On bank holiday Monday, a sea trip was planned from Abersoch out to the St Tudwals islands on the Llŷn Peninsula at the western end of Tremadog Bay, west Wales. Most of us met at Queensferry so we could car share across to Abersoch and after a scenic drive we unloaded the boats at Abersoch beach. Andy Garland briefed us on the planned route, the expected weather and tides and the 9 of us launched about midday. Weather was cloudy with a slight breeze, a nd the water quite still as we paddled out to the St Tudwals Islands. We paddled first to the east island, and around the far edge where we met a couple of seals perched on a rock. We then paddled across to the east island around which I completed my first circumnavigation! This island is owned by Bear Grylls as a holiday home and we could see where he had complied to take down the slide he had built before Gwynedd Council spotted it. As the Islands are privately owned we couldn’t land on them so, as we were all getting peckish, we headed to a beach a little south to where we had launched. The surf was a too strong to get all 9 of us on and off safely, especially with a few of us who had never tried a surf landing, but Pete Thomas beautifully demonstrated before we started back around the headland. We were now paddling against the tide, working up an appetite, and the swell was great fun; there was even a bit of surfing. We stopped at a little beach for lunch and sat and watched the clouds clear as the afternoon sun came out. A family, also on the beach, said they had seen dolphins at a similar time […]

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Friday 14th April – River Orchy On the first day of our Scottish Easter break we were to paddle the river Orchy, a 9km stretch from the Bridge of Orchy to the Falls of Orchy. A small group had an early start to paddle the Upper Etive first at 6am, and the rest of us set off at 9am, to meet with the Etive crew at the get in. As a new white water paddler, this was my third river trip and I was a little nervous, but very excited to be paddling (described by the UK rivers guidebook) ‘one of the best trips at this grade [3-5] in the UK!’ Our get-in was by the Bridge of Orchy hotel, about a half hour drive from the hostel. We changed whilst the drivers ran the shuttle and then divided up into groups of 5 or 6, each with a combination of abilities and an instructor. We played in the waves under the bridge until everyone was ready to set off. The trip began gently, getting used to being back on the water and being in a new boat (I had borrowed a small burn, a perfect fit), until we reached the first rapid. There are a great variety of rapids on this river, nicely spread out, with the opportunity to portage any of them on paths river left. I’m glad that at the time that I didn’t know their names, as I might have been rather more apprehensive! The first rapid, ‘Big Rock’, was what is says on the tin with lines either side, a great start to the paddle and a rapid that I think everyone did. The next, ‘Chicken Chute’, a fair few of us portaged, but it was great to watch our fellow paddlers. Next came ‘Sheep […]

Monday 17th April Day 4 – Sea Kayaks at the Falls Of Lora On BH Monday the predicted state of the Falls was green, i.e “suitable for an introductory moving water training or fun in sea kayaks and canoes”.  Roger and I were on the water well before the official start time and found the conditions to be idea for breaking in/out and ferry-gliding across the estuary. On the Northern side, there was a significant back-eddy downstream of the bridge which we soon found ourselves sharing with a solitary sea otter.  Although we remained perfectly still, our boats were slowly drifting up towards the bridge thus constraining his freedom.  After a couple of minutes, he disappeared for the final time but not before giving us a great demonstration of his swimming and diving abilities.  First his head would disappear, then his back arched, and with a deft flick of the tail he was gone.  A delightful spectacle. As the ebb tide increased, I attempted to regain the sweet spot just upstream of the bridge but the speed of the water was now too great to make headway against.  After a short excursion downstream, we returned to take lunch on a sunny bench overlooking the Falls.  By this time, it was mid-flow but there weren’t any standing waves of the type that can be seen in Youtube videos.  I would love to return to this place with a guide when conditions are more challenging.

Saturday 15th April – Sea Kayaks at Shuna Island. With a strong North-Westerly forecast, our chosen destination was Shuna Island, around 10 miles South of Oban.  Shuna is a couple of miles offshore and is sheltered by the larger island of Luing.  From the previous day’s contingent of ten, two decided to do rivers and a further four decided not to proceed having inspected the site conditions on the day. The four remaining paddlers headed off towards a small low island en route to Shuna.  With the wind and swell coming from our 2-o’clock position, progress was far from easy.  Tony soon found it difficult to control his boat and decided to return to base.  Having seen him safely ashore, Roger, Nigel and I continued towards the mid-way island which had a small gap through which we were able to pass.  Then it was a similar haul to reach the northern corner of Shuna. As we approached, the wind died down and we had our lunch on a sandy beach in glorious sun with not a breath of wind.  We were amused to note that only the three plastic boats had made it.  All too soon, the next squall rolled in and we hurriedly resumed our attempt to circle the island anti-clockwise.  It soon became clear that further progress would be unwise in these conditions and we decided to head for home.   At that stage, our cars were due East of us but the wind was coming from the North-West.  Given the strengh of the wind, we decided to head directly downwind and found ourselves surfing along in fine style.  We soon reached our handy mid-way island and passed through the gap again.  By this stage, it was obvious that we would miss our preferred landing spot, but no […]

Video from Mark Young

Blackwater Hostel Sunday 16th April Day three saw nine of us make the 60 mile drive to Arisaig, with the sun beginning to make an appearance as we left the rain-soaked hills behind.  The harbour nestles at the head of the short Loch nan Ceall, sheltered to the south by the Rhu peninsula and a collection of small islands and skerries guarding the entrance just a few kilometres to the north and west.  The coastline provides lots of interest and intriguing navigation as the changing tide opens and closes waterways. The plan was to first explore the islands to the north-west, have lunch and then swing south around the peninsula.   Not long after leaving the harbour, the group split with half of us following an ever shallower route between the islands on a falling tide, while the remainder sensibly sought the certainty of open water (ie, deeper than 6 inches).  After some shuffling along the bottom and a little manual labour we eventually made it through to open water, albeit a kilometre or two away from the other half of the group.  However, radio communications and basic paddle waving saw us reunited for lunch overlooking a sandy beach warmed by the hazy sun. The afternoon saw us in more open water as we made our way around the peninsular.  The clouds cleared to leaving us in light winds and full sun.  With the cliffs of Eigg, mountainous Rhum and the pinnacles of Skye providing the backdrop, it was turning into a great paddle with a lazy Sunday afternoon feel to it – in contrast to the challenging conditions of the previous day!  Next stop was the stunning cove of Port nam Murrach.  This is a natural harbour with a small island at its mouth giving added protection.  With its […]

Sunday afternoon 16th April Sunday afternoon turned out sunny, perfect for a quick walk out the back of the hostel to Blackwater reservoir. A 13 mile round trip, with 3 deer in the valley, a big bird circling over head and a rainbow or two. The Navvies Graveyard, Blackwater Dam, Kinlochleven Excellent views of Kilnlochleven below us between the snowy peaks and the mountains around. This walk is a suitable choice for a day when the tops are in cloud, offering a lower level route along one side of the Glen Leven valley, and back along the other side, to complete a circular route. The only minus point is that since the dam of the reservoir is closed to the public, connecting the two sides of the valley involves negotiating a not so pleasant pathless section through undergrowth roughly in parallel to the dam. However it is worth the effort to enable a different return route. The eight mile long Blackwater Reservoir, which was created for hydroelectric power purposes, can be a bleak and desolate place though the walk generally features some waterfalls, a river and a couple of small lochans by way of variety from the woodland trail. Formerly two smaller villages, modern day Kinlochleven owes its existence to the aluminium works for which it is well-known. From the car park at Kinloch Road, follow the road parallel to the River Leven and cross the first footbridge on the right, signposted for the West Highland Way. Large pipes appear on the right, which connect with a building on top of a wooded hill far off to the left. This landmark seems a long way off at this stage, but it is passed later on in the walk at a key turning point where the route departs from the West […]

Friday 14th April This is a favourite first day paddle of mine to get into the swing of things.  10 of us set off from our put in on the shore below the lay-by on the A828 at Polanach Conditions at this point light wind and calm sea so off to the north tip of and around the outside to the south tip of Shuna Island By now the wind and Sea had picked up and was directly at us for the second leg to the North West end of Lismore Island a more exposed crossing of one and a half hours via the skerries of Eilean Glas and Eilean Gainimh All of us happy now we could see our landing beach and lunch spot now in the lea of the island the sea was calm again and we where greeted by three seals Soon off the water we had our half hour lunch stop and much needed rest after paddling into wind for over an hour A short leg three about 15 minutes now the weather had eased a little we headed round the north tip of Lismore past the ferry pier and back to the ferry terminal at Port Appin onto the beach and into the hotel for tea and coffee We had a few looks from the diners as we dripped our way to the bar and a few moor looks when we seated ourselves on the patio outside in the light rain I can recommend the Pierhouse hotel even after dripping all over the place we where made welcome and looked after The final leg shortly after leaving Port Appin we had a squall come through as we where very near the shore we had to take care not to get blown on to the boulders […]