Longridge Canoe Club moves to new premises at Bisham Abbey Sailing Club

Longridge Canoe Club has moved new premises at Bisham Abbey after bringing an end to its tenure at the Longridge Activity Centre near Marlow last week.

Founded in 1966, the club has been based at Longridge for many years, with its members enjoying success on a national and international stage. However, last week the club closed the door on that chapter and moved its kayaks and canoes to Bisham.

They are taking up new premises at Bisham Abbey Sailing Club where Ollie Harding is set to run taster sessions to encourage people to give the sport a try, while also highlighting the club's change of location. The first of those sessions starts this Saturday (August 24) and they will run for six weeks from 11am.

Contact Ollie on membership@bishampaddlesport.club to book one of those sessions.

The club was initially based at the National Scout Boating Activity Centre before moving to Longridge. Its focus has been two-fold. Encouraging participation in canoeing and kayaking for people of all ages and abilities while also developing promising young athletes.

Seventeen paddlers from the club have gone on to compete internationally and they include Olympians Jane Rowse and Shella Burnett.

Marlow's most famous son - the five-time Olympic gold medal winning rower Sir Steve Redgrave is also a member, as is the naturalist and TV presenter Steve Backshall.

Another member of the club - Jeanette Chippington from Maidenhead - is about to compete at her eighth Paralympic Games in Paris.

Jeanette is one of the area's most successful athletes having won 14 Paralympic medals in swimming and para-canoe, including a bronze medal in the VL2 class at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.