Winding River Canoe

About

Winding River Canoe specialise in guided canoeing trips along the River Dart in South Devon, the River Wye on the Welsh border and Scotland.
Our trips give you a break from your busy life, allowing you to relax, go slow and to experience the magic of the water and its calming effects. Whether you’re joining us for a day trip or for a few days, we guarantee you an interesting, calming and fun time. These trips are not just about canoeing though, they also allow you to experience the natural world, work as a team, cook together, set up camp, collect fire wood and a whole host of other activities you might not usually get to do!

The River Dart is a glorious stretch of water which rises high across Dartmoor and then joins the sea at Dartmouth. The Dart Estuary is a popular point to sail and is one of the many sections of the river you’ll get to see as part of our trips.

Winding River Canoe offers a variety of different tours of the river and can accommodate any occasion including children’s birthdays, stag and hen weekends and also provide different experiences to make your trip truly unique.

Experience an evening canoe paddle along the River Dart, this is an opportunity to slow down, switch gear and give you an insight into the natural world near the water as the day transitions into night. Guests will have the chance to see the fading light on the river, the gradual decline of bird sounds, silence, bats, moonlight and darkness. The excursion starts off in daylight and includes river tales from the onboard storytellers and cooking up burgers over the fire. Our Day Canoe Safari on the Dart Estuary begins in Longmarsh, Totnes, before setting off with the outgoing tide, joining the peaceful expanse of the Dart Estuary. This is a great opportunity for you to see more of our beautiful county from the river. If that isn’t quite adventurous enough for you, there are also opportunities to take part in Bushcraft and Canoeing trips which entail foraging and learning survival skills along the banks of the river!

Guests don’t need to be able to canoe or have any experience with canoeing, the majority of offered trips are suitable for novices and our experienced river guides are not only fully qualified British Canoe Union Instructors but are also very friendly and accommodating with an intimate knowledge of the river. They’re happy to go over the basics with our guests and with their instruction, you ‘ll be paddling along in no time!

We offer tailor made trips for stag and hen groups for those brides and grooms to be that are looking for something a bit different from the traditional party ideas. Trips can be taken over a day or a weekend for those who want to have a little adventure in the great out doors before settling down. All the trips involve canoeing as a major part of the experience and can include a riverside pub for lunch, camping, bushcraft skills and bbqs. Similarly, we adapt our birthday parties according to your wishes, our birthday trips are suitable for children aged 8 and above. These trips take place on a lovely tranquil stretch of the River Dart, near our base in Totnes where the river is clean, clear and mostly shallow and include at least one qualified instructor with the group and at least one parent. Winding River Canoes has over 10-years of experience planning and running canoe and camping expeditions for children and adults and are regularly inspected to ensure that safety regulations are up to date.