Rannoch Moor to Perth by Chris Bolton Part 5 We knew the picnic site at the power station was closed, so I walked down to check it out before taking the boats down the hill. While the car park was locked, a gap had been left deliberately and was big enough for canoes. After some lunch, we launched onto Loch Faskally, which still had significant flow from the power station… Read More »Rannoch Moor to Perth by Chris Bolton Part 5

Rannoch Moor to Perth by Chris Bolton Part 4 We found a landing spot just upstream of the fish ladder, on the North side of the dam. We’d expected to see signs of previous use, but it was quite overgrown. Our first task was to walk the portage and look at the river. This was not encouraging. There was very little water, and it was rocky. The trouble with the… Read More »Rannoch Moor to Perth by Chris Bolton Part 4

A Weekend in Barnard Castle by Chris Marsden Last weekend I took a trip to Barnard Castle. Not to get my eyes tested, I was a student taking part in a whitewater kayaking coach’s course. I was a bit nervous travelling up there as I didn’t know anybody else on the course.  They were a great bunch from Durham Canoe Club.  The instructor put us through our paces. We worked… Read More »A Weekend in Barnard Castle by Chris Marsden

Rannoch Moor to Perth by Chris Bolton Part 3 The best route is to turn left after the gate, up a short hill then down to a bridge and round to the far side of the stilling basin. If the dam was releasing, that would be the put-in, but it wasn’t worth even trying to paddle, so we trolleyed to the grade 4 section, which would have been impossible for… Read More »Rannoch Moor to Perth by Chris Bolton Part 3

Rannoch Moor to Perth by Chris Bolton Part 2 The entrance to the Garbh Ghaoir is well hidden and the first 800m is really still part of the loch. Lunch was taken before inspecting the first rapid – this was our first paddleable rapid, although still with less water in it than was ideal. The route down to the first drop (grade 3) went cleanly, and we broke out to… Read More »Rannoch Moor to Perth by Chris Bolton Part 2

Preparation for our move to Pool Speke Ian and I spent the morning building a frame to help store the kayaks at our new pool session at Austin Rawlinson Pool Speke. Our first session is next Wednesday at the much earlier time of 7:45 pm. Austin Rawlinson Pool Speke – Liverpool Canoe Club We will have all the kayaks from the old pool and you are welcome to bring your… Read More »The new rack for our canoes at Speke Pook

Rannoch Moor to Perth by Chris Bolton Part 1 My friend Andy wanted a canoe trip to commemorate a significant birthday, so we settled on the Rannoch Moor crossing and descent of the Tummel system. This classic route starts at Ba Bridge on Rannoch Moor, crosses Loch Ba, descends the infant river of Abhainn Ba to Loch Laidon and then the river Garbh Ghaoir to Loch Eigheach. From there, we’d… Read More »Rannoch Moor to Perth by Chris Bolton Part 1

End of an era. The last ever pool session at the Kingsway Leisure Centre is tonight (Thursday 28th November 2024). As some of you may know, we are leaving the pool at Kingsway Leisure Centre in Widnes after tonight’s pool session. The new pool in Widnes, which will open after Christmas, is much smaller and unsuited to canoeing so we are moving on. We start next week on a new night… Read More »End of an era. The last ever pool session at the Kingsway Leisure Centre

Sheltered Home Waters Course 16th & 21 Nov 24 We ran a sheltered or home waters training and assessment course last weekend. Four candidates practised rescues and towing in many different scenarios. It was generally felt that technique and not strength was the most important factor when dealing with rescue situations. The Club ran 5 similar training courses last summer, signing off several new dock leaders. If you are interested… Read More »Sheltered Home Waters Course 16th & 21 Nov 24

There had been nothing in the rivers for over three weeks and we wanted to get out and do something different. The only river running was the Dee and it was on a scrape, Tryweryn was not releasing and someone came up with the idea of paddling on the Menai Straits. It was a big tide so the current would be running between the bridges. Terry Story in his guidebook… Read More »White Water Leaders Trip – Swellies on 17 Nov 24