Shortly after joining Liverpool Canoe Club the opportunity arose to paddle with the club on the Easter trip to Kinlochleven.
We were lucky to have brilliant weather and managed to get some excellent paddling in at locations that we would never have attempted on our own.
After this I really fancied a summer holiday paddling at Arisaig and soon found others similarly interested. John and Chris Fay and Phil Edwards decided that they would like to join Irene, Sue and I for a week’s break. Accomodation in two “Lodges” was duly booked. The weather was really kind and we managed to get some great days on the water.
After the success of this trip, Irene suggested that we try “The Great Glen Canoe Trail” For this we were joined by Nathan——-Phil’s son, and Julie. Another very successful trip, made possible by Chris shuttling for us, with brilliant weather.
Due to the successes of the last two, I thought it may be good to try Arisaig again and the same two “Lodges” were booked for a week in October.
Well, to say the weather was unkind is a little short of the mark. Gales were forecast and from Saturday evening until Wednesday morning it blew a “HOOLY”. We had an excellent view of the “White Horses” on the seascape from our window.
While there was some walking done, the first paddling was not accomplished until late on Wednesday afternoon. We were very lucky to get out of our exposed “Put in” at Gorten Sands with only minor scary moments and proceeded to an area of the Skerries that had good shelter.
All in all a great couple of hours on the water.
Thursday saw us back at Gorten Sands, but this time we stayed in the bay and surfed for an hour.
Friday morning was looking good, but the forecast was for strong winds again. We decided to go the short distance to Loch Nan Uamh, (don’t ask me how to pronounce it) This has great parking and launching and ample interesting features in a sheltered area.
Sure enough, the forecast was not wrong and after about an hour the wind started to pick up again, so we headed back.
We had a week of relaxation, with a few opportunities to enjoy the area from both the land and sea.
This area must be one of the best for sea paddling and well worth a visit.https://youtu.be/IpKCzJXifFo
The following YouTube links are all from Friday’s paddle. https://youtu.be/3Io6eZJTUiw https://youtu.be/yBy28Zi6Dlw
BobHamilton
