Paddleboarding in North Wales
July 4th 2021
Paddle boarding is taking the world by storm and has grown in popularity on a massive scale globally.
North Wales provides the perfect setting and context to enjoy this activity. You can’t venture to a beach on a sunny day now (or indeed a rainy one!) and not see at least a couple of paddleboarders casting out.
What is paddleboarding or SUP?
Paddleboards or SUP (Stand up paddleboards) are like surf boards only much bigger both in length and width. This makes them much sturdier which is useful because you need to be able to stand up and balance with minimal effort on a paddleboard.
Once you’re balanced and up on your feet, with a paddle in hand you propel yourself along at a leisurely pace taking in a unique perspective of the coastline or paddling out to otherwise hard-to-reach locations such as coves, beaches or islands.
Don’t be fooled by the SUP name – some people prefer to either kneel or sit on their paddles boards (if sitting down though – why not opt for a kayak instead?)
Why is paddleboarding so popular?
It’s popular because it is suitable for everyone, regardless of age, gender or skill level. What’s really great is you can choose the level you want to go at.
Fancy a chilled meander on your board to enjoy the scenery? Perfect, go at a leisurely pace.
Fancy travelling from point A to point B in a certain amount of time? Great, you can push yourself and have a bit of a workout.
The activity is flexible and you only need to go at a pace or in a location that you’re comfortable with or match to your children’s or group comfort level and skill. This makes it a great family activity – kids love it!
A great way to explore North Wales
Another great benefit of paddleboarding is that you can explore lots of different locations and areas in North Wales thanks to how portable the boards are.
There are of course ‘hard’ boards made of foam or fibre-glass. However, these are large and therefore hard to travel with.
The paddleboard of choice for most people are inflatable. This may conjure up thoughts of a flimsy lilo but that’s not the case. Inflatable paddleboards are strong and sturdy – we highly recommend investing in a high-quality board from a trusted manufacturer, though.
In being inflatable, paddleboards can be packed up into your car and inflated on location, meaning you can easily travel to beaches, rivers, and lakes and explore the fantastic scenery from a new perspective – just do some research beforehand to make sure there’s no restrictions and to find out it’s safe to paddleboard there.
Main image from www.devineride.co.uk
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