GB Athlete Ben Haylett visits Cromford Wharf as Paddle Peak gets up and running again after Easter break.

It was meant to be the start of the summer block for our Paddle Peaksters, but with the temperatures hoovering around the 5 degree mark it felt more like returning post Christmas than post Easter holidays. 

Luckily, Paddle Peak appears to have its own little micro climate down at Cromford Wharf. Surrounded by hills that and is frequently laughed about that no matter what the weather seems to be like close by, the Wharf seems to escape the harsher elements. 

The Wharf, designed by William Jessop and located at the end of the Cromford Canal which many moons ago was used to help transport goods down to the Erewash Canal to help get items moved around the country.

Nowadays it’s used for Paddle Peak and we are chuffed to bits to be able to use this historical piece of water, with a big thanks to those at Cromford Mills and Derbyshire County Council for allowing it to happen week in, week out.

So that’s enough of the trip down memory lane, lets fast forward to April 2024 and Paddle Peak was lucky enough to kick start this next block of sessions with the visit of Ben Haylett, a GB paddler from Nottingham who came to help out as his busy training period allowed him a few days off. Ben recently smashed the U23 series, winning 6 out of the 6 races. The races were held over two separate weekends at the Olympic course in Lee Valley and were concluded in Nottingham. Well done Ben! 

The session was all about team work, incorporating the two Paddle Peak groups, one called ‘The Chasers’ and the other ‘Sprogs’. These being local kids who in the Chasers have been paddling for 2 years and the Sprogs being last years intake. The session involved a team skipping challenge, a buoyancy aid & helmet get ready race, an individual slalom race, team slalom race and some short sprint efforts. After completion of all the challenges, the scores were added up and the winning team crowned, with the victors being team ‘No Idea’, which appeared too, have an idea. 

A big thank you for all those who helped run the session and to Ben who will now have a busy summer as he travels across Europe taking on World Cups, European Championships and the U23 World Championships.

Catch you next week for another session down at the Micro Climate!