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We’re always on the lookout for adventures or activities that we enjoy, and will raise the profile of the expedition,, so we decided to look at inflatable kayaks – boats that could be inflated, used in all conditions, then wrapped up in a bag again. Not only do inflatables make it easier to have a kayak at home or transport it in a car, or on your back, but they also open up the idea of a totally self sufficient and human powered mini-adventure.

I called a contact of a contact, Nike Pipe of one of the leading inflatable kayak suppliers in the UK, Advanced Elements UK. What Nick doesn’t know about inflatable boats isn’t worth knowing, so his advice on what we needed was very much appreciated.

A couple of days later two big brown boxes arrived in the post. They contained one of the latest inflatable kayaks on the market, the Advanced Elements Expedition Tandem Kayak, two lifejackets, two sets of paddles, and very importantly, a pump.

We couldn’t wait to get on the water to try out the new boat, so on Friday after filming with the BBC we headed off to a canal to get afloat. Like excited school boys we turned up at the canal basin to find that the water was covered in ice. These boats have a great reputation, but nowhere in the manual does it say that they have good ice-breaking qualities, so the trip was abandoned.

When the weekend arrived I could wait no more. John was enjoying a weekend with his boys, so I headed off to the river alone. I lifted the boat from its large grey hold-all. This kayak looked very complicated with chambers and inflation valves everywhere so  (I hate ANYTHING has even the slightest resemblance to flat-packed furniture) I opened up the extremely thin-looking instruction manual. It was a piece of cake! Each valve is numbered, so all you have to do is inflate them one valve at a time in the correct sequence; it’s like painting by numbers, but different. Bearing in mind that this was my first time and I was checking everything in triplicate as I went, the whole thing was inflated and ready to go with all of my gear stowed on board in less than fifteen minutes.

It’s been a long time since I was last in a kayak so getting on board was a bit of a cack-handed affair. Once I was in, I was straight off. I got adventurous for my first trip so took on a little fast and slightly white water which made my pulse race a little, but the boat did the job well. I followed the river through some of its wider reaches and in to the estuary. This is when paddling got a little harder and I really should have checked the tides! The boat did make it simple though; it paddled easily and tracked extremely well (i.e. it goes in a straight line). I headed out of the mouth of the river into flat seas, so I journeyed along the coast for a few miles with no real effort, then headed back the way I’d come.

At the top of the estuary  I decided to dock outside what I knew to be a very busy pub on the river (I never miss a chance to promote the expedition). As I pulled up quite a few people came to watch. I used the paddle to secure the boat alongside the bank, then with a big smile on my face stepped out. The smile quickly disappeared when my legs gave way, and I fell backwards into the river! Everyone laughed, some helped me out and others felt embarrassed for me. I deflated the kayak, packed it back in the hold-all, disassembled the paddle and took off down the road.

The downside of the Expedition Kayak was that it made me think I was a much better kayaker than I actually am; it would be difficult to tip over, found its own way through the currents of the river and was so comfortable that I could quite happily sit in it all day.

In a nutshell, this is the best fun you’re ever likely to find in a bag!

Find out more about the Advance Elements range of inflatables at http://www.advancedelementskayaks.co.uk/

Diary