Darren Greenwood: Islington Boat Club

Everyone has a story. Water sports expert Darren Greenwood is the chief operating officer at Islington Boat Club, running the day-to-day business of this community hub at Angel which gives so many young people in Islington a chance to mess around safely in boats on Regent’s Canal. Interview by Nicola Baird

Darren, 34, has been a long-standing resident of Islington since moving here as a small child and has lived in various locations from the north to the south of the borough. Islington Faces meets Darren in the cosy Islington Boat Club staff room with its view over City Road Basin and chat over cups of ginger tea. Unlucky Darren has a bad cold, not from spending time on the water, but passed on by his children who are definitely keeping him awake at night.

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Darren went to various Primary and Secondary Schools within Islington with one in particular having a bad reputation, “but I had a good time at school at first,” says Darren. When that changed he attended a different setting which made connection with the youth club and carried on with my qualifications. “I then independently found another club in Hackney, where I did my coaching qualifications and gained more experience within water sports.”

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Places Darren loves in Islington

• My number one is of course making use of kayaks from Islington Boat Club (IBC) and exploring the Regent’s Canal. IBC has always had a very strong emphasis on progression and fun. It’s always also produced top paddlers winning medals – from the Youth Games to British nationals.
• With children and for some city escape it would have to be Freightliners Farm, Sheringham Road, N7  You can even go there and get honey when in season and free range eggs. I volunteered at Freightliners Farm when I was younger. I spent time mucking out chickens and sheep, learning about farming and how that works, things I knew nothing about since I was from London. Its a nice escape from being in the city as well.  I knew the farm managers Robert Donkers and also Liz McAllister, who is still there. Liz is really nice, and a good person.
• Exploring Camden Passage and Chapel Street when the market is on to see what I can find. I also like the Farmers’ Market on a Sunday when sell cakes and fresh bread.
• I love exploring the borough and going to the festivals where you find interesting food, music and community. The most recent I visited was the Clock Tower Festival as well as other free community events in open spaces throughout Islington in the summer months. In 2025 the Clock Tower Festival is on  Sunday 3 August.

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While Darren was at that club he had the bizarre experience of being asked to take the then very famous TV star (and now disgraced) Russell Brand out in a boat along the canal to the studio at Hoxton Docks (home of the famous Hackney sharks), “but he thought it was a bit mad because it’s so close, so he ended up walking!” remembers Darren.

Darren is modest about his achievements – he’s an ace kayak and canoe coach, can drive powerboats and often runs the popular RYA helmsman courses for people who want to get to know how to drive a narrowboat.  As well as working at Islington Boat Club and at other clubs within the London area he’s coached across the world. “Through the connections I made in watersports I got a job in New Zealand, at Whangparaoa, on the north island. Before that I’d worked in the south of France on the River Ardeche guiding groups in canoes down white water. It was really cool and we were also doing cliff jumping. Being from London I was not used to those activities, but I built up confidence by being in that environment and doing it. I remember falling for a while before I hit the water,” he says laughing as he remembers how “we’d stop doing staff training and do some jumps.”

Pupil referral units for young people, offering alternatives to school, quite often get bad press. But Darren can see it was the making of him. On the water the youth club always have a real mix of young people. Some want to go faster than everyone else, others just want to get up close to nature on the canal in a difficult to steer boat. Darren took the more laid-back path. “I enjoyed the recreational side of kayaking and watersports, and didn’t do many competitions,” he says.

And being a regular at the Regent’s Canal community boat clubs also gave Darren the opportunity to go on white water kayaking trips with other watersports clubs, visiting the French Alps, and even Nepal. “I took part in an expedition to Nepal in the Himalayas, visiting Kathmandu and Pokhara, taking part in white water kayaking and rafting whilst in between helping a small local village build toilets on the side of a mountain!” he says.

“All my travelling has been geared to white water, anywhere I’ve been to so far has always been to do with white water,” he says. Obviously, a trip to Nepal is a huge experience for a teenager but it also helped Darren find a career. “It allowed me to experience different cultures and see what it was like to be somewhere else. I got confidence to go elsewhere, and this encouraged me to take opportunities,” he says. Watersports coaching is seasonal, so he spent a couple of summers “working in two places in the south of France, on the River Ardeche, and in the Dordogne where he led coasteering sessions for school kids.” After that he “put a post on Facebook wanting to go to the Caribbean but a coach he knew at Islington Boat Club said ‘come and work here’, so that’s how New Zealand happened.

I’ve always been very practical. I do enjoy studying as long as I like the subject, like English. I’ve gone full circle now as I sit in the office and enjoy working here, but if I get bogged down in the office then I have the opportunity to go and see the kids at lunchtime or get on the water now and again. I like to see what the service does: our club is so small you can get involved and see the difference it makes to the kids. And that’s down to the staff. They have pride in what they do and want to give back what they experienced here. Lot of staff have gone full circle, like myself, come as a kid and then come back here as instructors,” explains Darren.

Being on the water brings you into contact with all sorts of real world problems from funding and water quality to coping with bird emergencies.

When Islington Faces asks if Darren has any standout days, he remembers some bird rescues. “We found a bird in the water, got in touch with the RSPCA and then got it out. It was quite weak at first and then we found out it was an Arctic Tern and was migrating when it fell into the canal in London! It was fine, they got it back up to good health and it flew off again,” he chuckles. He’s also on speed dial with the Swan Sanctuary. “We like to help them a lot. They’ve come out on our boats and we gave them resources for the swans to nest. In 2024 they had four out of eight cygnets successfully grow up,” he says. It’s dark now in the staff room but we can still hear the birds who live on this bit of Regent’s Canal settling down for the night. The Egyptian Ducks are the noisiest this month, but there’s clearly an argument happening between the coots.

Darren is really alert to the way Islington Boat Club gives young people happiness, skills and outdoor experiences which is why both our MPs, Emily Thornberry and Jeremy Corbyn have  had a lot to involvement with the club. “Lots of Islington mayors have been here too,” he says, and hopefully more will enjoy a visit during 2025. “We’re building up the youth club quite well: numbers are growing. We’re getting more groups in, getting back into the community again – the club is doing what it’s supposed to be doing. Last season (2024) we had more numbers than we’ve had for four or five years because of covid and being shut. At one point we took 70 people on the water in one day,” he says. No wonder Darren’s impatient for the warmer weather. As he finishes his mug of tea he says, “Roll on this year, I’m looking forward to it getting busier,” and then he’s back to his office to finish off the last few tasks before the boat club is locked up for the night.

• Find out more islingtonboatclub.com
• The boat club is set up for community youth projects, but it does also host adult activities including kayaking on Tuesday lunchtimes and Friday nights and on Monday evenings relaxing paddleboard tours. See the website for booking details.
• The youth club (for 8-17 years old) is open at half term, holidays, Wednesday evenings and all day Saturday. See the website to book. If you have any questions email Jan at admin@islingtonboatclub.com
• Over the summer and in the run up to Halloween and Christmas come and join our fabulous narrow boat trips from City Road Lock to King’s Cross through the mile-long Angel tunnel.
• At Islington Boat Club there is a meeting room and also a large space that can be used for exercise classes or even art shows for hire. All bookings support the work of Islington Boat Club. See islingtonboatclub.com
• Read about our admin worker Jan Dorling and the legacy of Crystal Hale at Islington Boat Club here.

Over to you
If you’d like to nominate someone to be interviewed who grew up, lives or works in Islington, or suggest yourself, please let me know, via nicolabaird dot green at gmail dot com. If you enjoyed this post you might like to look at the A-Z  index, or search by interviewee’s roles or Meet Islingtonians to find friends, neighbours and inspiration. Thanks for stopping by. Nicola