Over 100 rowers joined the 26th British Rowing Tour in the Lake District from 29 August to 1 September, exploring the picturesque lakes of Ullswater, Derwentwater and Bassenthwaite.

A great time was had by all with participants coming from 31 clubs around the country – including in the South West, in the South East, in the North East and local host club in the North West, who supported the Tour.

member Claire Hobbs signed up for the British Rowing Tour for the first time and relates her experiences below.

It all started when I decided to stay on for a turkey butty after rowing on the Isis during a very frosty Saturday before Christmas last year. I got chatting with another returnee rower Ruth Ward, who had also had a gap of 30 years. She invited me to join the touring rowing group at the Falcon Rowing Club in Oxford.

Soon I was hooked and attended the national annual touring rowing meal at where we were shown slides of the touring rowing trip to the Lake District planned for late August. Well, it looked so beautiful and the water so calm that I was determined to go. I was a bit concerned when there was mention that we would have to wade into the water to launch our boats. I’m an above-knee amputee, but have a 30-year-old ‘pirate leg’ that I thought would cope with that.

So, at the end of a beautiful and hot August the trip to the Lakes started. As I drove north it got colder, windier and wetter. It only then occurred to me that our base near Penrith was the wettest place in the country. We stayed at the friendly North Lakes Hotel, which luckily had a great Jacuzzi to warm up in.

I said hello to the guy waiting in front of me at reception. Another above-knee amputee, Malcolm Hingle had a great sense of humour, saying: “When I go skiing I become Polish – my name becomes ‘Oneski.” One thing we agreed on was that rowing without our artificial legs on was the only way to do it. And oddly it didn’t seem to affect our balance.

Seeing the tiny Cumbrian church and sheep by the lake, as we rowed round a headland, was magical

In a new format for the Tour, the rowers were to be spilt into three groups of between six to seven quad sculling crews, aiming to rotate rowing on each of the three lakes on different days. The group was a mix of recent learn-to-row graduates while others had years of experience under their belts. Thanks to support from Charles Stanley we also had eight pristine touring boats amongst others brought along by various clubs.

So, the first morning of the Tour started and we made our way to Derwentwater; we were very jolly in the coach, but were soon soaked through as we rigged all the boats in the driving rain. The wind was howling up Derwentwater and there were big waves topped with white horses. One intrepid crew whose cox had rowed the Atlantic went out. The rest of us retired inside to eat our sandwiches.

The returning crew had to shelter in the bay to pump lots of water and advised the rest of us not to follow suit. That was disappointing, but we had a fun meal together in the evening.

The following day was slightly warmer and we had a brisk row around Bassenthwaite Lake. Seeing the tiny Cumbrian church and sheep by the lake, as we rowed round a headland, was magical. The local sailing club generously accommodated us up after our row for yet more sandwiches.

On the final day we rowed on Ullswater and it was astonishing! Glenn from the gave a detailed safety talk beforehand and off we went in a flotilla of six boats – the Atlantic Ocean rowers had already set off, of course, going round the lake three times to our one!

After the outing, we all worked together to derig the boats and load the trailers – it was sad to say farewell to our new friends. I really enjoyed the trip and would love to try out touring rowing in other parts of the country and, indeed, the world!

Thanks to Claire Hobbs at Falcon Rowing Club in Oxford for writing the report. 

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Thanks to support from , rowers in the Thames and Eastern Regions are benefiting from two boat packages which are hosted at and . The locations were chosen because both are areas where Charles Stanley is most active.

The Swift Freedom touring boats are available for the rowing community to enjoy in both regions and details on how to make use of them are below.

Teresa Aslett from Isle of Ely BC said: “The boats have enabled the club to run their largest ever learn-to-row course with 16 participants enjoying a new found sport.

“The boats are enabling us to begin a new project of offering rowing to our local state school who, despite having one of the best stretches of water in the country on their doorstep, do not have rowing facilities.”

As host club, Isle of Ely RC is keen to spread the word that the boats are available for other clubs to use in the region.

“These boats are very much an asset to the Eastern Region,” said Aslett.

“ used them for their new tour (pictured above) and hired them for the British Rowing Tour. We have another learn-to-row course ready to run and are planning a two day club event with the boats too.”

The Swift Freedom touring boats are available for the rowing community to enjoy in both regions

Goring Gap BC is hosting the second equipment package, available to all rowing clubs in the Thames Region, to support their recreational rowing activities.

Alastair Davies, Captain of Rowing at Goring Gap, said: “The new beginners on our learn-to-row course love the boats and have made much faster progress on the water than previous cohorts because they’re much more stable.”

The club has had enquiries about the boats from several clubs in the Thames Valley Explore Rowing League, including ���Ի���. Over the summer, they were also used for the and the British Rowing Tour.

How to hire the Charles Stanley boat packages

1 – Eastern Region clubs
Email csboats@elyrowingclub.org.uk for details of boat hire.

2 – Thames Region clubs
Contact boatbookings@goringgapbc.org.uk. Full details including hire charges are .

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