Behind the Scenes: Filming New Courses in France 🇫🇷

Last month, our team packed up the gear and headed to southern France to film two brand-new courses—one on kayak rolling and the other on white water strokes.

Simon was already out in Catalonia, filming a Greenland rolling course for our sister platform, Online Sea Kayaking. Meanwhile, James and Dan jumped on a flight from North Wales to Spain, and together the team drove into the heart of the Tarn Gorge, France.

Finding the Right Spot

We weren’t entirely sure where to base ourselves at first. We needed crystal-clear water and sunshine, both essential for the quality of our underwater footage. The Tarn Gorge seemed like our best bet.

But as we drove toward our accommodation, we noticed a significant spike on the river level charts, caused by a storm system that had recently hit the region. The river was running high. Not ideal. We started second-guessing our decision to come here at all. Still, we pressed on and arrived in the early hours of the morning.

Day 1: Scouting Missions

We spent our first day driving around in search of suitable locations. While our planned filming spots weren’t usable due to a lack of water clarity, we found a few promising areas further upriver. One in particular, a quiet stretch next to a little bridge and a clear, sandy beach, stood out. The water was colder up there, but beautifully clear and perfect for our rolling shots.

Day 2: Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

With the location locked in, we spent Day 2 filming the rolling course. We focused on the foundations, building confidence, working with a partner, and helping paddlers feel comfortable being upside down. It was a long but productive day.

Day 3: Five-Stage Roll Process

We returned to the same spot and filmed our five-stage process for learning the roll. Once we had everything we needed, we explored another site lower down the river to kick off the strokes course.

We found an incredible location, a dramatic gorge framed by two fun-looking rapids. We managed a couple of hours of filming there and knew we had to come back.

Day 4: Strokes in the Gorge

We spent most of Day 4 filming in that same gorge section. As the river levels dropped, the water clarity improved, and our footage got better. On the way back to our accommodation, we stopped at another potential location for the final day of shooting; it looked very promising.

Day 5: The Grand Finale

The last day didn’t disappoint. Our final location featured an ornate bridge, super-clear water, mini waterfalls, and towering cliffs, the perfect setting to wrap up our strokes course. We captured everything: final teaching segments, drone shots, underwater footage, and pieces to-camera.

Then came the 11-hour drive north to Roscoff in Brittany to catch the ferry back to the UK.

We had a fantastic time in France. The “easy” part is done. Now it’s time to dive into the editing and bring these courses to life.