Paddle Boarding Club Near Me

Meet Our Female Founder, Caroline Dawson aka SUP Lass

SUP Lass Paddle Adventures was founded by paddle board enthusiast and adventure foodie, Caroline Dawson aka Caz. Caz is an accomplished stand up paddle board (SUP) Coach and Guide, passionate about developing and delivering, affordable and accessible paddle adventures to all.

Located on the edge of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB, SUP Lass Paddle Adventures has access to a wide range of breath-taking paddle locations, including the majestic River Dee, the world-famous Llangollen Canal, plus an array of Welsh lakes and coastlines. We also work with partners overseas, particuarly Scandinavia.

Caz has successfully completed a number of long distance and high profile paddle challenges including: the Great Glen, the Trent 100, the Conwy Ascent, the Loch Awe Challenge, SUP Twelve, the Spey Descent, the Paris Nautic Paddle....and in 2024 she became the first women to take on the 335km Amazon Challenge on a SUP.

Qualified and Experienced

Caz holds the following qualifications and industry accreditations:

~ WiSe Accredited Adventure Operator
~ WRT Pro Rescue 3 Technician
~ RYA Marine Radio VHF Short Range Certificate
~ REC Level 4 Expedition First Aid
~ Enhanced DBS Certificate
~ BC White Water Safety and Rescue
~ BC Coastal Navigation and Tidal Planning
~ BC White Water SUP Coach
~ BC SUP Coastal Leader
~ BC Core Coach
~ BC White Water Aspirant Leader Tutor
~ BC Instructor Aspirant Tutor
~ WSA Water Safety and Rescue
~ WSA Coastal Navigation
~ WSA Adventure Guide
~ WSA Adventure SUP-er Trainer
~ WSA Safety and Rescue Trainer
~ WSA SUP Instructor Trainer
~ Leave No Trace Trainer
~ Level Three Food Hygiene Certificate
~ BSc (Hons) Environmental Science
~ PGc in Leadership
~ WCF Rural Leadership Award

She has been a regular face on the River Wye, guiding multi days trips for Gutsy Girls, plus has led her own expeditions to the Sankt Anna Archipelago on the east coast of Sweden. In 2023 Caz joined the SUP Norway crew as a guide, plus headed back to the west coast of Sweden to guide further trips for WSA. She has recently returned from paddling the Vjosa in Albania - the last wild river of Europe.

In 2024, Caz will be teaming up with SUP Driven and Yster SUP to deliver further Swedish paddle expeditions, plus returning back to Norway to join the SUP Norway crew. She also plans to take part in the Spey Challenge and SUP Twelve in preperation for being the first female to particpate on a SUP in the Amazon Challenge.

SUP Lass Paddle Adventures were awarded the Royal Countryside Fund Rural Business Start Up Award in 2023.

Caz is a Trustee and Director of the Welsh Dee Trust, a volunteer Water Safety Advisor for the RNLI, regulary visiting school and community groups and is a proud Mustang Survival crew member.

Our Accreditations

SUP Lass Paddle Adventures are affiliated to Canoe Wales, this means the coaching and tuition we offer is professional and delivered to a high standard. We are providers of the Start, Discover and Explore Awards, along with the White Water SUP Awards. Caz is a longstanding member of Canoe Wales and continually strives to develop her skills, she is currently undertaking several trainer orientations to enable her to be an accredited qualification provider in the future.

SUP Lass Paddle Adventures is verified by Visit Wales and Wales Adventure Tourism Organisation, as a safe and high-quality adventure activity provider. We are also members of the Clwydian Range Tourism Group.

Adventure Cooking

In a previous life, Caz ran an award winning outdoor kitchen 'Fodder in the Field', where local and seasonal ingredients were cooked up in a range of wild locations, including mountain tops and forests. Caz has recently launched a series of SUP + Cook experiences.

On most paddle sessions you'll find her carrying her trusty Kelly Kettle, where she'll treat clients to a warming brew or mug of hearty soup.

One thing that people don't know about Caz, is that she is a longstanding judge for the Great Taste Awards and champion for local and seasonal produce. When she is not leading paddle sessions she is a freelance Agri-Food Consultant and runs a second business 'Fodder Lass Consulting'.

Our Commitment to the Environment

SUP Lass Paddle Adventures are genuine outdoorsy types and are committed to protecting paddling environments for generations to come through ongoing education and promoting Leave No Trace principles. Caz is a qualified Leave No Trace Trainer and on all of her paddle sessions she loves to share her local knowledge, expertise and stories.

SUP Lass Paddle Adventures are an accredited WiSe operator and as part of the accreditation are committed to abide by the national and local laws of wildlife disturbance and conservation.

SUP Lass Paddle Adventures regularly works in partnership the Welsh Dee Trust to support the delivery of SUP river cleans as part of their award winning #itshouldntbeinthedee campaign. They have helped remove thousands of pieces of litter from the River Dee.

They also work with the North Wales Wildlife Trust to spread the message about invasive species and to date have helped distribute over 50 board cleaning kits to clients and volunteers.

Our Chosen Charity - North East Wales Search and Rescue

SUP Lass Paddle Adventures are proud to support NEWSAR, a local charity who provide valuable search and resuce services, including water resuce, across North East Wales.

We have donated over £1000 towards the new NEWSAR incident support vehicle. This total was raised through raffles, board hire fees and rescue strap sales from our Friday night SUP Club sessions.

We have further worked with NEWSAR to deliver water safety messaging - both on and off the water. We have also raised funds through our winter webinar series, where participants have made voluntary donations.