Off the screens.
On the river.
Kids SUP Club is a weekly paddleboarding session on the River Avon at Defford, for children aged 8 to 14. Every session is led by James and Alex, who between them have been teaching children on this stretch of the Avon for years. Small groups, qualified instructors, calm water, and an afternoon that most children talk about on the way home.
Paddleboarding on a river is the kind of activity that does something to children that screens and sports halls do not. The water demands full presence. There is no room to be anywhere else. The wildlife, the movement, the physical problem-solving of staying upright: it pulls children into the moment in a way that is rare and, for many of them, new.
The science behind this is what James teaches adults in his Blue Health programmes. Children do not need to know any of that. They just need an afternoon on the Avon, and the connection tends to take care of itself.
Small groups.
Real river.
The best-reviewed paddleboard school
in the Midlands.
These reviews mean more to us than we can easily say. We read them on the hard days, and they remind us why we do this.
"Excellent instruction. Had a brilliant time away from screens. Highly recommend Alex and James."
A relationship with water
that lasts a lifetime.
Research into Blue Health, the science of what proximity to water does to the mind, is consistent on one thing: the earlier the connection is made, the deeper it tends to run. Children who spend regular time on or near natural water develop a relationship with the outdoors that follows them into adulthood.
The effect is not subtle. Twenty minutes near moving water is enough to lower cortisol and shift attention from the reactive, screen-driven state most children spend their days in, into something slower and more restored. On the river, they are not consuming. They are noticing. That is a different kind of experience from almost everything else in a child's week.
James has spent years developing Blue Health programmes for adults. The Kids SUP Club is where those same principles meet a Tuesday afternoon and a group of children who just need to be somewhere that is not a screen.
£20 per session. Tuesday afternoons on the Avon. Book a place →
What the 90 minutes
actually looks like.
What parents usually
want to know.
In their own words
What you need
to know before you book
Revill's Farm Shop is right next door.
Cold drinks, snacks, and a proper ice cream after the session. Show your booking confirmation at the till for 10% off. Most families make an afternoon of it.
Ready when
you are.
Sessions run every Tuesday during the school holidays from 4:00 to 5:30 pm. Book by the session at £20, or save 10% with the season pass: all 7 sessions for £126. No need to commit to the whole programme upfront, though children who come regularly progress quickly and tend to want to keep coming.
If your child has any specific requirements: physical, sensory, or anything else that might affect how the session works for them, tell us when you book or get in touch first. We always find a way to make it work.
Any questions before booking, call or email. We are always happy to talk it through.
Questions: 07850 938 255
Email: bookings@witteringsup.co.uk