REVIEW: Rockley Watersports Hire at Poole Park

To kick off the summer holidays, we organised paddleboard hire through Rockley Watersports at Poole Park, something none of us had experienced before!

Rockley has a range of equipment available for hire, including kayaks and pedalos but, as watersport beginners, we thought it was best to go with paddleboards, something the whole family could get involved with and enjoy together out on the water. 

It was really simple to park and find the watersport hire once we were in Poole Park, they are located just next to The Kitchen, and have flags up, as well as life jackets and the paddleboards out ready. They are open between 10am and 4pm for hire, and we opted to go out on the water for when they opened. 

The staff were really friendly and welcoming and they explained the process, as well as giving us a little impromptu beginners basic training session when they realised none of us had done the sport before, which was really helpful and gave us all a bit more confidence. We were given the option to stay clothed or to get changed into swimwear, which we had brought along with us, and were advised to wear an old pair of trainers, which we didn’t mind getting wet over open toe sandals or flip flops, which might fall off. I do think I would have been more comfortable barefoot once on the board, however, as the trainers got very heavy when wet, and were digging into me a bit when I was on my knees. 

My daughter, who is almost ten, was the most nervous, and the staff were really patient with helping her get onto her board. My youngest wasn’t quite big enough to go out on his own, so he came on with me instead, which he loved! I was so impressed and proud with how quickly the older two children picked it up. Before long they were both standing up and paddling like pros - it was so lovely to see and such a fantastic family bonding activity too, especially when the kids had to boost my confidence to get me up and standing too! 

Poole Park is a brilliant location to try out paddleboarding for the first time as the lake is so calm and flat, making standing up on the board less daunting than out at sea on the waves. The lake is also quite shallow all the way around (up to waist height for an adult apparently), which gave us the added confidence that if any of us did fall off, we would be absolutely fine. The staff advised us not to stand up until we were past a certain point, and to come back in on our knees too, but other than that, we were given free rein to explore the lake and have fun on the boards without supervision. 

It was really nice to be able to spend some time out on the water together, in a safe and contained environment, with the knowledge that help was available if needed, but the independence to do what we wanted, without an instructor with us. I would definitely recommend it if you are looking to give paddleboarding a go for the first time, or if you don’t have your own boards but fancy a fun activity in the summer holidays, that the family will all enjoy. 

Prices are from £10 per board for 30 minutes, and there is no need to pre-book, you can just turn up. Changing facilities and life-jackets are available on site. 

To find out more or to book please visit their website here.

Written by Emma from Bournemouthbloggers - https://www.instagram.com/evenangelsfallblog/