Alps Alternative Week 2 Central and Southeast Scotland. Day 05 River Garry Although a long drive to the Inverness-shire River Garry, as it was releasing it was definitely worth it. We set off early to drive up the A9 and across to Spean Bridge and up to Invergarry. This was across the highlands of Scotland and was a beautiful drive and in total contrast to the wide, lowland valleys of Perthshire. We arrived at the car park and already there were a few other boaters there (Rafting companies, open boats and kayakers). We organised the shuttle and decided to do the lower section first. Nic, Ella and I scouted the first section along the new path that had been put in since I was there last. We spotted the line on the couple of drops on that section. We put in at the bridge just below the large wave on the corner and paddled down as a group. Taking the main drop on the right we followed two chutes into the eddy below. Good lines by all made this look easier than it was. The river then had a few large bouncy rapids running over a steepish section. Below here the river is quite sedate with the occasional grade 2 rapid or section. We paddled under an old footbridge, chatted and relaxed. Towards the bottom, the river gets more serious and comes to a large natural ledge with a 1m pour over. We paddled over this one at a time, Ella let out quiet a large yelp as she dropped over the edge as it was considerably larger than she thought. Immediately below this feature some of us got out to inspect the rapid and steep bend under the old road bridge. This is now half-collapsed after the floods and […]

Alps Alternative Week 2 Central and Southeast Scotland. Day 03 River Tay – Stanley This is the most paddled section of river in Scotland according to the guidebooks. We headed off in 4 vehicles as the information said that parking was an issue. We navigated to get out car park which was much smaller than I expected. We met three retired paddlers from Edinburgh dropping a car off. We got talking to them and they informed us that the top car park was now locked and we had to contact the Scottish Canoe Association for the code for the gate. There was then some discussion of the fishing issues with paddling on the river Tay compared to open access across the rest of Scotland. Two redirected phone calls later and we had not been able to talk to anyone on the number(s) given on the SCA website. There was no one available in the offices. Stuart and I took a punt and went to take a look at the get on, it was down a long winding road with new no parking signs and even one ticketed car! The three retired guys had left the padlock open, while I distracted them with more chat, Stuart was able to observe the code. Just after this, another car with a playboater arrived. I opened the gate for her. The paddler said, “you know they have changed the code”. Oh, I replied, I didn’t know that. She then told me the code. We now had access to a warm, sheltered beach with flat pool and a safe place to leave the cars. A quick shuttle back to let the others know the planned trip was on. We paddled upstream to a small rapid to play a bit and practise our ferry gliding. After […]

Nominations for our 2021 Awards are now requested – If you would like to nominate a fellow paddler please send an email to: with a brief (no more than 60 words) summary of why they are being nominated and ideally a photo of them. (Please include any video or other material you may have.) Winners of our three Club “Paddler of the year” Awards will be presented at our Virtual Awards Evening and AGM on Monday 18th October 2021 Nominations close on 13th September and you will then be able to cast your votes to find the winners. During August/ September we will be taking nominations from club members for: 2021 Nominations for Paddler of the year (club member who has either made the most progress or achievement in paddle sport over the year) 2021 Nominations for Young Paddler of the year (Under 18 club member who has made either the most progress or achievement in paddle sport over the year) 2021 Nominations for Volunteer of the year (Club member who has given their services to help the club over the year) Historical Record 2020 Paddler of the Year 2020 Junior of the Year 2020 Volunteer of the Year Victor Leather Ella Clews Julie Brooks From a spluttering begoggled mess on the Sunday paddle, breaking his neck to get upright at the end of a paddle float, Vic has blossomed to my knowledge into a surfing veteran of a stormy Saturday morning at Crosby to an intrepid kayaker in the Scottish Isles, with a fish that he allegedly caught himself with a length of string and a bent pin. Amazing progress in such a short time! Ella is a regular and active participant in the Junior club and plays in the Junior Polo team. Despite having little river experience, Ella paddled grade 3 rivers in […]

LCC Alpine Holiday with Staycation Alternative for 2021 This year we were all set to go to France again. All the planning had been done, restrictions checked and most of us fully jabbed. With the third wave and a month to go we started to look for an insurance option, just in case. We provisionally booked campsites in St David’s, Pembrokeshire, and the Scottish Canoe Association Campsite on the River Tay at Grandtully. With two weeks to go the UK Government decided to add France to the Amber plus list, meaning compulsory isolation for all on return. Fortunately, we had our insurance option, Plan B as travel to France was now totally unrealistic. Alps Alternative Week 2 Central and Southeast Scotland. Day 01 River Tummel After meeting up on the Scottish Canoe Association Campsite on the River Tay at Grandtully the night before we confirmed that the River Tummel was still releasing. There is plenty of information on the SCA website. We drove up to the dam but first left a car at the get out (the large stone arch that marked the HEP power station car park. There were several rafting companies operating so we knew we were in the right place. We had to follow the river guides carefully as none of us had paddled the river before. Near the Dam at the top, we dropped off our kayaks and carefully parked our car – many of the roads had been recently converted to no stopping zones with frequent ticketing. Once changed we carried our kayaks down through the HEP dam, following some gates and flattered grass made by dragging the rafts. We put on below the dam and warmed up on the first rapid. The first sections were great – easy grade 2`s leading into a couple […]

Hi everyone, Just a reminder of the annual Hilbre Island Sea Kayaking event run by Liverpool Canoe Club in partnership with Dee Sailing Club is at 2:30pm on Sunday 12th September 2021 All the usual events on Sunday 12th have been taken off the calendar as the people who run those sessions are usually involved with helping with the event. We still need some helper and volunteers. Eg safety kayakers, car park helpers, timers and general help on the day so if anyone would like to volunteer, please drop me a quick line. If any more club members would like to enter any of the events, please just enter via the club website. https://liverpoolcanoeclub.co.uk/hilbre/ Juniors and new paddlers can enter the West Kirby Event which is along the shore and approximately 2 lengths of the docks. If you want more of a challenge then try the round Little Eye event. The compound will be open in the Morning and later in the afternoon to borrow club boats – just book the type of craft you want before the event…. Why not consider paddling as a group of 3 for the Hilbre event – this is new the year. Even if you do not want to help or take part it is a great afternoon out with good access to the beach and faces the sun. The bar and a BBQ at Dee Sailing club will be available for all club members – just make your purchases as a required. It will be great to catch up with everyone and is an ideal family day out on the Wirral. Kind regards Keith Steer Liverpool Canoe Club

Alps Alternative Week 1 Pembroke. Day 5,6 & 7 (Cardiff WW Course 4 and 6 Cumecs, Surfing at Whitesands Bay and Cardiff WW Course 10 Cumecs) Day 05 Cardiff WW Course 4 and 6 Cumecs Some went to the beach surfing, some walked around the coastal path and mooched about. Later that day most of us loaded up the cars and headed off to Cardiff for that evening`s “park and play session”. Some of the artificial rocks had been taken out to compensate for the lower flows. The course was on 4 Cumecs for the first hour and 6 Cumecs for the second one. At this level it was less intimidating but there were more kayaks and rafts on the course for the midweek session. Soon everyone was up to speed with the course layout and paddling around in laps. We began to play with each feature, popping out, surfing waves and getting ever tighter breakouts. Some of the features were very shallow but the directed flow was at speed over the smooth concrete artificial bed of the course. The speed of the water meant that the depth was irrelevant here as you were speeding over a film of water only 6 cm deep and then into a deeper section. We kept going until after 8:15pm when the water and escalator were turned off. The handy retail park and Maccy D`s allowed us to enjoy a chat and some food before we drove the 2hrs back to the campsite. Click for more photographs……. Day 06 Surfing at Whitesands Bay Roy had been up all-night checking “Magic Seaweed” and the surf was going to be up – 4-6 feet and massive. Excitedly Roy exclaimed that we must go – he was going to take all 4 of his surf toys on […]

Alps Alternative Week 1 Pembroke. Day 4 The Bitches, St Justinian’s to Whitesands Beach, Surfing at Whitesands Bay and Coasteering at Blue Lagoon Day 04a The Bitches The tide was an hour later today, so we headed down to the car park at St Justinian`s at 8:30am. It was too late, and all the places were taken. We dropped the kayaks off, and I was not prepared to pay the £5 for the overflow car park so dropped the car back at the campsite and walked the 1km down to the lifeboat ramp. We paddled in the back eddy as far as we could before heading over to “the bitches” again. We were a littler earlier today and the waves seemed to be a little larger. Here a fishing boat came over to take a look. We played and surfed for a while and then attempted to get onto the main wave on the middle rock. The rocks were extremely sharp as we tried to pull ourselves forward in the eddy. The sea was pulsing all the time and we briefly managed to get on the wave for a few seconds. As the tide dropped off, we went to explore the caves and waterfalls on Ramsey Island before paddling back to St Justinian`s to meet the others. Click for more photographs……. Day 04b St Justinian’s to Whitesands Beach We met the others just after 11:30 at St Justinian`s lifeboat ramp. They had been snorkelling around the rocks and caves below St Justinian`s. Once all on the water we paddled north around the headland to explore the cliffs and caves. There was a slight swell an this made rock hopping interesting. We could see the North End of Ramsey Island in the distance, and we rounded the corner into Whitesands Bay. […]

Alps Alternative Week 1 Pembroke. Day 03 “The Bitches” There were big springs this week and ideal for a trip out to “the bitches”. These are a series of sharp rocks blocking half of Ramsey Sound. All the tide sweeps through between the Island and the mainland and pours through between and around the rocks producing a lot of white water and waves. These are a fantastic play spot, but you do need to know your tides, only venture out in calm conditions and look out for everyone in the group. We dropped the boats off at the top of the steps leading down to the old lifeboat house and parked the cars in the few remain car park spaces. Once changed we carried down and launched on the small beach beside the lifeboat ramp. There were numerous “RHIBs” loading with people for the highspeed tour of Ramsey Island, the wildlife and rough water. We took the strong back eddy up as high as we could and then started our ferry across the to “the bitches” rocks. We were not sure we would make it as the tide was extremely strong – at least 6 knots but probably faster. We all made the first eddy behind the outer most rock and gathered our thoughts. We then began to start to play and get used to the water. Aleksander and Stuart caught the best waves while Roy searched for the infamous large green surf wave behind the middle rock. After a while we all ferried across to the arch with the tide flowing through. It was still far too strong to try and paddle through but provided some fun. We then explored the coastline of Ramsey Island. We found a waterfall and several caves and arches – one of which was […]

Alps Alternative Week 1 Pembroke. Day 02a Cardiff WW Course 8 Cumecs Most headed off for the WW course again, still pumping 8 Cumecs it was at a good level. Most of the newcomers were soon up to speed and flying around the course with ease. It really was a blast. Although relatively shallow in places most of the features had plenty of water at this level and the holes while friendly were still powerful and deserved respect. The only things to watch out for are the blue plastic rocks as they can be a pain if you bang an elbow or other part of the body if you get the breakout wrong. There seemed to be plenty of space and only a few of the 50 public places were taken. There were rafts and inflatables on the course with centre staff, but these only numbered 3 at the most. You really do get a lot of paddling in when paddling on an artificial course with an escalator. This was really turning out to the be Alternative Alpine Rivers trip we had all hoped for. Click for more photographs……. Day 02b Abereiddy Beach to Porthgain (Sloop Inn) and return A few Alpine paddlers had broken with the tradition of paddling the boats they were going to take the Alps and had also brought long pointed boats with hatches on. This alternative group paddled along the rocky coasts and headlands to Porthgain, stopped for a while for lunch and then paddled back again. Apparently, the Sloop Inn was the highlight of the trip – It must have been fantastic as the coastline here is truly beautiful. Porthgain HistoryThe village of Porthgain has a wealth of historical relics from its time as a prosperous industrial harbour in the early 1900s. At one time, […]

LCC Alpine Holiday with Staycation alternative for 2021 This year we were all set to go to France again. All the planning had been done, restrictions checked and most of us fully jabbed. With the third wave and a month to go we started to look for an insurance option, just in case. We provisionally booked campsites in St David’s, Pembrokeshire, and the Scottish Canoe Association Campsite on the River Tay at Grandtully. With two weeks to go and the UK Government decided to add France to the Amber plus list meaning compulsory isolation for all on return. Fortunately, we had our insurance option, Plan B as travel to France was now unrealistic. Alps Alternative Week 1 Pembroke. Day 01 Cardiff WW Course 8 Cumecs Some of us left early and took a slight detour to visit Cardiff International White-Water Course. This was to be our river option for this week with 4 days where the course was offering “Park and Play” sessions for paddlers. 6 of us met at the course for the afternoon session. It was pumping 8 Cumecs (cubic metres a second) and true to form the course filled up and we had a great time doing laps. On getting our wrist bands we put our boats on in the bottom pool and took the escalator to the top and set off on the course. Some of the drops and eddies were exciting and the boiling water gave a few problems for some. We had all watched the safety video beforehand and there were two people from the centre on the middle island with throw ropes to rescue any unfortunate swimmers. At this level several of the other playboaters were performing 360-degree forward loops. As our confidence grew, we started to play a little more in each […]