Paddle After Dark Tour

We meet at the slipway as the light is fading. The fairy lights go on, the kayaks get their glow and suddenly the slipway looks like a scene from a film you'd actually want to be in. The safety briefing happens by torchlight and then we're on the water.

The first thing you notice is the sound, or rather, the lack of it! Chichester Harbour at night is extraordinarily quiet - just the lap of water against the hull, the occasional call of a night bird and the soft splash of paddles. The second thing you notice is the sky. Away from the street lights, the stars come out in numbers that make you wonder where they've been hiding.

We paddle a short loop, staying in the sheltered waters near Itchenor. The fairy lights reflect off the surface and the moonlight picks out the shapes of the harbour - the treeline, the moored boats, the curve of the shoreline. It's gentle, it's atmospheric, and it's the kind of evening that people still talk about months later. We run these sessions around the full moon for maximum effect.