Family Activity Day with NYOLS: Our Experience

A smile like that is the sign of a great family day out!

Looking for a Yorkshire Adventure to Enjoy as a Family?

Of course you are! And I am here to tell you all about our Family Activity Day canoe journey with the North Yorkshire Outdoor Learning Services! What’s that? You DIDN’T know that NYOLS provides a unique activity package for you to head out and enjoy as a family in the great outdoors? Well that’s because it’s actually pretty new!

And I am here to tell you all about our experience out on the water. Ready to jump in (not fall in…. well not JUST yet…!)

We were kindly invited to come and enjoy a family activity day canoe journey with the North Yorkshire Outdoor Learning Services at Bewerley Park to assist with the promotion of this package as part of a paid partnership for our social channels, as well as this blog. What follows is a genuine account of how much we thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Kitted up and ready to hit the water!

Have you heard of the North Yorkshire Outdoor Learning Service?

You may or may not have heard of NYOLS. I certainly had, but as part of my Hill and Moorland Leader Training. So you might well have associated NYOLS with outdoor education, providing school residentials or perhaps with holiday clubs? But did you know that they also offer instructor-led family activity days in the school holidays too? WELL THEY DO!

These days stand out a little from the usual offerings for NYOLS, but are GREAT because they’re specially for families so EVERYONE gets to join in! You get the benefit of an experienced and fully qualified instructor to guide you on your activity day, so they’re good for those with little experience in water sports, who want to get out and give it a go! However if you do have experience, what you will benefit from is an expert guide who knows just the right places to head to. So it really is a win, win!

On the day, our instructor was GREAT, excellent fun, very knowledgeable and he was super enthusiastic. Just the qualities you need on a gloomy February day on the river!

Where are the Family Activity Days based?

NYOLS have two incredible locations. One at Bewerley Park in Pateley Bridge in Nidderdale. One, near Whitby at East Barnby. Both of these locations are offering the Family Activity Day canoe joureny packages this Easter.

Battleships. Thankfully, none were sunk in the playing of this game!

So what are all the need to know bits?

Ok. Here we go. I’ve got you convinced that a family canoe day is going to be on the cards… you’re excited! But what’s in store? What do you need to know? What is the DEAL?!

Well I’m here to help!

(Experience is based on our Family Activity canoe journey with the Bewerley Park location)

How to book a Family Activity Day

Always the best place to start… BOOKING the experience! (You’ll probably not get very far without it!)

Head to the NYOLS website for details. You can make your booking either by phone or by email and you’ll even get 10% off by using the code Hello10, just pop that in the email or mention it when you call the friendly NYOLS team.

When can I book it for?

The dates on offer at the moment are across the 2025 Easter Holidays, 8th & 11th April at Bewerley Park and 8th & 15th April at East Barnby. Keep an eye out for future opportunities in the summer holidays too!

Paddling past the stunning Newby Hall on the River Ure

What can I expect from a Family Activity Day canoe journey?

Fun? Shall I leave it at that?

NAH! I wouldn’t do that to you (also, I’m REALLY good at waffling, so I actually CAN’T leave it at just one word!)

As a rough guide, the day lasts between 9.30am and 4pm, so we’re talking a FULL day out. Our instructor Jonny had come up with a full plan on where we were headed for the day, with several planned stops and activities along the way. What I also loved was that there were plenty of options that could be adjusted according to how the day played out. As you’ll know with kids, options are always welcome and it was great to know that these plans could be adapted dependant on how experienced you were, or how well the kids took to the water on the day.

We arrived at our start point where we were provided with all the safety kit we needed.

What kit was provided by NYOLS?

All safety kit was provided for us. We’re talking lifejackets and helmets. Obviously, the canoes and paddles were provided, as well as huge dry bags to transport all the kit and food.

What did we bring?

We brought spare changes of clothes (not just a change of outfit, literally EVERYTHING down to socks, pants and warm jackets) hats and waterproof gloves. It was February when we had our day, but damp hands can get chilly even at Easter, so definitely a good shout to bring them along no matter what! We brought waterproof trousers and waterproof jackets, although we actually didn’t end up needing it all, had it rained we would have!

So as with all outdoorsy activities with kids, LAYERS!

We also brought hot drinks, a hot lunch and snacks (always with the snacks!) Jonny had planned for snack stops and a lunch stop. (He even brought cake! A little bird tells me that there will be cake AND hot chocolate or tea/ coffee to warm up when you get back to base…)

And finally… I ended up chucking in the onesies and comfy cosy clothes in the car too for the trip home…. as well as a flask of hot water to fill up the hot water bottles! (What?! It was February!)

That said… if you did end up forgetting anything, our instructor had our backs and had brought ‘just in case’ spares of virtually everything... you know… just in case.

Lazing on the river…

What did we do on the canoes?

To get started, we took out two, two person canoes. We had one adult with one child in each and practiced some skills in the launch area before we headed upstream. The water here was super calm, so a great place to get the kids practicing turns and learning to control the canoe before we headed off.

We were lucky on the day with the weather (a rarity, I know!) and the river was calm enough to resemble glass! But even in wind, it was not a fast flowing river at all, making it easy to paddle upstream. We stopped for a snack next to one of the locks where the kids were shown how the lock worked (I can’t tell who was more interested, me or the kids. I’ve always been fascinated by locks!)

Then, post lunch and after a good couple of hours of paddling time… the Games BEGAN.

Battleships was a clear win. Just think less about Battleships the board game, and more about trying to score points by throwing your ball into your opponents canoe (which of course resulted in plenty of near splashes, and a LOT of laughs!) Then followed a scavenger hunt along the river, which had the added benefit of doing a little bit of bonus litter picking too!

There were races and all sorts of shenanigans. All of which really built the kids confidence on the water before arriving back at our reserve end point.

The last section of the paddle was optional (which was excellent organisation, because had any of the games ended up with somebody falling in, then a warm car may have been just the ticket!)

Getting confident on the water

Next up, solo paddling…

The decision to solo paddle was entirely up to us, which of course was greeted with a huge YES from the kids!

This was on the final section of the day. So again, we were given the confidence that if anything happened at all, we were on the home straight and so a warm van was waiting!

And WHAT a home straight! The route took us past the Newby Hall Estate, with superb views along the grounds to the Hall itself (not that the kids were fussed with that - they were too busy bouncing around on their canoes!) Canoe journey routes vary, but either way you will be GUARANTEED stunning views of breath-taking scenery and a wide variety of wildlife to enjoy along the way.

This was part where the kids were given the challenge of standing up and paddling. With a background in paddleboarding, both of them immediately jumped at the chance! The challenge then progressed to standing on the edge of the canoes… let’s call it EXTREME paddle-canoeing.

Anyway, the FUN was HAD! Pushing the boundaries and definitely boosting the kids confidence! This last section was both of their favourites parts (an equal first with Battleships) and that was despite one of them falling in (literally getting out onto the jetty - I mean…… REALLY? All that way balancing on the sides of the canoe and THAT is when you fall in!)

On the whole, the day was pitched brilliantly, offering options dependant on experience, capability and circumstance. It could not have been planned any better, so a HUGE thumbs up from us!

Pushing the limits by standing on the edge of the canoe!

So…. want more Nitty Gritty information?

How old do the kids need to be?

This is an activity for adults with kids aged 8 plus.

The kids easily handled the paddling aged 9&11, they were tired by the end, but weren’t over tired (that said, they are used to being out on the water, so each experience will be different depending on the kids and experience levels)

How much does it cost?

At the time of writing the charges for a Family Activity Day are £40 per adult and then £32 for young people 16 and under (as above, equipment is included as well as the guidance of an instructor for the full day, which I think is pretty good value)

REMEMBER!

If you have made it this far down the blog… you can have a 10% off your booking with the code Hello10. You can make your booking here!

Paddling backwards and laid down…. because of COURSE!

So who is up for an adventure?

This has surely got to be going onto your list for a family adventure this year! Who’s up for it?

DO IT, DO IT!