2021 Scottish Sea Kayaking Trip to the Summer Isles Day 06 Friday loch na mols (small bay) To beach next to Glencoul bothy by Roger Morgan “My alarm went off at 6, which I duly ignored, again. Thankfully it was another day of gorgeous sunshine, marred only by the squadrons of midges flying in tight aerial formation outside the almost fully zipped flysheet; whilst they were waiting for me for breakfast, I munched whatever cereal bar I could find, to make me more nutritious and give me (and them?) energy. By now we were all slick with packing our tents sleeping bags etc., moving boats to the water’s edge, loading, swatting midges, going back for more gear, moving another boat, swatting more midges, the latter being a continual theme, where do they all come from, and get so much energy (ah!). Promptly on the water by 8, timed so that we could safely pass underneath Kylesku Bridge, where if you get it wrong your battling against 3knots of tide. Leaving our campsite at the small Loch na Mola we all started the gentle paddle eastwards up Loch a` Chairn Bhain. There was hardly any wind, it was a beautiful day to be out on the water. We gently paddled up the loch, passing under the impressive Kylesku bridge and the old slipways where the ferry used to land until the bridges opening in 1984 apparently. We landed on the n slipway where Keith thankfully boiled water for anyone that needed it, and we had elevenses, at about 9.30. (Note to self, STOP packing your cooker away where you can’t find it, duh!) Our objectives were to paddle to the head of Loch Glendhu, then Loch Glencoul both had bothies run by the Mountain bothies association (see their website for more info) remote huts or houses which offered […]

A One-way trip from Soldier’s Point to Porth Dafarch with Liverpool Canoe Club Map with GPS track (click on icons) Soldier’s point access improved since my last visit, the Skerries visible in the background. Enroute to North Stack, deceptively calm North Stack tide race ahead; it was quite confused inshore Parliament Cave, staying well away due to Seal Pupping time of year Approaching South Stack Rounding the first time And the second time Lunch stop at Porth Ruffydd Heading on to Porth Dafarch The final cave, well hardly a cave, more a narrow fissure in the rock. They went in one by one, paddles on decks, hand propulsion against the sides and disappeared. I’d already had one altercation with a rock and decided to stay outside ‘on duty’ having done enough damage for one day. Eventually they all came out backwards, obviously no room to turn around inside. An excellent paddle with LCC members – thanks for the company, arrangements and car shuttle !

2021 Scottish Sea Kayaking Trip to the Summer Isles Day 05 Thursday Oldany Island camp at Cnoc a Mhoil Bhain to loch na mols (small bay) by Mark Benson Overnight winds had lessened when we awoke to a calmer day. However, the light breeze was still enough to keep the midges at bay (hurrah!). Catriona led us off, heading east along the south coast of Eddrachillis Bay. Initially we threaded between and around a number of small islands, meeting several seals along the way. We continued along the coast, passing in and out of the small lochs. Loch Nedd and Loch Ardbhair gave sheltered diversions and a chance for a rest. We entered Loch Ardbhair against a mild tidal flow of the outgoing tide. Some ferry glided to the far side and worked the eddies in the narrows. Finally, we continued around the last section of coast to reach Keith’s “5 star” target beach in Loch na Mola. We weren’t disappointed, though the picturesque hinterland of Lochan na Dubh Leithi threatened mosquitoes to add to the inevitable midges. The grassy camping area was not sufficient for all of us, and some camped on the shingle beach, the guy lines of their geodesic tents secured with rocks. The continuing breeze gave us time to relax and enjoy dinner but as it dropped away, so the midges emerged and some of us retreated to our tents. Frankie observed that the setting sun would make for some good photos; alerted by this, I enjoyed watching the sun set into the sea. As evening drew on the wind began to build up again. We were in for a very noisy night, wondering if our tents would hold. However, it was mainly “sound and fury”, everyone’s tent was still in place by morning and the wind […]

2021 Scottish Sea Kayaking Trip to the Summer Isles Day 04 Wednesday Port Allan na Bradhan to Oldany Island camp at Cnoc a Mhoil Bhain via the point of Stoer and old man by Debbie Hughes Setting off from Port Allan na Bradhan it was quite overcast but good paddling conditions again. As we left Achmelvich Bay we could see Stoer Head Lighthouse in the distance. It had been visible for several days, far, far away but today was the day we would actually reach it. The tidal planning committee had to be spot on today with tidal direction and timing to get us round Stoer Head and Point of Stoer, the crux of today’s paddle. The first point of interest was the split rock near Clachtoll…A’Chlach Thuill in Gaelic, created by the slippage of a massive section of rock down the Torridonian sandstone base – spectacular seen from the sea. We continued on across small Clachtoll Bay’s sandy beaches where we think we saw the black rib belonging to the guy we met at Lochinver pie shop who had directed us to the previous night’s excellent tucked away campsite. Next across the bigger Bay of Stoer and then about four and a half kilometres further on to Geodh Gainmhich, and a tiny beach where we stopped to refuel before tackling the committing part of our day’s paddle. Keith shouting “don’t get swept round the point” made us all concentrate on staying close in to reach the landing point. It felt like a very remote spot, but the road was only a short distance from the top of the cliff. Back on the water after second breakfast we were out and round the point with the lighthouse high above us in no time. The water was gently bouncy for the […]

2021 Scottish Sea Kayaking Trip to the Summer Isles Day 03 Tuesday Garvie Bay to Port Allan na Bradhan via Lochinver by Andy Garland I awoke, peered out of my tent, and started counting the midges. When I got to twenty million gadzillion I decided that an ample dosing of Deet and a midge net was a good way to start the day. The tent was un-erected (is that a word?) and gear packed in the boat before all my new midgy mates had had a chance to fully introduce themselves. I sought solace on the water and watched bemused as Roger of Wales assembled his 3-piece kayak (does the pointy section go in the middle or at the end?). Once all the group were in their boats we paddled north – the sun shone, the scent of heather drifted over the water and the towering monoliths of the Sutherland mountains provided a stunning backdrop. What more could anyone want? Well, the answer to that question is simple…we wanted pies, lots of pies. By an amazing coincidence the best pie shop in the known universe lay only a few kilometres away – The Lochinver Larder (AKA Lochinver Pie Shop). We landed right outside the Pie Shop (I mean right outside – within 4 meters of the entrance) and availed ourselves of their delicious pastry wrapped offerings. While scoffing pies, we got chatting to a local fella who divulged some local knowledge about a good bay for seal watching and a hidden gem of a campsite. Once again, we set off to paddle north, accompanied only by the odd crumb of pastry on our lips and the occasional belch of Steak and Ale pie. After around 5km we entered the narrow entrance of Loch Roe – the seal watching location that […]

2021 Scottish Sea Kayaking Trip to the Summer Isles Day 02 Monday Tanera More Island to Garvie Bay via Isle Ristol and Rubha Na Coigeach (headland) by Ian Bell With the weather looking good, the majority of us were ready around the target time of 9:00am. One or two were a little slower than this, as they faced the challenges of getting everything back into the boat after the first night’s camp. After the usual cursing and swearing, we were all eventually packed and ready on the water. In reality, it did not really matter this day, as there were no tide windows that needed to be met. We all set off from Anchorage Bay on Tanera More, heading on a course north, that would take us around Isle of Ristol. Keith had identified a beach here which was a possible campsite, so we used it as our elevenses stop. We then continued North around the Rubha Na Coigeach headland, exploring as we went and keeping an eye on the open sea to our left for any possible sightings of wildlife. Although there were a couple of possibilities, we did not have any confirmed sightings of any big mammals. We did see seals and plenty of seagulls. Once around Ruba Na Coigean, we stated to think about a camping option for the evening. We knew of the commercial caravan site at Achnahaird and that the beach here would be a very long carry, landing and lunching at low water. Being on spring tides we would need to camp high on the beach that night. We identified Garvie Bay as a better option. This is a small sandy bay just round the next small headland. On arrival, we found that there were several day-trippers enjoying this idyllic beach and the excellent […]

Many thanks for taking part in this year’s Event. Next Event – Sunday 17th July 2022 Full results / photos and details of next year`s event are now on our website – just click the appropriate links.  If you have any feedback or comments to make next years event even better, please email them in. https://liverpoolcanoeclub.co.uk/hilbre/ Sunday 12th September 2021 Full list of all results and times….  Hilbre Race (13km) 8.7m Tide  Little Eye Race (9km) West Kirby Race (4km)  1st Racing Ski Nigel jones  1st Kayak Simon Witcher 1st Junior Kayak Poppy Clews (12)  1st Performance Race Ian Makkison  2nd Kayak Derek Connolly 2nd Junior Kayak Oliver Groom (9)  1st Sea Kayak James Shrimpton  3rd Kayak Brian Green 3rd Junior Kayak Ella Clews (15)  2nd Sea Kayak Max Pipe  3rd Sea Kayak Mark Martindale  1st Double Sea Kayak Isaac and Al Pipe  1st Female Sea Kayak Helen Marriott  Highest LCC member Andy Rowley

2021 Scottish Sea Kayaking Trip to the Summer Isles     LCC Home News items or reports on club activities should be sent to Archived Newsletters  Major Trip Reports.… This year’s trip was organised as two separate weeks but both starting from the same campsite at Ardmair Point. This would enable people to paddle for either or both of the weeks and allowed for greater flexibility. Week 1 headed North around the Point of Stoer to Kylesku Bridge. Week 2 saw us head South around Rua Reidh to Gairloch and Charlestown. We enjoyed fantastic summer conditions again. On both occasions we were self-sufficient and camped out of our boats. The Paddlers Alan P, Andy G, Catriona H, Debbie H, Frankie A, Ian B, Mark B, Keith S, Roger M, David G Ardmair Point Holiday Park Ardmair Point is one of Scotland’s most beautifully situated holiday centres. Located 3 miles North of the fishing village of Ullapool, Ardmair offers both self-catering holiday accommodation and a caravan or camping park with excellent facilities. On one side of the peninsular is the location of the self-catering holiday accommodation including lodges, chalets and a holiday home. All are situated just above the beach and command stunning views over the sea to the mountains beyond. On the other side of the peninsular separated from the self-catering holiday accommodation is the touring caravan or camping park with most of the pitches having spectacular views. The Park has excellent facilities and including an on-site café serving a range of meals and cakes. https://www.ardmair.com/ Day 01 Sunday Ardmair point to Tanera More (island) via Horse Island & Tanera Beg island by Frankie Annan Or alternately the day of car shuttles and buffalo girls…… Waking to a midgy misty morning we quickly loaded (threw) gear into the cars to transfer […]

Why not take part with a last minute entry or come along to watch and meet other club members. As you may all know we have the three events on this Sunday – Many club members are taking part or helping with safety and organisation. The weather is looking extremely promising with very light winds so if you would like to paddle you can still enter up until midday on Saturday. 4km West Kirby paddle can be done in any craft or paddleboard. If you want more of a challenge why not try going around Little Eye (8km). Any craft. https://liverpoolcanoeclub.co.uk/hilbre/payment.php Club boats can be loaned for the day. The compound is open at 5pm on Saturday to collect boats and will be open on Sunday after the event and BBQ. Loan of Club boats. https://liverpoolcanoeclub.co.uk/members/Equipment/equipment.htm We have out sponsors from Go Kayaking (Runcorn) over to give out prizes and they will have a selection of gear on show or for sale. If you would like them to bring part of the shop across, ( a demo boat / range of sizes in a particular  item of clothing) Give them a ring or email to discuss. 01928 710770. Even if you do want to take part, why not come along to watch from the sunny beach / club house. The race starts at 2:30pm but you are advised to get there early as we have closed the road except for competitors. You may need to park in the public car park by the café. Dee sailing club BBQ and Bar are available to spectators and participants. Hot Dogs and Beef Burgers £3. Dee Sailing Club Station Road Thurstaston Wirral CH61 0HN

Glyndwfrdwy to Horseshoe Falls – Improvers White Water Solo Open Canoes by Zoe Maynard 21st August 2021 Thanks to Martin and Nikki Aldridge for organising and leading a fantastic improvers day out – and it was a long one – about 7 hours paddling in total! We met at the field above the put-in and unloaded all the kit. There were going to be 8 of us in the group, all in solo canoe. After a little discussion, the decision was made to move the cars to the Royal International Pavilion in Llangollen (with a little stop at Horseshoe Falls car park on the way). Getting back to the put in, those left behind had started to move the boats closer to the river to speed things up a bit. Before getting on the water there was a brief from Martin and Nikki about hand signals and what to do if we fell out of our canoe. We put on one at a time and, while waiting for others to join us, those already on the water had a bit of a warm-up ferry gliding across the river and back. When everyone was on the water, we set off down the river to our first rapid. The river level was very low so we were all scraping the bottom in places. I got stuck on a rock (as did others) but with a bit of bum shuffling managed to release the boat and head on down the rapid. At the bottom we had some fun ferry gliding and practicing breaking in and breaking out. Great fun putting previous training into practice. This set the tone for the rest of the day – a drop followed by skills practice. The leading was great with encouragement given where required. After lunch we […]