Bespoke Packrafting Expedition in the Lake District — Fully Tailored

Once you get in touch, we'll arrange a short conversation — by phone, video call or email, whichever suits you best — to understand what you're hoping to get out of the trip. We'll ask about group size, previous paddling or hillwalking experience, fitness, any specific lakes or rivers you'd love to include, how many days you have, and whether you're after something gentle and scenic or something that pushes your skills.

From there, your guide will put together a draft plan with suggested routes, timings and logistics. You'll have a chance to review it, ask questions and tweak anything that doesn't feel right. We'll finalise the plan a week or so before the trip once we can see the weather and water-level forecasts, keeping a backup option or two in reserve so conditions never dictate a cancelled day.

For single-day custom plans we'd ideally want two to three weeks' notice so there's time for the planning conversation and to secure the right guide for your date. Multi-day expeditions with wild camping, portages or more remote routes benefit from four to six weeks, particularly if you want a specific stretch of water that requires access arrangements.

That said, last-minute enquiries are always worth making. Cancellations come up, and a local guide who already knows the conditions can sometimes pull together a brilliant day on fairly short notice. The earlier you ask, the more flexibility there is in shaping the trip around exactly what you want rather than what's practical at short notice.

The main drivers are group size, duration and how much logistical support is involved. A single day on a straightforward lake with one guide and two paddlers costs more per head than the same day with six paddlers because the guide fee is shared across fewer people. Multi-day expeditions add kit hire, food planning and potentially vehicle shuttles between put-in and take-out points.

Specialist elements such as photography, a second guide for safety cover on harder water, transport, or catered meals all sit on top of the base rate. We'll give you a clear breakdown during the planning conversation so nothing is a surprise — you can then decide what's worth including and what you'd rather handle yourselves to keep costs down.

Almost everything is on the table: route, pace, number of hours on the water, where you stop for lunch, whether you add a fell walk or a summit swim, and how many days you'd like to string together. Groups have asked for everything from a relaxed family paddle with plenty of splashing around, to a route-choice challenge where participants navigate between checkpoints, to a slow photography-focused day chasing light on quieter tarns.

The limits are mainly practical. Some rivers only run in the right conditions, access to certain stretches of water is seasonal or restricted, and overnight camping spots need to be chosen responsibly. Your guide will be upfront about anything that isn't feasible and will usually have an alternative that delivers the same experience in a different setting.

Yes — the earlier we know, the better we can plan. For catered days we've worked around vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and various allergy requirements, and we'll confirm the menu with you before the trip. If you're self-catering we'll point you towards shops near the start or suggest what's worth carrying for a multi-day plan.

Accessibility varies by activity, but we've run sessions for paddlers with limited mobility on the lower body, hearing differences and anxiety around open water. We'll ask some honest questions during planning so the guide can choose a put-in with easy bank access, build in extra coaching time, or adjust the route. Nothing gets ruled out without a proper conversation first.

Bespoke trips are private by default — the booking is yours and nobody else joins unless you invite them. That means you set the pace, choose the route and shape the day entirely around your party, whether that's two friends, a family, a stag or hen weekend, or a corporate away day.

If you'd prefer to keep costs down, we can also discuss running a custom plan as a "semi-open" session where one or two additional paddlers can join at a reduced rate. That only happens with your permission, and you'd still have final say on the plan and pace.

Not at all for most plans. We regularly design bespoke days for complete beginners who simply want a more personal experience than a scheduled group booking. Your guide will build in skills coaching at the start and choose water that matches your comfort level as the day progresses.

For more ambitious plans — longer crossings, moving water above Grade 1, committing multi-day routes with portages — we'll want to understand your experience honestly so the plan is safe and enjoyable rather than overwhelming. If there's a gap between what you want to do and what you're currently ready for, we can often map out a build-up: a skills day first, then the bigger trip once you're confident.

Mixed ability is common and genuinely manageable with the right plan. The guide will usually pitch the route at a level everyone can enjoy, with optional harder lines, longer stretches or side-trips that stronger paddlers can take while others follow a more direct route. Everyone finishes the day in the same place, just with slightly different stories.

For groups with a wider spread — say a confident river paddler alongside a total beginner — we sometimes bring in a second guide so the group can briefly split during skills practice or a trickier section. That's optional and costs more, but it often makes the difference between the whole party having a great day and one person feeling either bored or out of their depth.

Because bespoke trips involve dedicated planning time, there's usually a non-refundable deposit when you book, with the balance due a couple of weeks before the trip. Full terms get shared with you at the point of booking so everything is clear up front. If you need to reschedule and give reasonable notice, we'll almost always find another date without any fuss.

If the weather or water levels become genuinely unsafe, your guide will make the call to change the plan rather than cancel — swapping a river day for a sheltered lake route, for example, or moving the day by 24 hours. Full cancellations are rare and come with a clear policy on what's refundable so you're never left guessing.

Drop us a message with the rough shape of what you're hoping to do — when you're free, how many people, any ideas you've already got, and what you'd love to get out of the trip. It genuinely doesn't need to be polished; "three of us, a weekend in June, we'd like to camp somewhere by water" is enough to get the planning going.

From there we'll come back within a couple of working days with some questions, a suggested direction and a rough idea of cost. There's no commitment at that stage — plenty of enquiries turn into great conversations that help people refine what they actually want, and we're happy to keep chatting until the plan feels right before anything gets confirmed.