The club was founded as Westhoughton Canoe Group in 1997, initially to cater for any Scout Association members in the Manchester area to learn or improve their canoeing skills. Since that early start the club is now open to any persons who wish to learn how to paddle in good company.

The founder member, Graham Brooks, is a BCU Level 3 Coach having over twenty years experience in canoeing. Several members have followed in his footsteps and we now have several qualified coaches.

About Us

Westhoughton Canoe and Kayaking Club is a fairly small and friendly club based in the Westhoughton  area of Greater Manchester. The club has a friendly, social feel to it and has a wide age range of members with skills at all levels from complete beginners to experienced coaches.

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In the summer the club meets outdoors, usually at Burrs Country Park Bury BL8 1DA where there is a flat water training pool and a section of grade 2 moving water on the River Irwell.

At the end of September to April the club meets in the warmth of Tyldesley pool at The Pelican Centre Castle St Tyldesley M29 8EG, ideal for practising improving your strokes, rolling and other skills. See our Training page for more details.

The club is active, with club trips each month aimed both at novice and more experienced paddlers - See the Calendar for details. 

We run regular trips to Burrs, Halton Rapids, the Rivers Dee, Derwent, Calder, Rothay, Eden and Tryweryn. Members have also been on various courses throughout the year and have even been sea kayaking off Anglesey. Reports from all these trips are on the forum.

Upcoming activities are shown on the facebook group. As well as the official monthly trips, there are also many informal peer-group trips arranged  - you can usually find somebody going somewhere every weekend!