canoe Trails key strengths is it’s not just a day job, they are always planning their own next adventure and they bring this enthusiasm into everything they do.

Steve Gray, Easyjet