We sell Lendal paddles, a well known brand that was established in Scotland in 1964 by Olympian paddlers Alistair and Marianne Wilson. The brand moved briefly to the US when it was purchased by Johnson Outdoors in 2006, but in 2010 came back to the UK when it was purchased by Nigel Dennis. The paddles are now being made on Anglesea alongside the SKUK factory where the Explorer, Romany etc sea kayaks are made.
The current range has built upon the features, and quality that was built into the brand originally by the Wilsons including their original innovations in locking systems and the modified crank shaft.
Due to what appears to be a legal technicality (don’t you just love the small print!) the paddles will be branded and sold under the existing Celtic Paddles brand that Nigel Dennis already owns. We are not sure at this stage (early summer 2013) when this will be taking place so for now are still advertising the paddles as being Lendal, but we are expecting this to change in the near future. Customers may find that any orders that come to them straight from the factory will have the Celtic Paddles branding rather than Lendal.
Stock and Delivery
The current Lendal Range has been built upon since its purchase by Nigel Dennis, and now the sea touring range offers an even wider range of specifications including blade type, size and material, shaft length, material and diameter, locking systems etc. Due to this we are now finding that it is almost impossible for us to stock a wide enough range of paddles to meet our customers needs, so where necessary now customer orders will be made to order and despatched directly from the factory in Anglesea.
We are finding that many orders can be despatched within seven days but depending upon how busy the factory is this can take longer so we would advise you to expect a delivery time of around three weeks. If you are needing a paddle for a particular date then please make us aware of this when you place your order!
Orders for some of the most popular paddles can be made through our website, but if you would like to order a custom paddle, some advice or more information then please get in touch with us by phone (01631 720192) or .
Paddle Sizing Clinics
We are now offering paddle sizing clinics. These involve a short theory session followed by a practical session on the water where we will be able to observe your current paddling style with your existing paddle before hopefully finding a paddle that suits you better. At the end of the session you will know what length of paddle and paddle blade size and style will suit you best in different situations, and will have received instruction to improve your forward paddling. This knowledge can be used to then purchase a Lendal paddle from ourselves, but the information would also help you if you are planning on buying another brand of paddle.
These sessions are lead by Julian, who will be using his own experience and knowledge from many years of expedition paddling and instructing, plus he has been trained especially for these sessions by Nigel Dennis. We have found it very satisfying to run these sessions as so far every participant has been pleasantly surprised by the improvement to their forward paddling, and by having the right paddle are then able to build upon their skills in the future.
The sessions are normally held in the Oban area, but if there are a small group (ideally max. four people) then we can travel slightly further afield. These sessions can also be combined with an NDK sea kayak demo.