My son, nephew and I completed our BCU 1 star course here. Albert the coach was excellent and the…read moreatmosphere was very friendly.

From the owner: Surrey Canoe Club specialises in transferring skills across disciplines. You do not have to come…read moreevery week, as the coach will continue to teach from where you left off the last time you came. Fantastic opportunity to make new friends while learning new skills. Gain qualifications which could lead to employment opportunities. Many of our coaches started this way Something for everyone. Beginner to Advanced.

This is a fantastic place to head if you are a water-sports nut! Everything is catered for here;…read morecanoeing, dinghy sailing, wind-surfing and much more. My wife and I completed our RYA level 1 and 2 sailing here as the instructors are so patient and the surroundings are so much nicer than a lot of the local Brighton destinations. The Ardingly Resovoir is a huge place to start off learning and once you've progressed, they have a program at Chichester Harbour so you can start navigating the open seas!

I am keen to introduce my three young children to outdoor water based activities, so I phoned the…read moreArdingly Activity Centre for advice to work out what was possible given their ages. I had no fixed ideas about when or how, just sooner rather than later was my preference. We have just purchased a camper van so it was about trying out new compatible activities. The centre was not available when I called so I left a message. I eventually received a call back from the owner, who was very cold and blunt, and seemingly annoyed that I was seeking advice rather than using the online booking facility. I was told firmly that they had migrated to an online system as they were sick of having two people man the phones answering queries daily (hopefully those two people are employed elsewhere). I am absolutely fine with things that are not possible but I had to work very hard to try and work out a suitable plan of attack. I asked if anyone was available for private hire and got a stark "no" followed by silence - no follow on to suggest there may in the future or that group lessons may be available etc. In the interests of politeness I let that go and then moved onto talk logistics in the absence of a tutor, given the ages of the children, to try and work out whether my wife and I could hire one kayak or two and how many kids were allowed on board. Again, very negative... started with can't be done with the youngest of the three kids... no problem, so I tried to usher the conversation to what was possible with the older two.. suggesting my wife staying on the side-lines with the baby whilst I rotate with the two older children. The first response was only myself and one child were allowed in a kayak and if I were to swap between the two, it would be a pain to get the children in and out of the life jackets on rotation. I suggested we just put them both in life jackets at the outset (they are different sizes given age gaps anyway). I was rather rudely told that would result in one of my children hogging a life jacket. Eventually the owner recognised his own dismissiveness and conceded that having both the older two children in life jackets from the get go and then rotating could work. Phew. Separately, I also suggested that my wife would be fine on the side-lines with the baby as she has not got any experience and got a very blunt "well, it's not that difficult". That was literally the tone and extent of the response on that. By that point I started laughing out of embarrassment and when he asked why I explained that I had phoned to motivate my children in a new venture and had ended up becoming demotivated myself. I wish I hadn't said anything. The fault was, apparently, my subjective feelings rather than his attitude. In fact the owner had self-justified his approach as legitimate expectation management, and my dislike being linked to being unrealistic on a bank holiday weekend. I tried to explain, politely, I had no expectations of when or how, I was just trying to work out a plan to introduce my kids to this ... instead I was receiving an "its all too difficult", dead-end and unhelpful dialogue. I said a little helpfulness, optimism and realism were not mutually exclusive. Despite this, I was met with non-sequiturs about being "unrealistic" and a defensive "I have done this job for thirty five years" and had lots of happy customers, we should agree to disagree etc. It was my feelings that were at fault and his subjective interpretation meant there was no objective truth in the feedback he had requested. Some owners cannot do enough to engage new custom/enthuse potential recruits - this owner couldn't do any less, isn't interested in feedback he requests, however well put, and will default to self-justificatory non-sequiturs and years served. You would have thought the owner would have developed some degree of self-awareness/desire to pass on skills to the next generation. Unfortunately not if it requires anything non-standard or outside of the online booking system. Hopefully the owner's customers will find the review he requested more useful that he did.

This lagoon watersports offers lots of watersports most of the year round. In the summer there is…read morean event that is sponsored by K'nex which enables all kids the chance to do wind surfing for free so look out for it! I did this programme and loved it and would recommend it. There is tonnes of events going on so there will be something to do. The cafe also supplies good grub which is important for a day spent on the water before and after. Even if the weather isn't great do not let it put you off as often you get more speed when windsurfing in bad conditions. Plus once you have finished you can have a nice hot bath which always feels a million times better when you've been out in the windy weather of the Brighton seafront. It isn't the cheapest day but in terms of the facilties, coaching and equipment you get at your disposal it is relatively.

Pete L. has it down. Training wheels for water sports. I came out here on a LivingSocial Adventures…read moreand had a blast! You can rent a kayak and go out on the ocean, or do a variety of sports in the lagoon (windsurfing, wake boarding on zipline, stand up paddleboard, sailing, kayaking, etc.) Reasonable pricing scheme, really friendly (and attractive) staff. My ONE warning, don't expect a crystal blue lagoon. It is a sorta funky brown pond of seawater. But hey, it is a good, safe place to learn with much more predictable conditions than the big bad ocean, so you do what you gotta do. I'd definitely come back on my own and play some more!

I have been to this event twice and it's varied greatly all due to the great British weather!!…read more The first year I went it was the hottest weekend of the summer and the most perfect way to spend a weekend. The event is on both the Saturday and Sunday in early July. The second time I went the weather was not very good and the sea pretty rough hence the event was not so popular and I felt hugely disappointed for all the people involved in putting this event together. So basically the idea is on the beach by Hove Lawns various water sport races take place over the weekend. Events such as paddle boarding, kayaking, swimming, etc. various lengths and various age categories I believe. However the best bit to watch is the free for all race where all forms of water sports race around the west pier together. Quite a specticule to see, and soooo typically Brighton. On the good weather year they also had a race where people made all sorts of weird and wonderful rafts and raced them. This was hilarious to watch. Brilliant to photograph. Apart from the events in the water there is loads going on on Hove Lawns. Kids entertainments, live music, a range of stalls, bmx bike stunts, bouncy castles, food stalls, etc. seen as it's all free you can't really go wrong. So next year take a wonder down and have a look. Take a blanket and chill on the beach watching the water sports events, then have a wonder round the Hove lawn area and enjoy the atmosphere.

Paddle round the pier is a watersports, beach and music charity festival held over 2 days on Hove…read morelawns every July. This year is the festivals 20th anniversary! There is lots going on here, from music stages, various stands and stalls, food and drinks and watersports events throughout the weekend, including the famous paddle round the pier itself! This year has been a lovely event, with my personal faves being the ukulele stage - inspired me to go and pick up a uke haha! As always this event is very dependent on the weather, with the Saturday this year being quite windy and unpredictable, the sun came through for us on the Sunday :) This event is free of charge but feel free to make a donation to charity at one of the various buckets being passed around.