Drift along the calm waters of Newquay’s River Gannel with a private SUP experience designed just for you. Your own instructor will tailor the session to your abilities, letting you learn paddling techniques while enjoying the estuary’s peaceful scenery. This 2-hour session provides a mix of fun, relaxation, and insight into the river’s wildlife and heritage.
The session begins on the riverbank with a thorough safety briefing, covering kit familiarisation and basic paddle skills. You’ll start on your knees to feel comfortable on the board, progressing to standing when you are ready. Your instructor will provide step-by-step guidance to ensure you feel confident throughout the experience.
Once on the water, you can choose to focus on improving your SUP skills or simply enjoy exploring the estuary. The route can include hidden tidal inlets, quiet corners, and spots rich in local history. Your instructor will provide information about the river’s wildlife, heritage, and navigation techniques, giving you a deeper understanding of the Gannel’s unique environment.
During the session, expect a mixture of gentle paddling exercises, fun challenges, and opportunities for photos. The peaceful setting allows you to move at your own pace while gaining skills in balance, steering, and directional changes.
The River Gannel winds through a serene area just outside Newquay, providing a sheltered environment ideal for paddleboarding. Its calm waters are surrounded by lush vegetation, tidal creeks, and small islands, creating a quiet natural space away from the bustle of the town.
The estuary is rich in wildlife, with birds, fish, and occasional seals to spot along the way. The river also holds historical significance, with stories of local trade, smuggling, and farming embedded along its banks. Starting close to Newquay, the area is easily accessible while still offering a secluded river experience.
No previous paddleboarding experience is required; the session is designed for beginners and those looking to improve their skills. All participants should be comfortable in the water and able to follow basic safety instructions.
Participants should wear suitable clothing for getting wet and be prepared for variable weather conditions. Wetsuits are provided to ensure warmth and comfort during the session.
The centre provides a professional yet friendly environment, with expert instructors who tailor each session to individual needs. The team’s knowledge of the River Gannel ensures both a safe and engaging experience for all participants.
Facilities include secure storage, heated changing rooms, outdoor showers, and easy access from Newquay town. The team also offers excellent support for first-time paddlers, making it an ideal choice for families, groups, or anyone wanting a relaxed SUP experience.
Stand up Paddleboarding or ‘SUP’ for short is one of the fastest growing waters sports in the world. Using a very large, stable board (similar to a surfboard) and a single-blade paddle you can navigate your way along coastlines, rivers and lakes.
Rain is no problem for a water-based activity! In fact, there’s no better way to make the most of a damp day than to get wet anyway! You will get changed into your wetsuit in our warm, dry changing rooms, then when you have your wetsuit on the rain isn’t an issue.
No need to worry, it’s all part of the learning process and can actually be quite fun! You can climb back onto your board relatively easily, but if you struggle your instructor will be there to help out.
Everybody is different and the conditions on the day can greatly affect how quickly you will learn the basics. In calm conditions, most adults will learn to effectively knee paddle in the first 10 minutes and be stand-up paddling within half an hour.
You need to bring a towel and swimwear. Footwear will also be required so bring either a pair of trainers that you don’t mind getting wet or wetsuit boots. If not you can hire from us for £5.
Yes. We require that anybody taking part in any of our water sports, including SUP, is able to swim 50 metres.
Sessions last for approximately 2 hours from when you have got all your kit on. You can expect to be with us for around 2 and half hours overall.
We will explore one of two routes. ‘The Gazzle’ is our ocean-based route along Newquay’s famous Towan Head. We will launch from either Towan beach or the old Lifeboat slipway depending on tide and surf conditions. Our river-based route is on the beautiful Gannel estuary, only a 5-minute drive from the centre.
We regularly see the local seals up close; we have also seen dolphins in Newquay bay, as well as Sunfish and Lion’s mane jellyfish. Basking sharks have also been seen on rare occasions (don’t worry, they are completely harmless and have no teeth). There is also an impressive array of birdlife, especially on our Gannel estuary route.
We primarily use inflatable boards, however we do have some hard boards for more experienced paddlers to use.
Providing you meet the minimum requirement of 50 metres swimming capability and you have no current health issues or injuries preventing you from taking part in physical activity you can come. Don’t worry, it’s not a race and your instructor will make sure the group moves at the pace of the slowest paddler and will assist weak paddlers when needed.
All of our SUP Instructors are qualified British Canoeing Paddlesport leaders. They are also Beach and Surf Safety Lifeguards. They have years of personal experience in the water, and attend regular site-specific staff training. We also work in closely with the RNLI to ensure your safety in and out of the water.
We both loved it , the instructor was a gentleman . Clear , concise instructions and very helpful . Can’t remember his name sorry , very tall with long hair
Jamie was a good instructor but a bit disappointed with the time snorkeling and not seeing anything. The sighting of the seals and info about the coast was great
Everyone was so friendly. My crew leader Alex was really supportive and encouraging as I am not an avid swimmer and so easing my way into kayaking and coasteering was a breeze. The team back at their headquarters were amazing ... keeping my baggage safe as I toured and even…
We had a really good time with Heath today. He showed us all the safety information and kept checking we were all okay. Instead of just staying out snorkelling he showed us some caves and told us about the history and cool knowledge about the caves and rocks. Had a…
We had an amazing time with heath. He was so lovely and gave us a bit of history as we went along. Very caring and made sure we had a fab time
Fun and exciting. The guide Oleks made it really enjoyable for us
Olek was such a cool instructor…let you get on with enjoying the water whilst keeping you safe and giving lots of detail…dan was super helpful when we got there and having a chat afterwards 10/10 hope to be back next summer
Amazing time coasteering in Cornwall with our instructor James. Great fun and James was very knowledgeable and easy to chat to. Thanks for an amazing time
We partner with Rewilding Britain to help protect our natural spaces for future adventures.
All centres are vetted for safety and quality. Your adventure is in good hands with adventuro.
Operated by Newquay Activity Centre, a partner of adventuro.
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom
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Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom
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Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom
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Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom
From £110
