Canoeing & kayaking

White water canoeing and kayaking

If you enjoy paddle sports, the guaranteed clean fast flowing white water at Lee Valley White Water Centre is perfect for you. You'll be able to experience the thrills of the Olympic rapids, drops, holes, eddies and boils on the 300m Olympic Standard Competition Course or the 160m Legacy Loop. With two separate white water courses and a flat water, warm up lake you can practice your full range of skills in filtered, fresh, clean water.

During London 2012 Etienne Stott and Tim Baillie won gold in the Canoe Slalom Double (C2) before a jubilant home crowd in a time of 106.41. Closely followed by Richard Hounslow and David Florence who registered a time of 106.77 to claim silver. The five days of competiton at the centre, and 60,000 visitors created a pulsating atmosphere for one of British canoeing's greatest ever moments and now you can experience this London 2012 venue for yourself.

The centre is now open again to the public for an adrenalin fuelled season of canoeing and kayaking.

Essential information

Your safety and the safety of other water users, is important to us. There's no minimum age requirement, but as our courses range between Grade 3 and Grade 4, all paddlers need to have white water experience and complete a short competency assessment to demonstrate an acceptable level and standard. Once you have successfully completed this assessment you will become a member of the centre and can book future sessions online.

Non-members

All non-members need to complete a short competency assessment to demonstrate an adequate competency level. You must have previous white water kayaking experience and is not aimed at beginner paddlers. This will include an assessment on our flat water pool and Legacy Loop, followed by the Olympic Standard Competition Course for more experienced paddlers. The whole process takes no more than an hour.

If you're new to paddling and want to find out more about how to get started have a look at our kayaking for beginners page.

Members

On successful completion of the Kayaking Competency Assessment, you'll become a member and will be able to book the following sessions online.

We welcome credit and debit card payments over the phone, online and in person. Effective from 1 April 2013 payment made by credit card is subject to an administration/ transaction fee of £2 per transaction. There is no charge for debit card payments.