PaddleOut 2026

At Plas y Brenin, we're excited to welcome you to our first ever PaddleOut festival! 

This weekend has been designed especially for LGBTQI+ paddlers to come together in a welcoming environment at our base in Capel Curig, in the heart of Eryri. 

Whether you're looking to learn a new skill, or just join for a chilled-out weekend, everyone is welcome at PaddleOut. The weekend will be geared towards beginner/intermediate days out, with a focus on connecting. In addition there will be opportunities to learn new things and develop your skills while you're out on the water.

Workshops will be tailored to you, and what you would like to get out of the weekend. You can choose three preferred options during the checkout process, and we will shape the weekend around those who sign up!

Workshops will be focused on:

Flat Water - the perfect space to discover paddlesports, or try a different discipline. 

Inland (Whitewater) - take on the dynamic 3D world of moving water.

Sea Kayaking - explore the coast from the water!

Let us know during the checkout process if you are coming with a friend and would like to be on the same workshops, and share with us your current ability level and what you hope to achieve. The more information you can give us, the more personal we can make your weekend! We aim to welcome everyone from the LGBTQ+ community to this event and can adapt activities and accomodation for people with disabilities. Please let us know about your needs so we can help make this event accessible for everyone.

The weekend is fully catered with evening activities and a festival feel. You can choose from a non-residential ticket, a single room, a bed in a bunk room, or a twin room. (If you are booking a bed in a twin room, please note you must put the name of a friend you are coming with and they must put your name in their booking- this agreement must be reciprocal in order to book this room type).

If you want to join for the weekend but do your own thing instead of coming on the workshops, you can book a non-residential 'festival only' ticket to join the fun!

FAQs

Who is PaddleOut for?

PaddleOut is a social weekend festival to meet new people and get out on the water. You can come and develop your skills, but our main focus is just for everyone to have a fun and enjoyable time paddling together. It is open to LGBTQI+ paddlers of any level- whether you've never been in a boat before or regularly paddle whitewater!

What Is Included in My Ticket?

Your standard residential or non-residential ticket will get you access to weekend courses, workshops, talks, and activities, as well as all of your meals included. 

Both residential and non-residential passes include the below:

• Dinner (Friday), breakfast, packed lunch, tea/coffee + cake and dinner (Saturday) and breakfast, lunch and tea/coffee + cake (Sunday)
• Access to our onsite showers and drying room facilities
• Travel to and from your courses if they’re offsite
• Access to talks and activities Friday and Saturday evening.

As well as the above, your residential pass includes two nights’ accommodation onsite here at Plas y Brenin to make your stay convenient and comfortable. Choose from a relaxing stay in a single or twin en-suite, or make new friends in a dormitory room.

Alternatively, if you would just like to join for the evening talks and activities, you can buy a non-residential "Festival Only" ticket. This is for if you would like to do your own thing during the day, but still pop in to enjoy the evening atmosphere with everyone. 

Accommodation Preferences

Paddle Out aims to provide accommodation that is welcoming, inclusive and comfortable for everyone. We recognise that people have different preferences when sharing accommodation, and we'll do our best to accommodate requests wherever possible. If booking a twin room, please specify who you would like to share with. As space is limited, we ask that you book twin rooms at the same time as someone you would like to share with. 

Our bunkrooms are non-gendered spaces. If there are any considerations we need to be aware of in accomodating you, there is space to record these on the booking form. 

What do I need to bring? Am I able to use kit from Plas y Brenin's stores?

If you have your own kit please do bring it. However, please don't feel like you need to go out and buy a whole load of new kit just for the weekend, as we have plenty of stores kit you will be able to borrow for free! The most important things to bring are swimwear or clothes to go under a wetsuit, and shoes that can get wet. Please see here for our full paddlesport kit list.
During the booking process you will be able to tell us what you are able to bring with you, to help us monitor capacity, and hopefully expand the event!

What happens if there are poor weather conditions during the event?

Our instructors will adapt the program depending on weather conditions to make sure all attendees stay safe.

Diversity Monitoring

During the booking process, there are series of optional questions. The purpose of this diversity monitoring is to better understand the diversity within our bookings, and identify areas of improvement for future years. This data will be kept linked with the booking form until the event has occurred, after which it will be unlinked from the form. All data will be analysed anonymously. We understand that the categories in some of the questions can be reductive, and fail to capture the full uniqueness of identity, so in each question you also have the option to self define. The reason we use these categories is because they offer the most comparable data to the latest national census. 

We understand that terms such as "Female", "Woman", "Male", and "Man" are politicised, and we may be conflating terms in this form. We have combined these terms here with the sole aim of comparing the gender split in paddlesports participation to the broader population. If the terms listed do not describe you, please select "none of the terms describe me". 

What happens if I can no longer attend the event?

Terms and Conditions apply, please see our website for further details: https://pyb.co.uk/terms-conditions