Paddle & Sip: Bellboating and Towpath Tea Blending
Schedule
Sat Mar 28 2026 at 01:45 pm to 04:30 pm
UTC+00:00Location
Civic Square Birmingham CIC | Birmingham, EN
About this Event
PADDLE & SIP: BELLBOATING & TOWPATH TEA BLENDING
A Forij x Birmingham Paddlesports Project Collaboration
Slow down.
Move with water.
Gather with plants.
What if you swapped scrolling for passing scenery?
Notifications for birdsong?
The digital treadmill for the steady rhythm of paddle and breath?
What if the canal you pass every day became a place of ritual, nourishment, and belonging?
In a culture of constant updates and endless feeds, many of us move through our days slightly untethered - eyes on screens, bodies still, nervous systems quietly overstimulated.
This is an analogue invitation.
Here, presence replaces performance.
Scenery replaces scrolling.
Conversation replaces commentary.
In cities shaped by industry and speed, waterways are often overlooked - reduced to infrastructure, background, something to pass by rather than enter into relationship with.
Many of us feel disconnected from the land and water that sustain us, unsure how to participate in care in ways that feel embodied, meaningful, and relational.
Paddle & Sip is a restorative invitation to step back into relationship. This collaborative experience between Forij and Birmingham Paddlesports Project brings together blue space and green space - water and hedgerow - in a slow, shared journey of movement, foraging, and tea.
Here, paddling becomes presence.
Foraging becomes listening.
Tea becomes kinship.
THE EXPERIENCE
Please refer to full agenda below
WHY THIS MATTERS
Many of us are not tired because we have done too much - we are tired because we have scrolled too long.
We crave:
• Texture over touchscreens
• Conversation over commentary
• Slowness over stimulation
• Shared presence over digital proximity
• Gentle movement that nourishes rather than exhausts
• Community without pressure
• Ecological action that feels embodied and real
• A deeper relationship with the places we call home
This gathering offers a tangible response.
By paddling together, we reclaim waterways as shared, welcoming spaces - and step off the digital treadmill that so often carries us elsewhere. By foraging with respect, we transform consumption into reciprocity, retraining our attention to notice what grows quietly at the edges. By blending tea by hand, we carry the landscape into our own palms, reclaiming ritual in place of routine. Overwhelm becomes rhythm.
Distraction becomes detail.
Disconnection becomes dialogue.
Infrastructure becomes ecosystem.
Connection becomes physical again.
This is world-making through small, intentional, analogue acts.
WHAT YOU EXPERIENCE:
• A guided 1 hour bellboat paddle along Birmingham’s canal, stopping half way at Brindley place
• A slow, sensory guided towpath forage and tea exploration
• Tasting of plant infusions to deepen ecological literacy
• Creation of your own personalised herbal tea blend
• Shared refreshments of fresh samosas by the water
WHAT YOU TAKE HOME:
• Practical knowledge of respectful urban foraging and plant identification
• Your own terracotta clay cup - a tactile gift and gentle reminder to continue your tea ritual at home
• A personal herbal tea bouquet stick crafted from your towpath forage
• A complimentary Spring Herb Zine, offering seasonal plant knowledge, a companion for extended learning
• The embodied experience of moving through water and land with care
You leave with more than a tea blend. You leave with a shift in perception - seeing Birmingham’s waterways not as background, but as living, relational spaces.
WHO IS THIS FOR:
• Those curious about urban foraging but unsure where to begin
• Individuals seeking gentle, supported access to blue spaces
• Eco-conscious participants wanting practical, grounded engagement
• Anyone longing for slower, communal, sensory experience
No prior paddling or foraging experience is needed - only curiosity, openness, and respect.
PRACTICAL DETAILS
• Location: Civic Square CIC, Rotton Park Street, B16 0AB
• Duration: Approximately 2.5 hours
• Equipment: All paddling kit, cups, and shared refreshments provided
• Food & Drink: Herbal infusions brewed on site, plus fresh samosas
• Group Size: Limited to 10 per boat maintain safety, intimacy, and care
Come paddle.
Pause with the plants.
Blend your tea.
Gather in community.
Photo credit: Angela Grabowski
Agenda
🕑: 01:45 PM - 02:00 PM
Meet and Greet
Info: The experience begins with a warm welcome at the green space outside Civic Square at South Loop Park giving you the opportunity to meet and mingle 15 minutes before the activity
🕑: 02:00 PM - 02:15 PM
Getting Kitted and Team Briefing
Info: After your warm welcome, we begin with a grounding safety briefing from an experienced paddle leader from Birmingham Paddlesports Club. You will be fully kitted out before setting off together in a gentle bellboat paddle along the canal toward Brindley Place.
🕑: 02:15 PM - 02:45 PM
Paddle Out!
Info: You'll set off on a gentle 30-minute bellboat paddle along the canal to Brindleyplace.
No rush.
No algorithm.
Just water carrying you forward.
Moving at an unhurried pace - at a speed that encourages presence, ease, and shared experience - the water carries us into rhythm.
Paddle dipping.
Shoulders dropping
Breath deepening.
Conversation softening.
The city reveals itself differently - reflected in water, framed by hedgerow, alive with detail often missed with haste The canal is encountered not as backdrop, but as living system - shaped by care, collaboration, community stewardship and shared ecosystems.
🕑: 02:45 PM - 03:45 PM
Sip, Stroll & Samosas
Info: On arrival at Brindley Place, Jasdeep of Forij guides a slow towpath exploration of the herb gardens and orchards.
This is not a fast forage.
It is a Sip & Stroll.
We pause and give reverence to each plant.
We brew plant infusions slowly.
We sip together.
You will first taste plants individually - attuning your palate to their distinct character, ecology, and subtle ancestral intelligence. Then will you be invited to forage a small selection with care and intention, creating your own personalised tea bouquet on a stick to take home.
Gathered by the water, tea is poured from a shared pot into small terracotta clay cups. Warm samosas are passed hand to hand.
🕑: 03:45 PM - 04:15 PM
Paddle Back!
Info: You will then paddle back to Port Loop via the waterways.
No screens.
No urgency.
Just analogue connection.
🕑: 04:15 PM - 04:30 PM
Kit Off and Reflections
Info: We arrive at Port Loop and disembark and remove kit. There will time and space to share your reflections and feedback before saying goodbye and parting way from new friends, fully restored.
Where is it happening?
Civic Square Birmingham CIC, Canalside House, Birmingham, United KingdomEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 15.00 to GBP 35.00
