Trafford Watersports Centre, Manchester

"Just had my first SUP lesson. I wasn't very good but the instructor was. Friendly, very patient and encouraging. Thanks Aiden. Staff in reception were friendly and helpful too. Looking forward to my next lesson. Waterpark is easy to get to with plenty of parking. Highly recommended."

"Brilliant fun, well worth it and great value for money"

"Trafford Water Sports Centre is really a great facility. We have been watching activities by this centre for many years. I have seen them organise swimming lessons, wind surfing, boating, jet skiing etc. Always such a pleasure to watch and see people taking part in water sports. They seem to be enjoying the experience."

"My partner and I had booked canoeing with Trafford Watersports for a bank holiday and were required to pay in full at the time of booking. Unfortunately the weather on the day was terrible; heavy rain and blowing a gale. We called on the morning asking if we could move the booking to a different day as I can understand why it would not be viable to just offer a full refund. We were told that they did not deem the weather extreme enough to cancel and that we would lose our booking if we did not come, so we decided to go and make the best of it. On arrival we were asked by two separate employees if we had ever been in a canoe before, to which both replied no as it was our first time, however no instruction or safety information was given, we simply climbed in the boat and were left to get on with it. We had not been in the water for 5 minutes before our canoe capsized. I don’t know if this was due to the wind or our lack of instruction or a combination of both. This was quite a nasty shock and we were clearly in distress, especially as it became clear that no one was watching the water and we went unnoticed as the two employees on duty were facing each other and chatting, oblivious to our cries for help. Another family had noticed us and were also trying to get the employees’ attention by shouting, but it took far too long for them to finally notice, and the family were able to reach us from the other side of the lake before any member of staff got to us. When we were finally bought back on land we were left with absolutely no aftercare. I was expecting we would be taken inside where we could at least sit down to gather ourselves and for staff to check we were OK, but instead we were left standing by the side of the lake as the staff started to walk off. I was clearly in distress, shaking and crying, and my partner had noticed that my lips had turned blue. He asked if I could at least have a towel, to which we were told we should have brought our own. Our GPS had unfortunately directed us to a car park on the opposite side of the lake when we first arrived, so we could not even get to the car for a towel without a long walk first. The employees did not seem to care about this, or in fact any aspect of our safety or wellbeing. My partner said he was going to complain about our experience, but the member of staff he was speaking to told us he was working at Head Office the next day and he assured us it was pointless as our complaint would go nowhere. After we got home it took a good few hours for my lips to return to a normal colour and it became apparent I had injured my leg trying to climb back into the canoe, which has only just started to heal over a week later. All in all it was a very upsetting experience, especially as we had been looking forward so much to our first outing after lockdown, but more than anything it was disconcerting how little regard the staff on duty had for such basic health and safety."

"Visited on Sunday 18th April 2021 - Pay and Paddle / Self Launch With the current C-19 restrictions, we've not been able to get to the lake district for a while, and were looking for somewhere close to home for a relaxed family paddle. We have our own boats and equipment, so were looking for somewhere we could self launch and enjoy some family time. After speaking to one of their really helpful staff, Shannon, by email - we booked a two slots online for the early morning. Arriving about 15 minutes before our time to check in, we were issued with tags for our boats and given details on where we could paddle (there was a water polo game in progress in a small area, and in the afternoon the deeper end of the lake hosts powered craft and some open water swimmers. We were lucky with the weather, warm, sunny with only a slight wind - as otherers have mentioned, some areas of the lake are fairly shallow, however this didn't cause us to ground out either kayak, or struggle paddling. The water was exceptionally clear and there was plenty of wildlife - keeping a respectful distance - the kids enjoyed seeing the gees and swan nests. It was a great fun day out, exceptional value for money and one we plan to recreate as soon as we're able! Thank you to everyone on site!"