Category: News

Paddlers: Geoff, Hugh and Robert

Weather: Bright but windy; F3/4 from west veering south west

Route: 

Report: With forecast F4 winds after a week of wind , the open sea was rejected as an option. The islands of Loch Awe offer an alternative, extremely attractive and “historic” day trip.

Getting to the water is a challenge but we found a short steep track off the Inverary road down to an abandoned piece of the road where there was good parking and a relatively short but steep clamber down to the water. The beach was scattered with sharp boulders as is the whole loch.

We paddled the first stretch to Eilean a’Chomhraidh into a strong westerly. The island itself has several sandy beaches and a number of attractive camp sites. At the west end there is a ruined church and a graveyard where the last two Dukes of Argyll are buried. The whole island was covered in bluebells and a roe deer kept us company for a time. A visit is strongly recommended.

We then paddled on to the hotel at Ardanaiseig passing two crannogs en route. Crannogs (artificial islands which formed the base of prehistoric huts) are a feature of the loch with no less than 5 in the vicinity. Because one of our number had inadvertently left his lunch behind we decided not to stop and pushed on towards the island of Innis Chonain which is joined to the mainland by a short bridge. There are 3 or 4 private properties on the island. 

Landing on the shore at Lochawe village is difficult because of the railway. We eventually found a rough beach at the far end of the railway station  which provided access via the platform to the pub (closed) and the small shop. A pleasant lunch was had by all.

The next stage to Kilchurn Castle passed quickly with a strong breeze at our backs. The views up Glen Orchy were wonderful.

Kilchurn Castle is another “must see”. Situated at the end of a broadened causeway (KIlchurn was originally on an island ), it is a complete ruin but some inspired steps and platforms take the visitor right up the towers. Excellent information Boards provide a history of the castle and the devious dealings of the Clan Campbell. The views of and from the castle are superb.

The final few miles was hard work into a strong F3/4 wind. Perhaps it simply added a challenge to make for a thoroughly satisfying day.

Paddlers: Geoff, Hugh and David

Location:

 

 

Weather: The dominating feature of the trip was the wind. The forecast was F3/4 with occasional drop to F2 and some gusts at F5. In reality it was a notch up at F4/5 which made the idea of a paddle of 5 miles into it extremely unattractive. On the Friday the wind was forecast to rise after lunch with persistent rain and so it transpired.

Report: It is a long way to the North West of Scotland. Despite a prompt start at 08:30 from Garelochead we did not arrive at the Handa Island ferry point until 3pm. The residue of an Atlantic storm plus strongish winds and a counter tide suggested that our original plan of a short paddle across the Sound was not sensible. Instead we crossed to Loch Laxford for pleasant afternoon/evening trip heading into a strongish easterly breeze.

After a fairly lengthy search of the upper loch we selected a camp site, got a camp fire going and had a meal. It was a beautiful evening but with a clear sky and with a bitter east wind, temperatures dropped quickly.

 

A freezing night was followed by a wonderful day.

The trip back across Loch Laxford was not comfortable. The strong cold easterly wind (F5) was at our back, the boats were less than stable and hands quickly became very cold. At this stage it was clear that Handa was not possible so we headed south for what we thought would be the sheltered GlenCoul which has Britain’s highest(and most inaccessible) waterfall at its far end. However this loch was covered in white horses and a 4.5 mile slog into the wind was not desired.  With paddling off on what was otherwise a glorious day we decided to return up North to visit what has been called Britain’s most beautiful beach at Sandwood Bay. Click here for further information. The 4.5 mile path to the bay is extremely good and the beach is indeed breathtaking.

 

Back at the car we headed south again looking for either a moderated wind for a paddle up GlenCoul or at least a camp site close by. We got neither and after a drive along one of the most difficult roads in the UK we found  lovely site at the top end of Loch Nedd. This had everything, including shelter from the endless wind, flat ground and firewood.

 

The morning was overcast but less windy. However with the forecast change at lunch we decided on a trip up Loch Nedd and along to Oldany Island. This proved to be an excellent choice with interesting cliff scenery, many wild seabirds, seals and a lovely beach on the island.

Whilst on the island the weather became noticeably worse with a few drops of rain, so we quickly headed back up Loch Nedd to the car for the long, long journey home.

With none of the original targets achieved the question is “was it worth the travel up there?” The answer is undoubtedly yes. The scenery is fantastic and the paddles and walks we did excellent. Overall a wonderful trip

Kayakers: Geoff, Tim and Robert

Weather: Calm with hazy sunshine at times. Cold

Report: All previous “Thursday” meets had been cancelled due to the weather and we hope numbers will start to climb as it becomes part of the established pattern of events. Finnart was a new destination for Tim and Robert and, as ever, the landscape was sublime.

The paddle started and ended by a huge tanker tied up at Finnart. The Ashna is owned by an Indian Oil Company called Essar, and has a Gross Tonnage (crudely how much it weighs) of 156,417 and a Deadweight Tonnage (how much it carries) of 301,000 tonnes. By comparison the biggest cruise liner in the world has a GT of 225,282 tonnes but a DT of only 19,700.

From Finnart we crossed to Mark and after a quick inspection , that confirmed everything at the Bothy was in excellent condition, we pushed on to Carrick Castle for lunch.

A leisurely lunch was followed by a paddle along the south shore to the point where we crossed Loch Long. A pleasant paddle, with a light breeze behind us, brought us past Portincaple back to Finnart by around 2pm. Total distance was just over 12km in just over 3 hours paddling time. A lovely relaxing day.

Paddlers: Tim, Alan and Geoff

Weather: Cold and Grey but little wind

Route: 

Report:

With two late call offs only 3 of us set off from  Inveruglas for a trip around the north of the loch. The initial target was to view the Pillar Rock roadworks from the loch. From there we headed up to the end of the loch, in part to investigate the Outdoor Centre. There was little obvious life. We finally landed at the deserted township of Ardleish. In summer there is a pedestrian ferry here from the West Highland Way to  Ardlui. The buildings and cottage, however, are wrecked.After some lunch we headed south into a stiffish breeze to “Island I Vow”. This is a lovely place with glorious views north and south and what appears to be a nice little camp site.

The next target was the Inversnaid Hotel. This used to open for the whole year but is now closed October 25th to March 25th. A large black wild goat showed interest in proceedings as we looked at the hotel and waterfall. Our final paddle took us back across the loch to the cars and home. An excellent paddle in stunning scenery.

 

Paddlers: Geoff, Hugh and Ken

Route: We chose the only extensive length of the coast within driving distance of Dalaman Airport and our kayak supplier, that we had not paddled in previous years. This ran from Marmaris to Gocek and proved to be equally exciting with spectacular cliff scenery.

Weather: 6 days of sunshine with temperatures at around 26c. Nights cool enough to sleep (21C). Sea breezes kept us cool but picked up in the afternoon to add a little challenge to the kayaking.

Report:

Day 1: Arrived at Dalaman at 10.30pm local time after 4 .5hr flight and with 2hr time shift. Met by Dean (supplier) and travelled to Icmeler (near Marmaris) for night in small hotel. After a couple of beers, bed by 02:30.

Day 2: After breakfast and some shopping for supplies (notably 30 litre of water)  we set off for our launch point in Marmaris.

The previous days storm was working itself out and the first, short, paddle back to Icmeler for launch was quite bumpy.

After lunch the wind dropped and we headed out of Marmaris Bay for the wild coast of this part of Turkey.

 

Beaches and camp sites are not frequent and getting one at the right time is always problematic. The first night we found a long shingle beach backed by a pine forest. Within the forest were a couple of clearings with the remnants of what appeared to be bee hives and temporary habitations. The sites were dirty but we had little choice and pitched whilst making our fire and doing the cooking on the shingle.

A big problem was a major leak into the rear compartment of Geoff’s boat. This appeared to be coming from the top of the skeg box where the wire went through the hull and an earlier repair had failed. The combined weight of the paddler, camp equipment and supplies for a week coupled with the rough water in the morning had led to significant incursions which got progressively worse as more water got into the rear compartment. The best repair seemed to be taping up the whole box.

Day 3: Dawn was around 7am and was normally the best part of the day, cool, calm and beautiful.

 

We normally got up around 7.30 (some earlier) and got afloat between 8.30 and 9. This day, however, we were much later. To avoid any contact with the Turkish Navy, whose main base is in the next bay to Marmaris,we headed out towards the island of Yilancik Ada. 

Landings were rough and upon inspection of Geoff’s boat found that the tape had become damaged and water was again entering the boat. Further repair included a cane buffer over the tape to try and absorb any impact with rocks. With regular inspection and re-taping this worked for the rest of the trip.

Back to the mainland and the exceptional cliff and cave scenery.

 

The next camp site was on a long isolated beach. To the west it was shingle backed by a pine forest but the eastern end was sandy and open. As on the previous day there were clearings in the pine forest and deserted hives. There were also wild donkeys and evidence of larger animals (cows and wild boars). A golden eagle circled overhead. Remarkably for such a large flat area there were no tracks and no evidence of permanent habitation. Apart from sand everywhere the camp site was very pleasant (and wood for the fire plentiful).

Day 4:  Another glorious morning.

And onwards. The coast was wonderful, with huge limestone cliffs, stacks, caves and arches.

 

Turtle Beach is a long sand beach that crosses the wide Dalyan valley.  The river up to Dalyan is restricted to local passenger boats that bring people from the town to the beach.  It is apparently possible to use the waterway before 10am but we opted to simply paddle along. The beach is an internationally protected zone for turtles (Green and Loggerhead) and unknown to us, the public is not allowed in the area between 8pm and 8am.  This restriction is not obvious and we paddled to the far end, close to dusk. A suitable site in a picnic areas was identified and we started to erect the tents only to be accosted by a man in uniform with a whistle. After trying to explain we could not go on because of lack of landing places and darkness falling he summoned an English speaker who managed to explain our predicament and get us permission to stop . The conditions were no fires or lights, kayaks completely off the beach area and an early departure (8.15am) , so we had a rather bleak early night.

Day 5  The day started with some of the best limestone scenery in the world.

 

This was followed by a 5 mile sand beach that started in a hilly area at Sangerme Park which consisted of four expensive hotel complexes. We had expected beach bars but everybody was apparently on an “all inclusive” holiday (which included all water sports and food/drink). The reps at the German hotel, having explained that there was no where we could get a cup of coffee or beer, provided one free.

The main beach is the end of Dalaman airport and is dirty and bleak, with no facilities. After lunch at the east end we were back to the cliffs searching for a camp site/beach. At this stage we came across one of the best caves of the trip

 

Hugh had identified potential landing spots and camp sites from examining Google Earth. Some of these were impossible but generally they were OK as in the next case, a small bay on the south side of a high saddle at the end of Gocek Bay.

The evening ushered in the most spectacular of sunsets and another superb fire.

 

Day 6 The good weather had resulted in a calm trip . Rounding headlands however is always slightly problematic because exposure to the ever present swell generates clapotis. On day 6 we rounded the final cape to go into the more sheltered Bay of Fethiye.  Again there were no troubles although there was a very slight tide race at the point

The paddle into the islands to our lunch stop seemed to take a long time and after a prolonged break the wind had got up from the south giving us a tough final couple of hours to our final camp site which were some small terraces adjacent to a small restaurant catering for yachties.

Day 7  The final day involved a 12mile trip through the islands to the village of Gocek. This bay was probably the least interesting scenically and undoubtedly the busiest in terms of craft. Every inlet had a minimum of two or three boats and if there was a cafe and pontoon a more usual number was 20-30.  Whereas 5 years ago most of the boats had either been yachts or gulets (local boats catering for tourists) now the area was awash with huge motor cruisers, many U.S. flagged. Including those tied up in the marinas in Gocek, boat numbers in this tiny section of our trip must have run into thousands. The biggest of all, flying the red ensign, was Delbar; owned by a Russian billionaire.

We arrived in Gocek mid afternoon, time for a beer and an ice cream before meeting Dean for the trip back to the airport.

Dean arrived 4.30 and after repacking from the kayaks into our travel bags we had an excellent meal.

The airport journey and check in were uneventful, flights were on time and we were back home by 2.30am.  An excellent trip.

Some Facts

Cost: Flights £300, Kayak Hire and airport transport £200, Meals, Beers, Airport Parking etc £150.  Total £650

Distance Covered: 150km (95miles). The most we paddled any day was only 14.5Nm (18miles)