Clear Access, Clear Waters: The Paddler's Podcast

In this bonus episode Etienne Stott is joined by Nick Hayes, illustrator, writer and land rights campaigner. Nick was a guest last summer talking about access and his publication The Book of Trespass. It's a short interview to accompany Episode 25 where all things trespass, rights of way and the Countryside and Rights of Way Act.

This takes the Paddler's Podcast back to its roots - which is access. And there are three great guests with Etienne Stott this week. Kate Ashbrook is a pioneer and legend. She's currently General Secretary of the Outdoor Spaces Society. Kate has been an activist since the 1970's and brings a wealth of experience to the discussion. Dr Cath Flitcroft is responsible for managing the British Mountaineering Council's relationship with the Government and other countryside organisations. And Alison Hallas is the Policy and Advocacy Officer with The Ramblers, the charity that works to protect and expand the places people love to walk.

This week Etienne Stott talks about the great part white water paddling and river running has played in the 85 years of British Canoeing. From the early descents of European rivers in the 1940's and 1950's to the explosion of growth in more recent times. Three great pioneers join the conversation - Suzy Hornby, Roger Huyton and Michael Coyne. There are some great tales of expeditions from the 1970's and 80's. It's a real to joy to listen.

This week Olympic gold medal winner Etienne Stott leads a chat about paddling and mental health and wellbeing. We've 3 guests who are helping to make a real difference in improving mental health. Learn how they're doing it and how you could get involved. There'll be some great tips for individuals and clubs. The guests are: Lynne-Marie Dale - A British Canoeing qualified Paddlesport Coach based in Yorkshire. Lynne's also the Paddlesport Officer for Blackdog Outdoors, which is a national volunteer organisation doing great work promoting and using outdoor exercise for better wellbeing. Darren Johnson - A SUP instructor who's helped to grow the Fylde Coast SUP Group. It's a group that predominantly operates out of the coastal fishing town of Fleetwood, striving to improve mental health. Sarah Coombes - A SUP instructor and founder of the Blue Therapy Active group located in a little corner of Essex, which shares its love of the sea and encourage people to have fun outdoors.

The latest edition looks at two women who are helping to break down barriers in the sport. Adya Misra is one of the British Canoeing Club Champions. A keen paddler,  Adya is hugely passionate about  helping women develop as paddlers, encouraging them to try new craft; coaching them to improve their technique and mostly to create environments in which they feel confident and comfortable to paddle in. Eilidh Gibson, a slalom C1 paddler, set up the Slalom Inspires programme when she was sidelined from racing. It was was born out of Eilidh's passion for canoe slalom and her calling to get more girls into the sport which still has a higher proportion of male to female participants. The next development in this is the creation of Project FLOW, an initiative to help empower and upskill women and girls to become canoeing coaches. The podcast is presented by Etienne Stott, Olympic Gold Medal winner from London 2012. For information go to Britishcanoeing.org.uk Eilidh's website is elidhgibson.com Adya's blog is adyamisra86.wixsite.com

A lively discussion on paddling from some of Britain's elite sportsmen and women. Liam Heath MBE won gold(K1 200m)and silver(K2 200m) at the Rio Olympics in 2016. And a bronze at London 2012. Adam Burgess has had to wait patiently for his Olympic debut after being selected last year in the Canoe Slalom. Charlotte Henshaw has medals from the Paralympics in London and Rio, but in swimming. She moved to paracanoe in 2016 and is a world champion. And hopes to be part of the team in Tokyo Leading the chat is the gold medal winner from the London Games Etienne Stott For more information on British Canoeing go to www.britishcanoeing.org.uk

Etienne Stott, Olympic Gold Medal winner from London 2012 investigates pollution and water quality in our waterways. Etienne gets stuck in to finding out more about his issue with his guests. This is an audio version of a live conversation over facebook and YouTube. So why should paddlers care about this? As you'll hear, there are plenty of places with sewage issues. When we enter into these waterways we're at risk of gastroenteritis; ear, nose and throat infections; skin issues and even hepatitis and e-coli. So even just touching your boat could put you at risk. Amy Slack is from Surfers Against Sewage and Ash Smith if from Windrush Against Sewage Pollution(WASP). She claims our rivers are being treated like open sewers and that issues that were once affecting the coastline has now been switched inland. Surfers Against Sewage started 30 years again when a bunch of surfers were fed up of becoming ill by being in the sea. Now it's a national campaigning organisation concerned about water quality, plastic pollution and the climate emergency. WASP looks out for the Windrush in Oxfordshire and was set up to try to improve the quality of the water as they felt other agencies weren't doing enough. Ash tells Etienne about the sort of chemicals that are ending up in the waterways with long lasting effects. You can find out more about British Canoeing's Clear Access, Clear Waters Campaign here https://clearaccessclearwaters.org.uk/ And British Canoeing and membership details here https://www.britishcanoeing.org.uk/

Matt Allwright is a TV reporter and journalist on programmes like Watchdog, Fake Britain, Rogue Traders and The One Show. He's also a keen paddler - especially at night. Lucy Siegle is a TV reporter for the One Show and writer for the Guardian on environmental matters and she loves her time in the kayak. Etienne discovers that Lucy does regular river clean-ups, takes her kayak to go shopping and can often be seen on the Thames with her dog. Matt talks about his love of the sea kayak. We talk plastics, pollution, repairs, shares and a general love of paddlesport.

Here's another chance to hear one of Etienne's favourite interviews from the first series. Etienne travels to Manchester to meet Cal Major, who's been so influential in the fight against sewage and plastic in our seas.  Cal talks about her epic world record journey when she decided to take her SUP and paddle nearly 1000 miles from Lands' End to John o'Groats.   Cal talks about the physical and mental resilience needed on this two month challenge and her reflection on the environmental issues she encountered.  She believe's there's a massive problem to solve. Cal decided to go inland on her journey and it helped her to see the connection between what's going on there and the marine litter crisis at sea. There's a great discussion, some fascinating observations and heartening news about the successes of the campaigns against plastic and sewage. To find out more about Cal Major's Paddle Against Plastic go to: www.paddleagainstplastic.com there's lots of brilliant information and blogs.  And Cal's on twitter @PaddlesVsPlastic and on instagram @cal_major You can find Etienne Stott @EtienneStott And there's lots of information about Canoeing and the Clear Access, Clear Waters Campaign www.britishcanoeing.org.uk And to find out more places to paddle this summer www.gopaddling.info Thanks for visiting.

A summer re-run and a chance to listen again.Olympic gold medal winner and climate campaigner Etienne Stott meets one of his heroes, Steve Backshall.Steve's incredible expedition's have made into dozens of TV programmes and brought paddling to a mainstream audience. It's a fascinating conversation.They start with Steve's recent trip to the Arctic - the wildlife he's encountered, the incredible Northern Lights and his absolute love of the sea kayak. There are some great stories!Steve also talks about his dramatic rescue on a trip to Bhutan when he feared he was drowning.Etienne and Steve discus the climate emergency and their hopes for the future.Steve explains why he supports British Canoeing's Clear Access, Clear Waters campaign and tells us of the problems he and his wife have encountered from the river banks. And Steve and Etienne discover they share two other things - they both started paddling in the Scouts and they've both just taken Open University degrees.You can find Etienne Stott on twitter@etiennestottAnd Steve Backshall@SteveBackshallTo find out where to paddleswww.gopaddling.infoTo find out more about the Clear Access, Clear Waters campaign please visitwww.britishcanoeing.orgIf you have a moment - we'd love it if you could rate and review our podcast. Thank you.

Olympic gold medal winner Etienne Stott chats with former MP and paddler Tom Watson and the Chief Executive of The Outdoor Industries Association, Andrew Denton.There's some great chat here about the work done to allow canoeists back on the water during lockdown and the transformational possibilities during the recovery from the Covid crisis.Tom Watson discusses his story from junior politician to deputy leader of the Labour Party - and his realisation that his weight had become a problem. He tells how paddling is part of his journey reversing type-2 diabetes and losing seven stone.Andrew talks about some of his work. Including his lobbying to extend the Government's 'Cycle to Work scheme' to cover paddling and running.

Warning - some topics discussed are of a sensitive nature.Etienne's joined by two paddling adventurers Nick Ray, a sea-kayaking specialist and Darren Clarkson-King who talk about how the water helps with mental health.Darren is the only paddler to have kayaked all the rivers that flow from Everest. He talks to Etienne about how what he believes we learn from adventures. He thinkskayaking challenges people in a way that no other sport does. He's passionate about it for personal development.Nick is very open about his mental health challenges, including an attempt on his own life last year. He talks about how sea-kayaking and the outdoors helps him.@PLE_AND_ME is where you'll find Darren on twitterand his website is purelandexpeditions.comNick's website is www.lifeafloat.co.uk and you can follow him on twitter @lifeafloatwww.mind.org.uk. for more information on mental healthwww.samaritans.org.ukwww.britishcanoeing.org.uk for more details about paddling

Etienne Stott leads a fascinating conversation about access with two leading writers.Guy Shrubsole is the author of "Who Owns England?: How We Lost Our Green and Pleasant Land, and How to Take it Back.Nick Hayes is the author of "The Book of Trespass"and is a land and rights campaigner.This is an hour's discussion which goes to the heart of British Canoeing's Clear Access, Clear Waters campaign - the vision to confirm access to rivers and inland waters in a fair, shared and sustainable way.More detailswww.britishcanoeing.org.ukwww.clearaccessclearwaters.org.ukThe "don't criminalise trespass petition" created by Guy ishttps://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/300139Follow British Canoeing@britishcanoeing

Etienne Stott meets 4 of this year's #ShePaddles Ambassadors, just some of the group chosen to promote women in paddlesport. There's great chat here about their passions for getting outdoors and sharing the love of the canoe and paddling.The guests are Emma Love, Kirstie Macmillan, Katie Pearson and Julie Vidor.Emma's into white water SUP. India instructs yoga on a SUP. Kirstie is an outdoor instructor. And Julie has discovered slalom. They talk about how they got into the sport, what they get out of it and how they've overcome barriers to become so passionate. And there's a discussion on how to get more women on to the water.

Etienne Stott chats with the chair of British Canoeing, Prof John Coyne CBE and CEO David Joy. This is the audio version of a live video stream which you can find on British Canoeing's social media channels.Lots of topics are covered in this episodes with questions from members. They talk about how British Canoeing's been working during the Covid crisis and how they're supporting people getting back paddling; what's happening with courses and how the organisation moves forward on environmental issues.The CEO tells Etienne he's thankful for the outstanding support from so many members during this lockdown.And there's a discussion about the challenge to increase BAME participation rates and improving the diversity in the sport.

Olympic gold medal winner and environmental campaigner Etienne Stott chats with Hugo Tagholm the Chief Executive of Surfers Against Sewage. This is an audio version of the live video streams which you can find on British Canoeing's Facebook Page and YouTube Channel.Hugo is a surfer, environmentalist and award-winning campaigner from the beaches to the Houses of Parliament. He's been instrumental in getting more than a hundred thousand volunteers out to the rivers and beaches on clean-ups in the fight against plastic pollution. His work has been widely recognised and got him an invitation to the wedding of Harry and Meghan.Etienne's also joined by British Canoeing's Ben Seal who goes out on the Derwent on a mini clean-up and finds quite a bit of rubbish in his half an hour paddle

Olympic gold medal winner Etienne Stott meets comedian, actor, musician and paddler Bill Bailey. This is the audio podcast version of a live video stream, which can still be found on British Canoeing's Facebook page and YouTube channel.Bill got into paddle boarding seven years ago and loves the freedom and simplicity of the sport. He learnt with his teenage son on the Thames near London.There's lots of great paddling chat in this latest episode.

Olympic gold medal winner Etienne Stott chats with the international paddlers Emma Wiggs, Kimberley Woods and Katie Reid.Kimberley was set to make her Olympic debut in 2020 after a successful 2019 season. She was also hoping to be one of the stars of the European Championships at Lee Valley this year. She spent the early part of lockdown training in her back garden.Emma is a multiple world champion and won gold at the Rio Paralympics. She was hoping to be heading to Tokyo this year.Katie was a former karate champion who was recruited from the Girls for Gold campaign. She was hoping to make C2 in the Tokyo Olympics.Enjoy the chat!

Etienne meets some of the UK's top people for kit. Pete Astles from Peak UK, Steve Childs from Tootega, Paul Robertson of Palm equipment and Mat Wilkinson from Pyranha.This is an audio version of a live video stream on British Canoeing's Facebook page and YouTube channel.They talk about trends in the sport, life under lockdown and what the future holds. It's a fascinating insight with plenty of banter too.

The French Kayaker Nouria Newman joins Etienne Stott in this audio version of British Canoeing's special lockdown video streams. Nouria is a gold medal winner at the World Championships - but there is so much more to her paddling. She's brilliant at freestyle and extreme kayaking and pretty much one of a kind. She loves competition but also has a thirst for adventure.The video of this chat is on British Canoeing's YouTube and Facebook channels

This is an audio version of a lockdown video livestream special. Etienne Stott meets two great adventurers. Sal Montgomery talks about how she got into the extreme end of the sport - tackling waterfalls, undiscovered rivers and going on expeditions all over the world. Sal also talks about a recent trip to Bhutan and her rescue of TV presenter Steve Backshall. Bren Orton began on flat water and then slalom and now freestyles in some of the craziest places you can imagine. Bren tells us where he gets his inspiration and what he's planning for post-lockdown.

Etienne Stott travels to Manchester to meet Cal Major, who's been so influential in the fight against sewage and plastic in our seas. Cal talks about her epic world record journey when she decided to take her SUP and paddle nearly 1000 miles from Lands' End to John o'Groats. Cal talks about the physical and mental resilience needed on this two month challenge and her reflection on the environmental issues she encountered. She believe's there's a massive problem to solve.Cal decided to go inland on her journey and it helped her to see the connection between what's going on there and the marine litter crisis at sea.There's a great discussion, some fascinating observations and heartening news about the successes of the campaigns against plastic and sewage.To find out more about Cal Major's Paddle Against Plastic go to:www.paddleagainstplastic.comthere's lots of brilliant information and blogs. And Cal's on twitter@PaddlesVsPlasticand on instagram@cal_majorYou can find Etienne Stott@EtienneStottAnd there's lots of information about Canoeing and the Clear Access, Clear Waters Campaignwww.britishcanoeing.org.ukThanks for visiting.

Olympic gold medal winner and climate campaigner Etienne Stott meets one of his heroes, Steve Backshall.Steve's incredible expedition's have made into dozens of TV programmes and brought paddling to a mainstream audience. It's a fascinating conversation.They start with Steve's recent trip to the Arctic - the wildlife he's encountered, the incredible Northern Lights and his absolute love of the sea kayak. There are some great stories!Steve also talks about his dramatic rescue on a trip to Bhutan when he feared he was drowning.Etienne and Steve discus the climate emergency and their hopes for the future.Steve explains why he supports British Canoeing's Clear Access, Clear Waters campaign and tells us of the problems he and his wife have encountered from the river banks. And Steve and Etienne discover they share two other things - they both started paddling in the Scouts and they've both just taken Open University degrees.Steve Backshall hosts a special event called One Wild Night in aid of the World Land Trust. Look out for details of the 2020 date.Details www.worldlandtrust.orgYou can find Etienne Stott on twitter@etiennestottAnd Steve Backshall@SteveBackshallTo find out more about the Clear Access, Clear Waters campaign please visitwww.britishcanoeing.orgIf you have a moment - we'd love it if you could rate and review our podcast. Thank you.

London 2012 Olympic gold medal winner and climate change campaigner Etienne Stott spends time with GB paddlers Joe Clarke MBE and Ryan Westley.Joe and Ryan are passionate paddlers but they are also keen anglers and they give their take on some of the conflicts between the two sports.They both love the outdoors but spend summers dashing between training and the fishing lake. They tell Etienne about their love of angling and there are plenty of stories of their adventures trying to catch fish and the special baits they use.Joe Clarke won gold in K1 canoe slalom at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Like Etienne he started canoeing with the Scouts and developed a love of the sport. The pair walk around the Lee Valley Slalom course and talk about their gold medal winning moments. And in the centre’s reception they see both their Olympic winning canoes hanging from the ceiling.Ryan Westley started as a recreational paddler at the age of 3. He began on flat water on the River Axe in Somerset and then in the sea. When the family moved to Yorkshire he got into slalom and made his international debut in 2009. His career highlights include winning a World Championship bronze medal at Lee Valley in 2015 and taking gold at the European Championships C1 in 2018.Joe Clarke says he feels it’s sad that there is some conflict between fishing and paddling and calls for respect on both sides. Ryan Westley believes it’s about each side conceding a little to get along better. Etienne Stott feels the natural resources should be shared. The trio talk candidly about the issues and what can be done.If you want to find out more about British Canoeing’s Clear Access, Clear Waters Environmental Charter you can find it onwww.britishcanoeing.org.ukEtienne Stott is on twitter at@etiennestottAnd you want to follow Joe Clarke and Ryan Westley on social media@joeclarkek1 (twitter and instagram)@ryan_westley (twitter)@Wrestler (instagram)

Olympic gold medal winner Etienne Stott meets three inspiring women and hears about their paddling adventures. Jo Moseley calls herself a joy encourager, a mid-life adventurer and a beach cleaner. In August 2019 at the age of 54 she became the first woman to Stand Up Paddleboard coast to coast from Liverpool to Goole. She called it Paddleboard the North and raised money for two charities and picking up litter along the way.Jo's a single mum, empty-nester and this journey was a voyage of personal discovery. Jo wants women, especially of her age, to feel welcome on the water. She feels women can become disconnected from their bodies but she's proud that she lifted her board in and out of more than 90 locks on the canal to give her a confidence that spreads into everyday life. For 11 days she felt the most 'me' she'd ever been.Emma Kitchen returned to the water after going through a tough few years in her life and is back loving the white water. She really wants more women to get into paddlesport and wants to tell everyone why the water can be great for mental and physical health. She calls it escapism in a busy world. Emma used to go paddling with her dad and joined her local canoe club. But fell out of the sport for 19 years before returning a couple of years ago. She also goes SUP'ing and is setting up a community club in Castleford.Jo and Emma are both proud Women's Paddling Ambassadors for British Canoeing. And they're joined by Cadi Lambert, who leads the #ShePaddles programme for British Canoeing. For Cadi, it's much more than a job. It's a complete passion. She's driven to help other women to return to the water or try it for the first time - whether it's on a board, on a raft or in a canoe. And then helping women to get where they want to be in the sport such as becoming a coach or leader. The guests discus access, the environment and rubbish on the riverbanks. We hope you enjoy it!If you want more details on anything in the podcast or to find out about ShePaddles then here are some contacts:www.britishcanoeing.orgYou can find Jo Moseley on twitter @healthyhappy50@OneHappyRowerand at www.healthhappy50.comCadi can be contacted at cadi.lambert@britishcanoeing.org.uk

Olympic canoe slalom gold medal winner Etienne Stott hosts the first episode in a new series of inspiring stories from paddlers all over the UKIn this series presented by British Canoeing he'll be meeting paddlers and chatting with them to find out what inspires them into the sport and the environmental challenges they face.Etienne travels to Cromford in the Derwent Valley in the Peak District to meet the founder and boss of Peak UK, kayaking equipment. Pete Astles started paddling as a youngster in the Lake District and moved to Nottingham to train as a teenager. He moved on to making garments, taught himself to sew and has never looked back.His kit is used around the world. And Pete tells us about the secret testing that helped GB win an Olympic slalom gold medal at the Rio Games in 2016.Alongside his business, Pete is working on Paddle Peak - a great example of how a community of paddlers is trying to get more access to the waterways of the Peak District. At the moment there are relatively few places where paddlesports are welcome in an area famous for its outdoor sports. Paddle Peak is trying to change that.He wants to inspire kids to have the chance to take up the sport, regardless of income. And he wants to make sure the beautiful countryside is open to all.Pete and Etienne go to the Derwent Valley to talk about the project, go out and the water and talk about the things they've pulled out in river clean-ups - from laptops to road cones. A vacuum cleaner and a kid's slide. Pete reckons there's a ton of rubbish in a short stretch of river and how paddlers can play a key role in clearing it up. But he has a problem. There are barriers to access and Pete wants to get all river users together to come up with a code of contact. Etienne also meets 15 year old Alex McDermott who's a paddler, a member of the Youth Parliament and a force for change. Joe and his brother have been carrying out river surveys to investigate microplastic pollution. He tells Etienne he was shocked at the results. Finally Ben Seal from British Canoeing sums up what he's heard and hopes the stories have inspired other paddlers to take action. ------For more information on:Clear Access Clear Waters - British Canoeing's Environment Charterwww.britishcanoeing.org.uk---Paddle Peak Projectwww.paddlepeak.org---Cromford Mills Visitor Centrewww.cromfordmills.org.uk Peak UKpeakuk.com---Youth Parliamentwww.youthparliament.org.uk---And on twitter you can find Etienne@etiennestott