How Mondays Should Be

Weather was a bit less sunny than expected but still decent enough to get up to the River Wansbeck as planned. Put in at Cambois Rowing Club, with it’s own jetti and carpark it was ideal. Loaded up the canoe with some basics (lunch, drink, waterproof etc.) and headed off upstream to see how far I could get before either I gave out or it got too shallow.

Old Town Pack

Bit the bullet and bought an Old Town Pack for myself, 30 next year so it's an early birthday present. Shorter and lighter than the 158 so will fit in the garage and can get it out much more often as it's only 15kgs!! Bring on many more trips! Can't wait.

Loch Ken 2011

Loch Ken Trip VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

A quick round up of mine and Ange’s trip to Loch Ken, nice break from the kids for a weekend and a chance to chill out and get out in the canoe for a while.

Great Glen 2011

Got round to doing the next leg of the Great Glen, from Laggan to as far as we got on Loch Ness (goal was somewhere around Foyers). Would be the first time we’d gone back up in the Old Town instead of the inflatable. Only been about 2 years since we started it!!

So travelled up on the Thursday (28^th April) and put in at the top of the Laggan Locks about 3pm. All loaded up (and we don’t exactly travel light or rough it) it all still fit well in the canoe. Figured we’d aim for the island on Loch Oich about 3-4 miles for a nice gentle afternoon. Sun out although the wind blowing in our faces, it was lovely to get back out on the water. I think Loch Oich is my favourite of the Great Glen, by far the smallest which helps but also the whole environment around it – steep sided valley to one side, rolling hills to the other. Was a joy to paddle! Got up to the island by 5ish and set about pitching camp. Like I said, we don’t rough it; so got the tipi up and the stove burning, unpacked the rest of the stuff from the canoe and set about tea. Which was a very nice King Prawn Thai Green Curry and noodles courtesy of Fort William Morrisons and Camp Chef Michael (aka Mam). Washed down with some red wine, we got our beds setup (the nice big airy variety) and with it blazing hot from the stove chilled out for a good bit before sleep.

Turns out my nice big airy variety bed goes down every 3 hours! Grrrrr. So was up 3 times blowing it back up again when my back hit the floor. Still, gave me a chance to make a midnight toilet break to gaze up at the millions (and I mean millions, no light pollution up there) of stars through the trees. If you moved your head sideways it was like all the trees had Christmas lights in them, I’ve never seen so many stars.

Vango Juno 500

Recently bought a Vango Juno 500 teepee from eBay, decent deal at £30 odd quid. Put it up for the first time in the garden the other weekend to check it out ahead of the trip to Scotland in the canoe.

It's That Time Again...

Yes, it has been way too long since we got out in the canoe. Couple of day trips to Bolam Lake etc. but nothing of any significance or mileage especially towards the Great Glen. Not for long though... The added bank holidays for the Royal Wedding are an ideal time to get away and let the country enjoy themselves while we get lost in the middle of nowhere with a canoe, teepee and... well, that's about it really! Planning a 3-4 day trip from Laggan to somewhere around Urquart Castle on Loch Ness, our first on the Great Glen in the new canoe (which isn't very new anymore). Hopefully the weather will hold out but even so we've got the teepee and wood burning stove to keep us going. Can't wait.... More soon!!