Explore the Cleddau Estuary, Pembrokeshire
Tucked beside the finger-like waterways of the Cleddau, the Little Retreat campsite is a collection of luxurious stargazer tents and domes with wood-fired hot tubs, just outside the village of Lawrenny. Wild swimming is one feature of the Feel Good Weekend retreat (10-12 September), or you can book a dome to explore independently, with activities including kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding and canoeing.
Two nights from £450, littleretreats.co.uk
Walk and paddle the Wye, Wales
Offa’s Dyke Path – which traces the ancient earthwork that roughly marks the border between England and Wales – is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. There are commemorative waymarkers and artworks to look out for on the 177-mile route. Much of it hugs the River Wye (main image), with highlights including Hay-on-Wye, Chepstow Castle, Tintern Abbey and Devil’s Pulpit. At Monmouth, you can cool off in the water on a stand-up paddleboard adventure that glides through this picturesque part of south Wales (two hours from £35pp).
nationaltrail.co.uk, inspire2adventure.com
Glide above the Menai Strait, North Wales
Take to the water on this stretch that separates the island of Anglesey from mainland Wales for an adrenaline-fuelled efoil ride. Combining an electric motor that reaches speeds of up to 30mph with the floating technology of a foil board – a surfboard with a hydrofoil that extends below the board into the water – this is as close to hoverboarding as you are likely to find. Charged up on renewable electricity, the sci-fi-like boards from Foilride allow riders to cruise the length of the sheltered strait in magical near-silence.
Three-hour lesson from £200pp, ribride.co.uk
Cold-water canyon, Scotland
Nature’s water parks – canyoning courses – allow you to leap, climb, slide and splash through some of the country’s most spectacular scenery. Scotland is the UK’s top-rated spot for the extreme activity, where Vertical Descents, the country’s longest established tour provider, offers day trips in Fort William, Perthshire and Stirlingshire. Kitted out in a wetsuit and helmet, you’ll abseil down waterfalls, zipline through gorges and leap from rocks into fresh pools. Tours range from technical canyoning routes to more sedate gorge walking.
From £70pp for half-day, verticaldescents.com
Caledonian canoeing on the River Spey, Highlands
Responsible Travel offers a small-group holiday that paddles along the River Spey from Aviemore through the country’s celebrated whisky region. The course begins gently but becomes more challenging as it passes pine forests and resident wildlife en route to Spey Bay. Each night the group sets up camp with a communal tepee for dining.
Four days for £585pp from 11 September, responsibletravel.com
Wild swimming in Sharrah pool, Devon
Likened to a scene from a fairy tale, this sylvan spot is a clearing on the River Dart in Dartmoor that’s popular with wild swimmers. Deep and clear, it can be accessed on foot from New Bridge car park via a forest path that passes cascades and a small waterfall – though reckon on half a day to walk there and back for an invigorating dip.
visitdartmoor.co.uk
Learn to fly fish, Hampshire
Get to grips with fly fishing along the River Test – one of the country’s foremost chalk-stream angling destinations – with a full-day beginners’ class. Learn how to catch a trout on the fly, with the help of an experienced Orvis Travel instructor. Pick up tips on safety, etiquette, tackle and flies, casting, and how to play, land, and release a fish. Lessons include detail on the local wildlife that call the river home, and all equipment is provided.
From £131pp based on four sharing, orvis.co.uk/adventures
Float away on a floating spa, Berkshire
Moored on the banks of the Thames near Eton, The Floating Spa at Monkey Island Estate welcomes both overnight guests and day visitors. A restored blue Dutch barge – inspired by a 17th-century Apothecaries’ Barge in Chelsea – on the banks of the property, this one-of-a kind wellness retreat offers treatments inspired by the water, including the Floating Massage, on a custom waterbed.
Treatments from £100, monkeyislandestate.co.uk
Charter a wherry on the Broads, Norfolk
These antique ferries once transported goods to Norwich via the man-made Broads, and a handful have been restored by volunteers to offer day- and longer trips to visitors. Each has a fascinating story to tell – one with an Egyptian interior – and provide a historical setting for a leisurely trip on the water. Boats can be skippered or you can hoist the sail yourself, looking out for otters, hawks, butterflies and much more as you glide off from Wroxham.
Day charter from £400, natural-britain.com
Motor up the Thames, London
Perched beside the Thames in Teddington, The Lensbury resort makes the most of its location. There are tepees in the gardens that are set up for dining, and a host of waterborne activities, from rowing boats to kayaking for guests. There are also four motor boats that can be rented (for up to seven passengers) to head out on the river – Hampton Court in one direction or Richmond Park in the other.
Doubles from £145 B&B, day boat hire £240, lensbury.com/club-sports-leisure/watersports
Bathe or barbecue in a hot tub boat on the Isle of Dogs, London
If the idea of bathing in a river gives you the shivers, then the warm waters of a floating hot tub might be more your style. Skuna’s hot tub boats, docked at Canary Wharf in London’s East End, are heated to a toasty 38°C. Sipping champagne in your swimming costume as you glide beneath the capital’s skyscrapers is not for the retiring – expect stares and concerned questions from pedestrians who may wonder whether you’re sinking. As well as the wood-fired hot tub boats, there are also barbecue boats available.
From £32pp based on seven sharing, skunaboats.com
(Photo: Skunaboats.com)
Grand reunion on the Grand Union, Warwickshire
Take the helm on 47ft narrowboat, Madeleine, from Stockton marina on the Grand Union Canal over the August bank holiday. Sleeping four and with pets allowed, it is a traditional vessel that will carry you along this historic canal towards Coventry and Rugby for a lock-lite route, or Warwick Castle, through the Stockton Flight of locks, aqueducts and past plenty of waterside pubs.
Three nights £1,150 for four, drifters.co.uk
Cool off in the River Lune, Lancashire
Picnic by the arches of the 14th-century Devil’s Bridge in the historic market town of Kirkby Lonsdale on the River Lune. Take a wild swim below the bridge or embark on a riverside walk to the view from St Mary’s churchyard at the top of the Radical Steps. For a lengthier jaunt, follow the Ingleton Waterfalls trail which finishes with an icy cooldown under the falls at Thornton Force.
Absoluxe Suites, a boutique hotel housed in a 19th-century building in the heart of town, has doubles from £220, absoluxesuites.co.uk
Lie back for some lazy tubing, Cumbria
White-water rapids might be the preserve of thrill-seekers, but in the Lake District, adventure operator Keswick Extreme offers river tubing at a more sedate pace too. Participants take a seat in the doughnut-shaped inflatables then launch off into the River Derwent at a pace that allows for some wildlife-watching – there is also an option to divert into the rapids.
£30pp, keswickextreme.com
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Nightlife in Newcastle and Gateshead, Tyneside
The newly opened Innside Newcastle offers views of the River Tyne that are so lovely they might even tempt you in for a dip. The hotel, on Newcastle’s historic quayside, is a great spot from which to explore the town centre’s bustling nightlife – with a difference. Quayside “glow tours” are organised with partner CBK Adventure. Guests can paddle beneath the seven bridges of the Tyne, discovering the history and dynamic culture of the city, with the changing colours of the Millennium Bridge and illuminated buildings highlights.
Doubles from £69, tours £60pp, innewcastle.co.uk, cbkadventure.co.uk/tours/glow
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