Paddle Away

The Mythical Ascent

2011-10-09T17:43:00.001+01:00

The Mythical Ascent is the legendary road climb from the town of Bourg d'Oisans (700m) in the Rhone Region of the French Alps to the ski resort of Alpes D'Huez (1860m)

The Alpes d'Huez climb has regularly featured in the Tour de France itinerary since 1976 having made its first appearance in 1952. Its is reputedly the most challenging and well known of all the TDF alpine climbs. Having attempted both the Alpes d'Huez and Galibier climbs it may well be the most famous but I would dispute the fact that it is the most challenging. However it is surely on the 'To Do List' of any self respecting cyclist so had to be done.

We started our climb after a warm up and a Pain o'chocolate from the boulangerie in Bourg.

The official start of the route was directly outside the entrance to the campsite. There are 21 hairpins on the route each one named after a stage winner of the TDF. There are so many winners now that the lower bends now have two names on them.

The steepness of the first part of the climb came as a bit of a shock. I had not looked around the corner from the campsite. The average gradient of the climb is 7.9% and the steepest section is up to 14%. The climb to bend 21 (806m) and then on to 17 (965m) is some of the steepest on the route.

It is only when you get to the village of La Garde is there any respite and you have a chance for a small recovery.

The church steeple at La Garde is a welcome sight and you can start to settle into some sort of rhythm.

I always rode around the outside of the bends and alternatively drank energy drink and water.

After bend 14 the road kicks up again but the view shows how far you have climbed and you start to feel a sense of achievement.

Bend 12 (1161 m) and up to 9 brings you back to reality with a bump as the gradient once again kicks up.

The hamlet of Sainte - Ferrol is next with its church of Notre Dame des Neiges and the famous Dutch Corner. This section has been adopted by the Dutch due to the number of Dutch winners of this stage of the TDF. The stage up Alpes d'Huez always attracts huge numbers of spectators and the scenes can only be descibed as chaotic.

The village of Huez is next.

Bend 5 - 2 are equally as steep as the section to La Garde and take you across the Patte d'oile. The psychological difference here is immense. At the start you wonder if you can actually pedal to the top. At bend 5 there is noway you are going to fail. To quote Lance Armstrong ' you only get off when the snow turns black' that is how I felt at this point.

Bend 1 (1713m) and you can see Viell Alpe (the old village). This allows you to up your speed because you know that you are going to finish it.

The finishing line is a welcome sight.

The strange thing is that the arrival banner is not the same as the stage finish of the TDF, but this is where all the shops are. So it makes sense to stop for refreshments and a shop for the statutory T shirt.

The official finish line is a little further up through the ski resort.

Once on the line you have to have your picture taken in the normal triumphal manner.

Not content with just climbing Alp d'Huez we decided to ride the Col d'Sarrenne, which meant going up again. The airport had an unusual runway which allows planes to stop quickly.

The views above Alpe d'Huez were typically alpine.

The descent was awesome and I reached the fastest speed of the trip down here.

This house provided a point of discussion. I wonder if the house was there first?

We headed back to Bourg along the main road through some scary tunnels and down some interesting descents.

A great ride.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/106556867#

Les 2 Alpes to Venosc

2011-08-16T20:12:00.000+01:00

We parked near to the village of Venosc (900m) in the lovely Oissans region not far from the mythological Alpes d'Huez and caught the gondola up to Les deux Alpes also known as Les 2 Alpes (1650m)

From here we took the Jandri Express cable car which took us 7km up the mountain to the foot of the Mantel Glacier 3200m in 24 mins

This glacier is the largest summer ski area in Europe. It was strange to cycle through the town passing skiers and snow boarders all dressed up in their gear in a temperature of 20 degrees.

By the time we reached the summit the temperature was down to 4 degrees.
There are stunning alpine views from here even across to Mont Blanc approx 62 miles to the north

We started our ride down on the blue Nord route which was very steep in places with a loose stoney surface.

We rode across various pisted areas.

When we had the chance we stopped to admire the view and pose for photographs.

Les 2 Alpes is very popular in the summer with both downhill and free ride mountain biking.

We crossed over from the blue Nord to the red Vallons trail. The terrain changed to more typical alpine style with green pastures and wild flowers but it was still incredibly steep with switchback after switch back.

There were quite a few timber features thrown in for good measure.

The last section from Les 2 Alpes down to Venosc was basically a ride down a cliff with huge berms to slow you down.

An exciting ride to complete a great visit to the area.

Coast 2 Coast The Main Event

2011-07-10T10:55:00.001+01:00

The Coast 2 Coast route that we chose to ride starts in Whitehaven on the Cumbrian coast and travels east skirting the north end of the Lake district over the Penines down into Newcastle and finishing at Tynemouth.

We arrived in Whitehaven bright and early, first stop The Beacon cafe for a breakfast top up.

Before the start it is tradition to dip your rear wheels in the Irish Sea, the main harbour slip way was the ideal place for a line up but not all the 35 riders managed to get in the shot.

We left Whitehaven at 11.45 am and headed up the cycle track towards the Lakes.

It is a climb but a gentle one.

The landscape changed from urban to rural and then the mountains of the north Lake District came into view.

Our first stop was Loweswater by which time we were nicely warmed up and feeling good.

The gradient of the climb from Loweswater increased dramatically and gave a hint of things to come.

The visitor centre at Whinlatter Forest was a welcome stop for some, the descent down to Keswick was easy going and a chance to knock off a few quick miles.

We did not stay too long in Keswick, we also managed to avoid the busy town centre and it was not long before we were on the cycle track adjacent the bust A6 and the shadow of the mighty Skiddaw and Blaencathra.

The cycle track along the old road is quiet good views.

It was not long before the Lake District was fading into the distance behind us, by this time we were approaching 60 miles.

For our evening meal we took over the village green in Greystoke and ate as much pasta as we could.

North of Penrith the daylight was fading fast, we switched on our lights and dressed up warm ready for the night.

There are five major climbs after Penrith - Hartside, Garrigil, Nenthead, Allenshead and Crawley Side. They were all tackled one after the other and this was the most challenging part of the route. The cold made things a lot more difficult to the extent that we did not want to descend after completing a climb.

The daylight returned around 4am and was very welcome.

There was an enormous sense of achievement after completing the last climb out of Stanhope. It was all downhill from here to Newcastle.

At Rowlands Gill we joined the Derwent Valley Walk which took us right into the centre of Newcastle.

We followed the promenade along side the Tyne.

The bridges are a major tourist attraction.

We were only eight miles from the finish so we did not stay long.

After 136 miles and 23.5 hours later we arrived at Tynemouth where we kept with tradition and dipped our front wheels into the north sea.

Nine adults and six school children completed the full ride the other 11 schoolchildren all rode a minimum of 80 miles with some going well past the 100 mile distance - an amazing achievement.

Coast 2 Coast - Black Mountains Training

2011-06-27T21:38:00.001+01:00

I have signed myself up for a Coast 2 Coast 24 hour challenge over the weekend of 2/3 July 2011. This is 136 miles non stop so I went out and bought one of these.

The purpose of the challenge is to try and raise a bit of sponsorship to enable us to purchase some bikes for a kids mountain bike club at a school near Carlisle.

I have been working hard on my training, this is the log of my final ride.

The Vale of Ewyas is a stunning place to cycle. It cuts right through the Black Mountains from north west to south east. The ascent from the Talgarth to the Gospel Pass was interesting but the view from the top just south of Twmpa (Lord Herefords Knob) was spectacular and almost a 360.

This was a training ride so I did not take many pictures. I shall have to go back for a leisure ride which will do a blog justice. There are many places to see in this hidden valley such as Capel y ffin and the monastery at Llanthony.

This is the view from Gospel Pass.

More details on Coast 2 Coast after next week end.

Dunvegan to Stein

2011-06-18T21:42:00.002+01:00

Towards the north end of Skye is Loch Dunvegan and at the head of the loch lies the village of Dunvegan from which the loch takes its name. The village provides the focal point for the north west of Skye. It has shops hotels and an excellent campsite situated right on the shore of the loch. This was our base for the night.

This trip is another from the classic book 'Scottish Sea Kayaking' by Doug Cooper and George Reid.

We were treated to a typical Skye sunset.

The time to launch from the campsite is at high water. At low water the beach comprises rocks and sea weed.

We decided to launch from small beach just north of the castle.

This gave us fine views across to Macleods Tables (see previous blog post)

We were paddling one way so we had to run the shuttle first.

The castle is the ancestoral home of the Chiefs of the Clan Macleods and parts of the castle pre date the 12 century.

We launched in sight of the seal boats who run day trips from the castle. We gave them a wide berth because they have a fearsome reputation for harassing sea kayakers which is rather sad.

There was plenty of other wild life about and this gave lots of opportunities for photos.

We headed south around Gairbh Eilein, first into the strong southerly wind before turning north and surfing downwind.

We made good progress running with the wind.

We crossed Camalaig Bay and handrailed the coast north and very soon the coral beach at Claigan came into view.

The beach provided an excellent location for a lunch break. There were a large number of tourists on the beach which was a strange feeling because normally we do not see another soul.
The flat to hill Cnoc Mor Grobain was providing the tourists with a good view point across to Waternish and Stein.

The beach is not really coral, it is made up of calcified sea weed known as Maerl. It crunches beneath your feet as you walk on it. We landed on one last year when we paddled out of Loch Moidart.

There were plenty of seals congregating on the rocks on the island of Lampay just across the stretch of water known as An Dornell.

The island of Isay or Iosaigh looked impressive to the north. This was our next destination.
Iosaigh translates form the Norse into Porpoise Island. There are three islands to the north of Dunvegan, Iosaigh, Mingay and Clett and they sit side by side West to East.

There is the remains of a settlement on the east side of the Iosaigh. There were 90 people living there in the 1800s. Today it is unihabitated. It was also the scene of two massacres. One involved the Macdonalds who invaded the island and slew a group of Macleods in the church. The Macleods caught up with them on the beach near Sconser where they were marooned by the outgoing tide. In the ensuing battle non of the Macdonalds survived. The other massacre occurred when one Roderick Macleod had two families murdered so that his grandson could inherit the island.

The wind began to pick up so we paddled between Mingay and Clett and headed south towards Stein. Then it began to rain. I had been over optimistic and I was not wearing a cag so we stopped on the skerries at Sgeir nam Biast before completing the crossing and rejoining the mainland at Rubha Maol. We sheltered briefly before paddling cross wind to Stein.

There is a pub in Stein which comes highly recommended. Unfortunately we had along drive in front of us so we loaded up the kayaks and headed south towards home.

Summer Isles Overnight

2011-06-15T12:22:00.004+01:00

The Summer Isles

The Summer Isles is a group of about 20 islands, rocks and skerries that sit off the Coigach peninsula. You can walk to the closest, Isle Ristol, with its long white sandy beach, on the lower tides; the furthest, Eilean a Chleirich (Priest Island), lies some 6 miles from shore. Home to seals, otters and seabirds, the islands also offer fresh grazing for local crofters to summer their sheep. The largest, Tanera Mhor is some 800 acres (300 ha) and is the only one of the islands permanently inhabited. Tanera Mhor was the centre of a thriving herring fishing industry in the 18th century, and many centuries before that its sheltered harbour was home to Vikings. It was the Vikings who named the island Tanera, a name later given the Gaelic addition of Mhor ('big') to distinguish it from its neighbour Tanera Beag ('small' Tanera). A trip to the Summer Isles is a popular excursion for visitors to Achiltibuie, and a local cruise boat takes passengers on a magnificent trip around them, landing on both Tanera Mhor and Tanera Beag, during the summer months. Self-catering cottages are also available on Tanera Mhor. The islands are great too if you have a canoe or wind surfer - within easy reach, incredible rock formations, caves and beaches.

Taken form the Achiltibue and Summer Isles Tourist website.

The perfect place for a sea kayak trip.

We passed through Ullapool on our way to The Summer Isles.

Ullapool is a fishing port and also the terminal for the Cal mac ferry to Harris.

The 45 min drive north from Ullapool is the gateway to the Northwest Highlands Geopark an area of geological importance which starts at the Summer Isles and continues north through Sutherland and all the way to the North Coast.

We passed many impressive mountains such as Suilven (731m) this makes it a Graham and a Marilyn.

We launched from a new campsite at Altandhu.

The site was not yet open for business but the owners kindly let us park the vehicles overnight for no charge. After completing the usual sea kayakers faff we headed off the to the nearby beach.

It was a bit of an effort to get the loaded boats to the beach.

We eventually completed the task and were soon ready for the off.

The next problem we had was that because were at low water springs the channel to Old Dornie had dried so it was either an extra 4km paddle or a short portage which meant getting up close and personal with some sea weed.

We headed south out of Old Dornie and crossed to Tanera Mor.

The weather was perfect.

Tanera Mor is the largest of the Summer Isles and the only one which is inhabited.

We had decided on exploring the islands in a clock wise direction so we turned east along the shore.

On the east shore of Tanera Mor is an Anchorage which is where the majority of the population live. There is also a fish farm and even a post office.

The light around the south side of the island was just right for some really good photos.

The water was crystal clear.

We completed a figure of eight paddle between Tanera Mor and Tanera Beag and set up camp on the southern end of Tanera Beag. It is worth noting that we did not see many suitable campsites on either of these two islands.

A landing on the beach with a swell running would be tricky.

We were on springs so we carried the boats up off the beach just in case.

The campsite

After our evening meal we went for an explore.

Looking East to Tanera Mor

Looking south to Eilean Dubh and tomorrows intended paddle.

The next day dawned grey and overcast but thankfully little wind.

A fishing boat with last nights campsite behind

We paddled south exploring the many smaller islands and skerries.

We had a few opportunities to go rock hopping.

We completed the days paddle travelling up the east side of Eilean Dubh crossing back to Tanera Mor and Beag and then heading out towards Isle Martin before entering the loch where the campsite is situated.

On the east side of Eilean Dubh we came across thousands of shoaling fish which were making the water boil.

Loch Maree

2011-05-15T23:02:00.001+01:00

Loch Maree

DUE TO A PROBLEM WITH BLOGGER THIS POST HAS BEEN UNFORTUNATELY TRASHED.
I WAS HOPING THE ORIGINAL WOULD RETURN BUT IT APPEARS THAT THIS IS NOT TO BE.
WHEN I HAVE THE TIME I SHALL ATTEMPT TO RESTORE THE POST. MEANWHILE I HOPE YOU FIND THE BITS THAT
ARE LEFT AN INTERESTING READ.

There is a Runrig song called 'The summer walkers' the first verse starts with these lines:

Sometimes when you journey
through the pages of a book
you're taken places beyond words
you let them speak the truth
today I've opened treasures
that my eyes could scant believe

chorus
And its up by The Shin
And up by the Naver
And the long winding shores of Loch Maree

So as we headed north this year it seemed appropriate that our first paddle should be on Loch Maree.

Loch Maree is the fourth largest freshwater loch in Scotland. It is situated near the west coast in Wester Ross. The loch runs North East to South East it is 20km long and 2.5km at its widest point.

The loch is dominated by the Torridonian sandstone mountains to the south including Benn Eighe (109m) Slioch (980m) to the south east and Beinn Airigh Charr ( 791m ) to the northwest.

The scenery of the whole area is stunning and it is a walkers and Munro baggers heaven. Beinn Airigh Charr is actually a Corbett (no. 174)

Culturally the Loch has many songs written about it. One 'The Loch Maree Islands' sung by Fergie Macdonald made it into the Scottish charts in 1966.
After two days travelling we were going for quality not quantity so we chose to cruise around the islands of Loch Maree in order to unwind and blow out the cob webs.

Ecologically the loch and in particular its islands are very important. The islands are designated a Special Area of Conservation and are also a Special Protected Area under a EU Habitat Directive. This is due to the unique fauna such as the peat bogs and the Caledonian Pine forests which are said to pre date the first ice age. The islands are considered to be so remote that they are virtually untouched by human influence. They are the ancestoral nesting grounds of the Black Throated Diver which is an endangered species. The birds raise very few young and their nests are prone to flooding due the the fact that they nest near the shore. This precious Nature reserve is managed by the SNH so the first thing we had to do was contact the local SNH Officer.
We were staying at the Kinlochewe Hotel and the owner kindly did this for us. We were informed that the birds had started to arrive and pair up so we may be fortunate to see some. We were also asked to keep clear of Eilean Ruairidh Mor. This is the furthest island to the northwest and according to the OS map it is owned by the Forestry Commission. This left plenty of scope for our paddle.

For reference purposes contact details are as follows:
SNH Officer Eoghain Maclean tel 01 445 760 254 8.30 - 5 pm. Mobile 07900 226 132,
email: EoghainMaclean@snh.gov.uk

Summer & Autumn Round Up 2011

2010-09-20T18:41:00.053+01:00

After a good start last April and May my blog went quiet mainly due to facebook.
To bring the blog up to date I thought it may be a good idea to show off a few of my escapades.

The summer was actually very busy with lots of variety, although some of the activities may not appear particularly newsworthy to others so apologies for that

At the end of May we decided to change our motorhome, the old one was getting on a bit and causing us a few headaches.

Of course if you have a new toy you have to use it so we spent three weekends in a row at Newgale.

We really love this place, it is not too far from home so very convenient for a weekend.

The campsite is just over the road from the beach, just a shame it does not take dogs. There is a pub next door and Solva is just down the road where there are some great places to eat out. St Davids is a little further on up the road and is home to the famous Cathedral as well as Ma Simes's Surf Shack. You can probably guess which one I prefer to visit.

The long sandy beach is huge and ideal for kayaks as there is plenty of room to keep out of the way of the boardies and their attitude problems.

I surfed my Axiom.

Em surfed her sit on top.

We then received an invite to visit Barmouth and RV with the girls and Neil.This was to be a biking weekend so we rode the MBR at Coed y brenin.

This trail was a lot more gnarly than I remembered. H had a nasty off and I confess to walking a couple of bits. Mainly where the Rangers had put up 'skull and cross bones' signs which had the effect of pysching me out. The new visitors centre was quite immpressive and a big improvement on the old one.

I then rediscovered Cardiff International White Water. I had paddled it on the day that it opened. The course is quite tricky so the best time to get used to it is during the warm summer months.

With August came a lull in work so we headed over the channel to France for a couple of weeks.

We then chased sun down the west coast to within twenty minutes of Spain. John our surfing Guru has a very nice place and he and is family made us very welcome for a week.

We then cruised back up to Carnac via Archachon.

We managed a couple of rides along the Archachon Basin. I did not try the sea kayak because apparently the tide goes out 5KM and without local knowledge I did not want to get stranded.

At Carnac we booked a trip with Eric from Sillages. The wind was too strong for a scenic paddle along the Cote ge Sauvage so we took a spin down the coast from the French National Sailing Centre.

This gave Em a chance to try a real sea kayak.

The week after I returned from France I managed to get a last minute place on the South West Sea Kayak meet in Devon.

This event was organised by Mark Rainsely off the UKRGB and invloved paddling on the Saturday, drinks in the Pigs Nose, the local pub combined with talks on sea kayaking trips. The talks were very interesting and gave a great in sight into paddling in places I have never visited.

On Sunday the weather was due to pick up so we paddled out of Salcombe and indulged in a bit of rock hopping.

A few weekends later and it was off to Cardiff for a full on trip to CIWW.

Saturday morning Kath and I gave the course a go in kayaks.

In the afternoon we teamed up with H and Em for a hot dog session.
These sessions are aimed at complete beginners so we commenced with all the health and safety stuff and capsize drills.

Followed by defensive swimming and getting used to the bottom section of the course where any mishaps result in you washing out into the main lagoon.

This is a brilliant way to introduce people to white water and we had a great laugh.

Then we had a couple of spins down the course.

October came and with it the sound of wedding bells, but first the stag do.

For this we headed over the channel (the Bristol on this time) to Woolacombe.

After a Friday night warm up it hangovers and paintballing. This was great fun and the final result was Welsh Guards nil Royal Marines one.

Saturday afternoon saw some of the boys go surfing. The swell was huge so I did not have a problem letting Matt borrow my kit. He gave a lesson in how it should be done.

Soon it was November and Rich from southwales seakayaking kindly agreed to take me through my 3 star sea assessment which I passed. This leaves me sufficiently qualified to take part in some adventure racing next year. Looking forward to that!

We launched from Llantwit Major and paddled down the coast passed Nash Point returning with the tide. Then we had to roll and perform rescues, seeing as this was November I was glad to get that bit over with.

Now we have the cold weather which looks set to continue so this is probably it as far as Kayaking goes for 2010 - A very good year!

I wonder what is round the corner?

Talisker & Loch Bracadale

2010-05-16T21:08:00.030+01:00

Tuesday morning dawned and the two us had typical Applecross hangovers. We had a great night singing songs on the beach in front of the Applecross Inn with a large campfire blazing away. We wanted to go back around to Skye because the forecast for Wednesday was better than the rest of the week.
A Scotsman once told me that the two best single malts are Highland Park and Talisker (thanks John)We both have a taste for Talisker so we decided to go on a tour of the distillery at Carbost.

The tour was very interesting, the most amazing fact for me was that they produce 63000 litres of whisky a week. I make that equate to about 80,000 bottles!

Talisker put the co ordinates of the distillery on their presentation boxes. Being an anorak with a new gps I tried to work out exactly where the reading was taken. I walked around the car park looking like lemon with a GPS for a few minutes and concluded that it was probably the Stills unless anyone knows different.

We did try some Talisker '57 degrees North' in the pub later that evening.

The thought of going back into a tent was a little off putting so we managed to get a room in the Old Inn at Carbost. Tom the Cornish bar man actually gave us the family cottage at the rear of the pub with great views over the loch.

A statue of the owners old lab Buster kept us company.

Incidentally The Old Inn is twinned with The Jacobs Ladder in Falmouth and judging by the reception we received here that pub would also be well worth a visit.

Back to paddling, this trip was straight out of the Scottish Sea Kayak Guide book.

We launched from the small slip at Camas Ban, Harlosh. This is a perfect launch spot, sheltered and right next to a parking place.

We paddled South to Harlosh Point and crossed from the Point to the East side of Harlosh Island.

From here we took a bearing and headed over to Wiay Island and landed on a small beach called Camas na Cille for brew. This was not going to be a long paddle today and we intended to enjoy it.

After a short stop we went down the West side of Wiay where we started to feel the exposure. The wind was NW F3 so we were soon in the lee of Wiay and able to enjoy the scenery.

The cliffs were not the highest we had seen on this trip at just 59m but the were completely vertical.

As we rounded Rubha Garbh we could see across Loch Bracadale to Idrigill Point and a couple of Macleods Maidens came in to view. Macleods Maidains are three impressive sea stacks. According to ancient manuscripts the Irish wife of Iain Ciar Macleod left Harris in a galley with three of her illegitimate daughters and the galley was wrecked on the point by the Maidens. The Pagan interpretation of the sea stacks is far more lurid. We would have liked to visit but with only two us we thought the exposure too much of a risk.

On the south side of Wiay is Geodha nan Faochog. This is the closest thing to a bay on this side of the island and there is nowhere to land. The cliffs are truly spectacular and there are many caves and inlets.

There was too much of a swell running to go too close and the noise from the caves was quite intimidating, but not for this little fella who did not appear too upset that we had disturbed him.

On the east side of Wiay Neil paused to talk to one of our clients about work which was quite surreal given our location.

I managed to get a couple of shots of the sailing vessel Eda Frandsen which is a similar boat to the Pilot cutter Ezra. She was under full sail and heading out to sea. It is possible to book a trip on the Ezra which gives you a chance to experience what it is like to sail an old boat. http://www.sailezra.co.uk/

I think she looks great and if I did not get sea sick I would like to have a go.

Once at the North end of Wiay we made a mistake and crossed to Tarner Island. What we should have done is gone further East and paddled around Oronsay where we missed out on a natural arch. Another time maybe.

We did find one small arch on the East side of Wiay and played a game of chicken with the waves. It was only just high enough.

Tarner Island had smaller but just as impressive cliffs and sheep.

We had a head wind back towards Harlosh Point but the scenery is so good here that we did not want to finish just yet.

We spotted a beautiful white sandy beach on Harlosh Island and stopped again for lunch.

The views from here were stunning as well.

It was a short paddle back to Camas Ban and the van.

Many thanks to the guide book 'Fifty Great Sea Kayak Voyages', Doug Cooper & George Reid, Pesda Press.

Britains Favourite View - visit site No.1 May 2010

2010-05-16T20:04:00.012+01:00

August 2007 and Trevor Mcdonald hosts an ITV show titled 'Britains Favourite View'. Sixteen sites explored over four programmes (4 per week) with the public voting on which one is best. Thankfully a natural view won, Wast Water in The Lake District, and Three Cliffs Bay just down the road from here came second. This gave the programme some degree of credibilty. I just do not get the views of London, Liverpool or Edinburgh. How can anyone in their right mind imagine that man can compete with Mother Nature.
I had seen many of the views but not first up, the view from Elgol across Loch Scavaig to the entrance to Loch Coruisk and The Cuillins beyond. I suspect many of the voters have not seen this view either so the programme was flawed and here is why:

We travelled to Elgol from the campsite at Sligachan. Campsites do not get anymore dramatic than this place.

Its a haven for climbers and it is situated at the other end of the Cuillin Ridge from the destination of our intended paddle.

Being a bank holiday Elgol Primary School was not open so we were able to park right next the the beach with a easy launch. What a place to go to school!

The wind was Northerly F4 so the paddle up Loch Scavaig was difficult.

We eventually made it across the Loch and into the entrance to Loch na Cuilce. The guide book describes the anchorage here to have a five star view and the Pilot states that it is the most spectacular on the West Coast.

Co incedentally at anchor was the yacht Countess of Sleat who we had seen at Inverie at Easter. Her Skipper told us that the night before had been very squally which must have been interesting for him.

We landed near the Scottish Mountaineering Council bothy with its distinct cross of St Andrew windows.

Leaving the boats behind we walked up into Loch Coruisk where we had lunch and a birthday cake for Catherine who apparently was 21 today.

The trip back took a third of the time for the trip up the Loch.

We said our farewells to the girls who were all due at work the following day and then we headed over to Applecross to renew some aquaintances from last year.

Scotland Mayday 2010

2010-05-16T12:52:00.029+01:00

With no specific plan other than we fancied a trip to the Small Isles we headed North and met up at Glen Nevis near Fort William.

After an early breakfast following an unusual alarm call (dog jumping on tent) we took the 'Road to the Isles' headed over to Arisaig.

We had a quick trip around the Skerries to blow out the cob webs.

We made the mistake of launching in Arisaig itself. This is convenient for parking and toilets but involves launching and landing in stinking mud if you get the tide times wrong.

Neil and Catherine had not done this one so it was not really a repeat of Easter.

We managed to land near the harbour/marina but this involved a failry long tug with the trollies.

The campsites North of Airsaig were quite full due the fact it was a bank holiday but we managed to find a spot overlooking the Smalls and The Sound of Sleat.

The wind as forecast for the next few days was too high for a trip to the Smalls so we opted to go to Skye instead. Another early start and we were at the ferry terminal in Mallaig before the ticket office opened.

Our gamble paid off and we enjoyed the scenic trip across the Sound of Sleat to Arnisdale on Skye.

We have all wanted to visit Rasaay since our trip to the area this time last year which was disrupted by bad weather.

We opted for a day trip out of Portee. The main car park gave easy access to the water in sheltered conditions.

Leaving our little haven we headed out of the harbour and into the lea some rocks,Sgeir Mhor, this gave us a chance to view the conditions in the Sound of Rasaay before deciding whether or not to make the crossing.

We made the decision to go across but first we went North up the coast for a mile or so. This would allow us to cut and run with a following wind back into the harbour should we not be comfortable with the conditions further out into the Sound.

The cliffs on this part of Skye are some of the biggest and most impressive that I ever seen. They are not just high, the top third is rock face with the rest being grass with rocky outcrops and scree. There appears to be a path along the coast but it looks quite difficult to walk. The cliffs are home to lots of birds and we were lucky to see a Sea Eagle which appeared to be being fed by a local fishing boat.

The crossing went without incident although the very large swell coming down the Sound was not something we had experienced before.

We headed for some distinctive cliffs on Rasaay and Neil went close to explore the caves and inlets.

There was small beach, Manish Mor, next to the cliffs and this made for an excellent lunch stop.

After a bit of exploring we went further up the coast of Rasaay to Manish Point.

From here we recrossed to Skye near The Princes Cave.

On the way south back towards Portree Kath spotted a couple of Dolphins then a pod of them swam through the group of us which made an awesome photo opportunity.

The Dolphins looked like they were huntng fish along the cliff face because they made a number passes before disappearing and leaving us buzzing with excitement.

This what sea kayaking is all about.

Undoubtably one of the best paddles we have had yet and even the labourious landing (the tide had gone out) did not dampen our spirits.

Easter 2010 Scotland Part 5 Shuna

2010-05-14T19:55:00.016+01:00

This paddle had to be done because it is a circumnavigation of the Island of Shuna and it goes near to the Gulf Of Corryvrekin. I have two sets of Werner Paddles named Shunas and Corryvrekins so this trip fits perfectly with my outdoor Feng Shui(wind-water according to WikiP).

We parked the campers complete with its resident guardians (Ang & Harry) in a layby/pic nic area just south of Arduaine on the A816.

The access was again quite tricky but we are getting used to it.

It was quite windy as we crossed the entrance to Loch Melfort across Loch Shuna and on to the island.

It was not long before we were passing along the SE coast of the island Shuna.

As we reached Shuna Point we caught sight of an Otter sunbathing. He dived before the camera came out but at least we have seen one now.

From Shuna Point you can see the entrance to The Gulf of Corryverkin to the south west. Conditions were perfect for a visit, S force 3 wind with the tide on the flood, but it was too far away so that will have to wait.

Shuna Sound was quiet with the wind behind us so we stopped for drink.

It was an easy paddle to the NW corner of Shuna where there was a large fish farm. The salmon looked huge as they jumped about under their protective nets watched by a few over optimistic gulls.

We turned East and left the shelter of the island before recrossing Loch Shuna to where we had started. I had expected Shuna to be more rugged however there were no steep cliffs and the area seemed more suitable for agriculture.

A nice short paddle before the long trip south and the end of a fantastic week away.

Easter 2010 Scotland Part 3 & 4

2010-05-11T20:29:00.017+01:00

After our successful trip into Loch Nevis and over to Knoydart the weather, as forecast, turned nasty with a force 9 blowing overnight and the next morning. We managed to paddle from the camp site around the point and into the skerries off Arisaig. Not a long trip but enjoyable none the less.

We then set our sights further south to a picturesque Loch, Loch Moidart.

After an initial recce we opted to launch from a layby on the A861 next to the Loch. This saved a tortuous journey around the Loch to the beach adjacent Castle Tioram.

Launching was a slightly tricky manoeuvre, especially with a brand new boat and a large double but we managed it and paddled off leaving Ang to watch the campers.

The scenic Loch Moidart has a bit of history attached to it.

The landing point for Bonnie Prince Charlie at the start of his Jacobite campaign on 24 July 1745 was Loch nan Uamh which is situated between Loch Moidart and Arisaig. He was accompanied from France by a number of loyal revolutionaries who came to be known as the 'Seven Men of Moidart' They were remembered by seven large oak trees planted at the end of the loch. Some of the oak trees have died and been replaced,not very succesfully by beech trees. Following his landing at Loch nan Uamh the Prince moved up Loch Shiel to Glenfinnan where he raised his standard on 19 August 1745. There is a classic paddle which starts at Glenfinnan and retraces the Princes route back down the loch to Moidart, one for the tick list.

Initially the loch had a rather Canadian feel to it with conifers coming right down to the waters edge.

After a short while Castle Tiorum (promounced cheerum) came in to view.

The castle which is well worth a visit despite the difficult access is situated on a small islet reached by a causeway at low tide. Studies have shown that the castle dates from the 14th century and was used more as an admin building rather than a show home for a prominent Clan Chief. Strangely similarities exist between Castle Tiorum and Castle Coity back home here in Wales.

Apparently the adjacent beach is very suitable for landing ancient galleys of the type used by merchants.

The surrounding area is the home of Clan Ranald and in 1715 Allan Chief of Clan Ranald is said to have fired the castle to prevent it being used by Hanoverian troops.

After the castle we crossed the entrance/exit of The River Sheil and the scenery immediately changed. The trees vanished and were replaced by familiar rocks, waves and of course seals.

Apprehensively we ventured out of the South Channel entrance passed skerries throwing up white water and along the seaward side of Eillean Shona. The weather was a good force three but although the sea was messy we had a following wind and successfully made it in to the North Channel.

Once in the calmer waters with the tricky bit over we soon found a secluded white coral beach which made an excellent lunch spot. The coral beaches are very rare, there are only three in this area including Skye. Instead of the normal white sand the beach is made up of crushed shells and algae which crunch under your feet when you walk on them.

The North channel is very narrow and makes for excellent sea kayaking.

After lunch we completed our circumnavigation of Shona and with agood wind we were soon back at the campers.

Easter 2010 Scotland Part 2

2010-04-22T21:01:00.028+01:00

Just in case you are wondering, part 1 comprises the 'New Boat' post.
Once we had enjoyed two days of pampering at our favourite hotel it was time to head West and join the Bank Holiday traffic. Our first port of call was Fort William where we RVd with Kath & H outside Ellis Brigham. Of course this resulted in the inevitable visit inside the shop and part with some more cash.

We left Fort William and took 'The Road to the Isles' this is the A830 which heads West to the Coast. Our destination was Arisaig which is a mecca for sea kayakers.

On the way we passed through Glenfinnan famous for its monument to Bonnie Prince Charlie and more recently the railway viaduct which carried Muggles on the Hogwarts Express. The scenic railway journey from Fort William to Mallaig is a popular tourist day trip.

At Arisaig we found a campsite right on the beach.

Kath took photos of the views across to the Small Isles, Eigg, Rhum & Canna.

For our first paddle we chose Loch Nevis with a visit to The Knoydart Peninsular.

A short trip North from the campsite and we were at Mallaig described in its tourist guide as a picturesque fishing village.

We only really saw the harbour which is very busy. Mallaig (founded 1840) is a terminus for the West Highland Railway and ferries depart the harbour for Arnisdale on Skye, The Small Islands and Inverie on Knoydart. It is also the main commercial fishing port on the West Coast of Scotland.

We off loaded the boats on the East side of the harbour where there is ample parking.

We headed out of the harbour and into the Sound of Sleat with views across to Skye and the Small Isles.

The weather was superb, but this was the lull before the storm because a force 9 was forecast for during the night.

We handrailed the coast Northeastwards and turned into Loch Nevis.

We then took a heading of due North across the entrance of the Loch to the island of Glas Eilean. The view down the Loch with the snow covered mountains was stunning. The rain over the coming two days was to wash away most of the snow so this was the last of the winter views for this year.

Past Glas Eilean there were a few buildings close to the shore so we turned East and found a secluded white beach where we stopped for a brew.

This would have made an excellent campsite.

Suitably refreshed we continued to follow the shoreline until we came to Rhubha Raonuill and the prominent statue of the Madonna.

This statue is actually made of fibreglass and has rather disrespectfully been nicknamed 'Plastic Mary'

Once round Rhubha Raonuill we could see Inverie which is overshadowed by the impressive peak of Sgurr Choire Choinnichean (796M) so not quite a Munro.

As we approach Inverie there are views of the 'Rough Bounds of Knoydart' hills including Sgur Coire nan Gobar (787M)

Knoydart is considered to be the last wilderness in the UK. Inverie is only accessible by foot which involves a 16mile walk or by boat. There are 7 miles of road on the peninsular but they are not connected to the UK road network. The few vehicles we saw were not taxed and definitely would not have passed an MoT.

A RoRo jetty was opened in 2006 which has improved access but I doubt speed cameras have reached here yet.

In 1997 The Knoydart Foundation acquired ownership of 17500 acres on Knoydart and they are committed to preserving the area and using as a resource for educating people interested in the great outdoors.

We pulled up in front of The Old Forge pub renowned as the most remote pub in the UK.

I had a coffee and the girls had the customary J2O's.

We posed for a couple of snaps before heading back. The wind was due to increase and was in our faces for the return trip.

We crossed back to North Morar in the shadow of Sgurr an Eilean Ghinbhais (522M)

Again there were fantastic views this time across The Sound of Sleat to Skye and The Cuillin Ridge.

The ferries were still busy as we turned back into the harbour.

New boat

2010-04-18T19:24:00.011+01:00

We have been married thirty five years this year and my wife bought me a new boat as a present, how nice?
A trip to Scotland had been arranged so we were able to collect the boat from P&H on the way up.

We were staying back in The Weem Hotel for a couple of nights.
We put the motorhome in the car park over the road.

This gave me a chance to get the boat wet on Loch Tay.

We parked in a lay by at Kenmore and I launched from the beach nearby.

There was snow on the mountains and the views were stunning.

The boat felt really nice so I put it through its paces.

I could write a review but I won't. Suffice to say its a lovely bit of kit and I look forward to many trips in it.

Valentines Day (massacre) Paddle

2010-02-14T19:37:00.012Z

The weather was so nice today that the romantic stuff was put on hold and the sea kayak dusted off instead.
I met Eurian, Adrian and Richard at Atlantic College and we set off on the ebb tide past Nash Point and out on to the Nash Sand Bar.

The coast line was looking good.

We have seen the bar many times but this was the first time we were able to land on it.

We were two miles off shore with the beach to ourselves.

Three cardinal marks are positioned on the bar. The East Nash Cardinal is directly in front of the beach at Marcross near Nash Point.
The Mid Nash is obviously in the middle and the West Nash marks the western end and is some five miles off Porthcawl.

Once we had explored the bar and taken photos we headed off to the Mid Nash Cardinal.
We reached the mark just before slack water.

We wanted to ride the flood tide back to Atlantic College so we went over to Tusker Rock for lunch whilst waiting for the tide to pick up speed.

I found a new friend at Tusker. He was floating in the water and he looked like he had been their since Xmas. I have named him Wilson after the football in Castaway with Tom Hanks. I introduced him to the boys and he is looking forward to joining us for more of our trips.

The trip back was uneventful apart from the fast water flowing past the East Cardinal mark.

A great start to sea kayaking 2010 with many more trips waiting to be planned.

This blog is deliberately short. Eurion and Richard took far more pictures than me so I am going to link this to their blogs because a) they blog better than me and b) I will be in their photos.

New Years Eve 2009

2010-01-03T19:51:00.020Z

With most of the clan off skiing in France we decided to head north and return to Scotland for hogmanay.

The weather has been bitterly cold and most places have had a good dumping of snow.

Weem near Aberfeldy was no exception and just before we arrived over 300mm fell in one night.

We stayed at the Aberfeldy Weem Hotel and had a really enjoyable three nights.

I was up for a bit of mountain walking in the snow so as Scheihallion (1083m) was only a couple of miles down the road I opted to walk to the summit on new years eve and work up a thirst.
Schiehallion is an interesting mountain, its contour lines show that it is very conical in shape which is why it was used for an experiment in 1774 using gravity to estimate the mass of the earth. There is a full 360 degree panorama from the top, if the weather is clear. In fact it is possible to see all the way across Rannoch Moor to Glencoe and the Mamores.
It is also sometimes referred to as the 'Centre of Scotland' because the lines of latitude between the most northerly and southerly points of the mainland together with lines of longitude between the most easterly and westerly points cross very close to the summit of the mountain.
The most popular route is up the east ridge which is a fairly straight forward walk in the summer but as with all scottish mountains in winter demands respect in these conditions.

I parked at the entrance to The Brae of Foss car park which was inaccessible even to 4 x 4s.

I was walking on my own but luckily a large group left just before me while another one followed me up so I felt quite secure as long as I stayed between them.

There was a lot of low cloud on the climb but this started to clear once I reached the top and the sun started to poke through.

Thankfully there was not as lot of wind on the top. The mountain forecast was for a wind chill of -35 degrees, I don't think it was far wrong.

On the way down the weather cleared completely leaving some stunning views.

It was a great way to end the year, three hours up and two to come down. Not too bad considering the snow was waist deep sometimes.

Dagger Axiom

2009-12-16T20:53:00.024Z

At last a post about kayaking. This has been a really bad year for my paddling the weather just has not worked for me. However, the urge to get out on the water is still there so an alternative to fighting the weather had to be found. Most especially because I do not want my fitness to reverse over the winter and then have to set about rebuilding it again the spring.
A plastic boat has appeared in the garage and so I have managed to take that for a couple of trips. First a local one on the River Ogmore

followed by a paddle on the Afon Tawe north of Swansea where one of our party had an interesting experience on the waterfalls at Pen y Cae near Abercrave.

My son Neil then started to extol the virtues of the new Dagger Axiom and to cut a long story short we bought two.

This is what Dagger themselves have to say about the boat.

This river cruising/playboat combines the performance desired by experienced paddlers with the forgiveness and predictability suitable for newcomers and those wishing to advance their river skills.

For those who have thought of river play boats as “too small, too short, and too slow,” this is their boat. From a performance standpoint, the Dagger Axiom offers great down river speed, effortless eddy hopping and attainment capabilities, smooth carving and wave surfing and the potential to side slip and spin on waves. A playful yet forgiving stern, roomy dry riding bow, and soft profile side walls blend together seamlessly to create an easy to roll package. It is the Axiom’s all-river predictability combined with its classic play potential that will make this the boat of choice for seasoned paddlers through to whitewater newcomers.

We really like the boat in fact it handles very similar to our old slalom boats but a little more forgiving.

We decided on a couple of river trips down the Usk starting at Tal y Bont. Dan and his girlfriend Lisa came along for the ride.

Neil had fun teaching me how to dip the back.

The first week Mill Falls was running well, last weekend the river was one metre lower but still worth paddling.

We enjoyed surfing various waves the one at Llangynydr was the best.

click here to see the action

Dan had to carry the Lisa's boat back to the car.

While we posed for photos.

Zorbing in Dorset

2009-10-29T21:10:00.008Z

My daughter Emily was given a zorbing ticket as a present for her 21st. Three months later and she still had not found anyone stupid enough to go with her so guess who got press ganged into having a go?

In case you do not know what zorbing is (also called sphereing) it consists of two people climbing into a giant hamster ball which some sadist then pushes down a hill.

Actually its a great laugh and highly recommended if you have a spare fifty quid lying around.

We visited Zorbing UK South which is just outside Dorchester, but there are lots of other centres all over the UK.

As soon as you get out of the car you can see the launch pad

and then the hill which looks very steep.

To get into a zorb you have to run and dive through a small hole in the side of the sphere. There are two types of sphere. One where you are harnessed opposite to your partner and you spin around head over heels all the way down the hill. The other type is a hydro sphere which as the name suggests contains warm water so you do not actually go upside down, but you do get thrown around a lot and you get very wet just like a cat in a washing machine ( I imagine).

We were too heavy for the harnessed ride (shame - not) so we had two rides on the hydro.

A great laugh, shame it was over so quickly. Big thanks to nephew James for taking the pictures and video.

Barmouth September 09

2009-09-18T19:04:00.018+01:00

The weather has at last taken a turn for the better and the forecast looked good so we took advantage of this and headed off for the weekend.
Our destination was Barmouth on the west coast of Wales.
We obviously took the sea kayaks and the plan was to paddle the Mawddach Estuary.

The Afon Mawddach rises near to Llyn Tegid and flows west to Dolgellau where it is joined by the Afon Wnion. It is navigable up to Penmaenpool which is roughly how far the tide reaches. It would be possible to paddle above this point but this would be more of a traditional river trip.

Neil had work commitments on the Friday morning so we were not able to undertake the trip as detailed in the guide book which recommends paddling up the estuary with the incoming tide.

Instead we started at Penmaenpool and paddled down to Barmouth with the ebb tide.
Penmaenpool is a SSSI due to the special wetland habitat just above the bridge which is home to many nesting birds.

The settlement is dominated by both the George 111 hotel and the wooden toll bridge.

The bridge was opened in 1879 and has a weight limit of 2.5 tonne. This fact is hidden from new visitors to the area until you have turned into the lane off the main road. There are no turning places and I had to instigate a 97 point turn before driving around via Dolgellau to the launch site on the south bank.

The paddle to Barmouth was fairly easy and stress free. The estuary basically dries out with the tide so there was little time to hang about and it was necessary to keep checking where the deep water was.

Shortly after leaving Penamenpool we passed Bontddu a small village on the north bank apparently famous for a gold rush in 1834.

There were lovely views all round with the Rhinogs to the north and Cadair Idris and its adjoining crags to the south.

Wordsworth stated that the estuary was sublime and compared favourably with Scotland.

As you approach Barmouth (Abermaw) you cannot fail to notice the causeway railway bridge.

The bridge is 732m long and was opened on 1867.

We had a play in the eddies around the bridge piers before going through the harbour and out to sea.

Once clear of the breakwater we turned north and paddled to the beach adjacent the campsite.

A nice paddle with stunning scenery, Wales at its best.

Scottish Road Trip August 09

2009-09-04T18:42:00.037+01:00

The weather forecast for this trip was much the same as when we left Applecross back in May. I do not think much has changed since then. The wind was still blowing the same and that made for three trips with identical weather. Anyway we still went and this will probably be classed as our 09 holiday.

The first leg was up to Newbiggin at the northern end of the Lakes for an overnight stop and then onto Fort William the next day.

Someone had got into a spot of bother on the tourist path up Ben Nevis and a SAR Sea King was in the middle of a rescue. The visibility was appalling and it kept having to land in Glen Nevis. This meant overflying the campsite a few times providing a good photo opportunity, but Kath had not yet arrived with her hi tech camera.

On Friday we set off for Skye with still no prospect of an improvement in the weather.

We stopped off at Eilean Donan castle for lunch in the tea room.

Harry was enjoying the trip to the land of his ancestors.

This was our first trip over the Skye bridge. Last time we were here (1980) the ferry was running from The Kyle of Lochalsh to Kyleakin on Skye.

This Loch Ainort

Looking North to Raasay across Caol Mor.

Our destination was Dunvegan at the north end of the island. On the way up we passed some cracking views of the mountains and coast.

The Cuillin Ridge from the north.

Loch Bracadale which will have to be paddled one day. On the headland to the right you can just see one of Macleods Maidens an impressive group of three sea stacks. According to legend the 14C Chieften of Clan Macleod had been mortally wounded in battle on the island of Harris. His wife and two daughters were returning to Dunvegan and were shipwrecked off the point and drowned. The stacks are named in their memory.

The campsite was on the shores of Loch Dunvegan, but again it was very windy. The two mountains are Healabhal Mor 468M (Macleods Table North) and Healabhal Beag 488M (Macleods Table South). I have read two legends as to the origin of their name. The first concerns St Columba who was on a visit to the area. He was not well received by the Clan Chieften and was not offered any hospitality. Whilst preaching a sermon lightening struck the two hills providing him with a flat area to sleep on and a table to dine at. The one I prefer relates to The Eighth Chief of the Macleods Alasdair Crotach who whilst dining at court had the quality of his table at Dunvegan called in to question by a lowland nobleman. He responded by declaring that his table was fit for a King and invited the nobleman to pay him a visit which he did. A grand feast was had at the top of the mountain by torch light and the chiefs honour was restored.

The slipway at Stein where we had intended to start our trip.

Loch Dunvegan where were to be headed.

Dunvegan Castle which was well worth the visit.

The Seal boat trips were still running even though it was too windy for us.

After an overnight stop and some exploring we decided to head back down south.

We travelled back to Ft William. I was more than a little dissappointed. This was the third trip to Scotland and the weather has gone against us on each trip.

We decided to paddle to Port Ramsey on the north end of Lismore. Loch Linhe was much calmer the Skye.

The west side of Shuna looking towards Kingair Loch and Camasnacroise.
There were a lot of seals on the skerries over towards Lismore. We kept well clear but they still came over for a nose at us.

We stopped for lunch opposite the old lime kilns near Port Ramsey.

The wind was blowing hard up Loch Linhe near to the Lismore ferry. We crossed over to have a look at the prominent navigation light.

Then over to Castle Stalker near Appin. The castle was built around 1540 by Duncan Stewart of Appin. This castle was gifted to James IV for use as a hunting lodge. In fact, its Gaelic name Caisteal Stalcair is a translation of'Castle of the Hunter'. It is situated at the entrance to Loch Laich on the east side of Loch Linhe and is built on a rocky outcrop known as the Rock of the Cormorants.

One 17th century Stewart gambled it away to a Campbell for an eight-oared galley. During the 1745 Jacobite Rising it was used as a garrison for troops.

It was abandoned around 1780, it lost its roof shortly before 1831 and was restored from its ruinous state in the late 1960s by the late Lt. Col. Stewart Allward whose family still owns the castle. It is so popular with tourists that a visitor centre and tea room has been built off the main road overlooking the castle.

We took a few photos and headed north back to the camper.

There is a campsite at Ledaig just north of the Connel Bridge beneath which are the Falls Of Lora. We booked on for couple of nights. This gave us time to visit Oban and Seil Island about ten miles to the south.

There is plenty of sea kayaking to be done in this area but the weather put a stop to that.

This is the view to The Garvellachs and Scarba.

Easedale Island sits just off the coast and the picturesque village of Ellenabeich. From here you can catch a rib for a trip around the Corryvreckan.

With the Falls of Lora so close to the campsite I could not resist a trip in the kayak to have a look.

The tide was slack high water so I could paddle up and then drift back down, a complete fraud because it was so quiet.

I then turned south down the coast towards Oban for a few miles before heading back across the bay to the campsite.

Overall another great trip but a lot of miles.

St Brides Bay 8/9 August 09

2009-08-23T21:09:00.008+01:00

The motorhome is up and running again so we did not much of an excuse to head off in it. So when I got an invite to paddle part of the Pembrokeshire coast around St Brides Bay we were off like a shot.

We stayed on a campsite just outside Little Haven. It is an old market garden nursery/small holding, all the polytunnels have gone and each pitch is divided from the next by a big escallonia hedge which makes them all them very private, we loved it.

I was spoilt and managed to get in two paddles instead of the planned one.

First, on the Saturday we headed out of Martins Haven and this time turned right, away from Skomer.

The divers were out in force, most diving from boats along the coastline.

We did not land at Marloes beach, a young girl had been stung my a jelly fish there earlier in the week.

The coastline does not have really large cliffs but the rock formations are very interesting.

I took a few pictures before the battery went on the camera. Phil has taken quite a few on his camera so I will have to finish this once he sends them on to me.

We handrailed the coast and popped into St. Brides for a food stop and to look at the old church.

From St Brides we paddled out to Stack rocks.

The wind and tide were in sync for once and it was not before we arrived at Little Haven.

Beacons Walk 19 July 09

2009-08-23T20:32:00.015+01:00

This summer is turning out to be just as bad as the last two. The wind has put a stop to most of my sea kayaking and if I ride my bike it gets muddy and the components grind away.
Anyway its no good sitting here moping around life is too short.
My son in law Woody (just to wind his Mum up his real name is Daryl)invited me on a walk over the Beacons. The weather forecast was disgusting to say the least but, there is no such thing as bad weather just the wrong equipment.

We met the others at Storey Arms, Phil had all new kit and looked very smart.

We started early and did not see too many other tourists until we reached the top. There were a few army types about all doing their version of The Fan Dance.

Just before the ridge the weather closed in and it started to hammer down.
Phil was snug in his new kit.

Woody has waterproofs, but they were in the attic oops.

We first conquered Corn Ddu and then went over to Pen y Fan.

As we headed over to Cribyn the weather cleared enough to take some pictures.

This is the view down on to the classic Gap mountain bike ride. I have ridden this in the dark and today the weather conditions made it look very similar.

Once over Fan y big

we headed off to Pencelli and a drink in the pub. I am not going to say which one because they had stopped doing food and therefore do not deserve the publicity.

It was a nice walk in good company despite the weather I have had drier trips in the sea kayak.

Sunday 12 July 2009. A trip to the other side

2009-07-12T20:18:00.011+01:00

Of the Bristol Channel that is.
Following on from my trip down the River Barle last February I noticed on the Exmoor Canoe Club website that there was a trip planned from Porlock Weir down the coast to Lynmouth. This is one part of the country I have yet to visit and as this is the coastline visible from our local beaches this seemed an ideal trip.

I teamed up with a couple of people from Exmoor CC and the Watchet Sea Kayak pod run by Den Healey.

Plan A was scuppered by the weather. The forecast was for strong winds potentially up to force 6 and from the west so that would have been on the nose. The trip around Foreland Point with spring tides against wind would have been eventful.

So we left Watchet with the intention of getting as far as Porlock Weir.

Once afloat it became clear just how windy it was and progress was quite slow.

First stop was Minehead which we could just see in the distance.

Just before Minehead we got hit by a squall.

Butlins makes the perfect landmark.

We headed for the harbour.

Where we had lunch and called it a day, 7.2 miles in two and half hours.

Time to Mull it over June 05 - 07

2009-06-13T13:19:00.050+01:00

This was an ambitious trip for a week end. Two nights on the Ross of Mull including the circumnavigation of Iona.

The double sea kayak that Kath and h have ordered had not arrived in time so we took three singles instead. Despite the seemingly ever constant wind these days we were not dissappointed.

We caught the evening ferry from Oban. The weather was cold and windy.

Once on Mull we had a thirty seven mile drive on single track roads before arriving at the camp site some time after midnight.

When dawn broke the view from the tent was just stunning. Kath, the team photographer was in her element.

It was too windy to paddle around Iona so we did the tourist bit first by paddling up the coast to Fionnphort.

This is where the ferry leaves to take the tourists across The Sound of Iona.

The wind was blowing force 4 -5 but we managed to rock hop our way along the coast before heading across the Sound to Iona arriving just after the ferry.

We then changed into normal clothes and had a look around.

The Abbey is full of history and well worth the visit.

The wind picked up again and we had an interesting trip surfing back to the camp site.

Once back at base the rain came down for three hours, after that both the wind and the rain ceased and everything was calm.

So we decided to go for a paddle around the south tip of Iona and try and catch a sunset.

We set out about 8.15pm. There is a mark about mid channel so we used this as a reference point for the outward and inward trip.

It was still not dark when we arrived at Iona and I managed some sort of sunset picture.

Kath managed to get lost looking for a good spot to take pictured which was an interesting few minutes.

We arrived back just after midnight.

Sunday we headed for Tinkers Hole.

This is a popular anchorage for yachts and we saw two during our short trip.

It is also the setting for the book Kidknapped by Robert Louis Stephenson.

I tried a bit of fishing but as usual caught nothing.

After that we headed back home via Duart Castle. An excellent trip and we will be definately going back.

Five rides in a week

2009-06-13T12:36:00.020+01:00

Whitsun half term saw us of to the Lakes for a week. We were taking the motorhome so I had to leave the boat behind and take the bike. My injured neck appears to be on the mend thanks to the Ashtanga Yoga so it was a chance to get some of my lost fitness back.
We stayed on a really nice quiet and small site at Newbiggin near Penrith. Tuesday evening I was sent into Penrith to collect a chinese. That was ride number one, 3.5 miles down hill with the wind behind me. A nice ride back, 3.5 miles uphill with a head wind.

Ride number two was far more interesting. We rode from Croglin on the eastern fringe of the Lakes (famous for its vampire apparently.

After a short road section we climbed up on to the fells.

The riding was mainly on stoned bridleways covered with a thin layer of grass - biking heaven.

There was even a river crossing.

The fells are quite exposed with good views north to Scotland over The Solway Firth.

We finished two hours later at Castle Carrick after a sweet bit of bridleway through some scenic woodland.

Ride number three was Thursday evening. We visited Whinlatter Forest visitor centre and rode the newly opened red route.
This is a really good trail. It is an optomistic red route I found it nearer the few black routes that I have ridden. There are some really big berms, loads of jumps and some really aggresive up hill switchbacks.

Ride number four was on Saturday a two hour local ride around Southerndown and St Brides.

On Sunday we went to Glyncorrwg and rode Whites Level including Energy.

All in all a good week.

Scotland May 09

2009-05-20T21:26:00.037+01:00

It has been a very busy few weeks and there is plenty to blog about.

The first trip was off to Scotland for May Bank holiday.
We had looked forward to this trip for months and we were not disappointed.
The plan was to travel to Applecross and meet up with Kath, Helen and Sarah. We had arranged to borrow a couple of boats from The Venture Trust so that the three girls could have a paddle over the Bank holiday weekend.
Neil and I would then go off on our travels around Raasay and The Inner Sound or over to Portree and Skye.
However, the weather had other ideas.
The first part of the plan went fine until we reached Fort William where a road accident blocked the A82 at Spean Bridge. This forced an overnight stop at Glen Nevis under the Big Ben and an early RV with the girls.

The two new Banshees were easy to put up and we nick-named them the twins.
Saturday morning we resumed our trip this time in convoy with Kath and stopped a few times on route to enjoy the views.

There are two ways into Applecross.

Guess which way we chose?
The Bealach na ba (Pass of the Cows) was an interesting drive, it is actually the highest road pass in the UK.

As soon as we reached Applecross we visited The Venture Trust and took delivery of the kayaks, one double a Wilderness Systems Northstar and a Valley Aquanaut.

After pitching the tents we set off south for look at the coastline and to blow out the cob webs from the drive.

The wind was blowing from the south so we managed a couple for miles before surfing back in time for food at The Walled Garden.

On Sunday the wind continued to blow and the forecast was not good so we decided to forgo the idea of wild camping and stay on at The Applecross campsite instead.
We opted for a sheltered day paddle out to The Crowlin Islands.
We launched at Toscaig which was very scenic.

The Crowlin Islands consist of three islands, between the largest two there is a picturesque natural harbour which is home to a seal colony.

Once on The Crowlins we had lunch
and tried a spot of fishing, as usual we caught nothing.

The seals as usual were very inquisitive.

Before leaving we explored the northern end of the islands where there were spectacular views across Caolas Mor to Skye.
The wind picked up again to force 6 on Sunday so we headed north to Sheldaig hoping for a sheltered paddle on Lochs Torridon and Sheldaig.
We enjoyed a cream tea in the highly recommended Coastal Cafe before heading off into the lee of Sheldaig Island.

The paddle was about six miles in a force 6 and was good experience for all of us.
We then took the coast road back to Applecross where the girls returned the boats and headed back down south.

Tuesday saw an improvement in the weather but the outlook was still poor in fact Thursday was predicted force 10.

After considering the weather we decided to opt for the tourist option and visit Beachcomber Cottage some six miles up the coast.

This was the location for the programme Monty Hall's Great Escape.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An15Gz9hQDI

Wednesday was wind as usual so we headed for a secret location where we were told some dolphins could often be seen.

After a short paddle in a wind of force 5 -7 the dolphins came out to play and we enjoyed about half an hour surfing with them which was the most amazing experience.
We could not get back to the spot where we launched because of the wind. So we bailed out and Neil had a couple of miles run back to the transport.

The weather got steadily worse and we did experience a force ten wind on Thursday so that was the end of the paddling and we headed back home on the Friday - what a week.

Nash Bar 19 April 09

2009-04-26T20:35:00.015+01:00

We are off to Scotland soon to sample life on the wild side. Apparently we have been watching too much Ray Mears on the television. We have therefore been putting in some extra time in the boat recently in order to up our fitness a little bit. Our latest trip was a little further off shore than normal along the outside of the Nash Bar.
The Nash Bar is a large sand bar which lies East to West off the South Wales coast.
The eastern end is marked by the East Nash cardinal mark positioned approximately half a mile off Nash Point.
There are two other cardinal marks on the bar namely the Mid Nash and the West Nash. Our plan was to launch at Stout Point Llantwit Major at high water and then ride the tide to Nash Point. Once we got to the lighthouse we would go out to East Nash and on to Mid Nash. From there we could pick up the Tusker Bell and ferry glide into Newton.
Thats excactly what we did and this is a selection of the photos.

Leaving the beach at Llantwit.

Eurion just after launching with Stout Point behind.

One mile to the West of Llantwit is Reynards Cave. It is possible to paddle into the cave at high water but I do do not recommend it. There are many loose rocks above the cliff entrance.

This is Atlantic College viewed from the sea. It has its own slipway and RNLI lifeboat.

The lighthouse at Nash Point is visible for miles.

It is also quite impressive from this view.

The current at East Nash can reach speeds of over six knots.

This is Mid Nash. All the cardinal marks look the same apart from the cone configuration on the top which dictates whether they are North South East or West marks. This bouy is three miles from the beach and from here you get fabulous views of the Heritage Coast from Nash to Porthcawl and beyond.

We are regular visitors to the Tusker Bell these days. At least the Porthcawl Lifeboat did not pay us a visit this time. I now have VHF and use the call sign SEA KAYAK TUSKER which is vary apt.

As we passed Tusker Rock we were trailed by a large grey seal. Every time I went to take a picture it decided to dive, but Eurion managed to snap him.
An excellent trip of just over ten miles without much tidal assistance but some nice surfing as we travelled over the sand bar.

Things that come out at night

2009-03-24T20:18:00.013Z

The weather lately has been calm and sunny so we thought that we would try a spot of night paddling.

I have experienced this before whilst competing in DW but never out on the sea so it was going to be interesting to feel what that sort of exposure would be like.
The plan was to launch at Newton and handrail the coast around to the Porthcawl breakwater.

It was not quite dark when we left and the camera has a low light facilty so the pictures do not show the correct light level.

When using the flash it actually looks darker than it was.

The tide had turned and was on its way in so we ferry glided out to the Fairy Bouy just off Porthcawl and then rode the tide back to Newton.

A really enjoyable paddle, there was no pressure and it gave us chance to really enjoy the atmosphere.

Mumbles to Port Eynon - Uphill

2009-03-03T17:24:00.015Z

We have not been sea kayaking for a while so when the forecast looked good we opted for a short trip from Mumbles to Port Eynon. The plan was for a leisurely paddle along the coast with lunch on the beach at Three Cliffs Bay. This would then fill in a bit more of the Welsh coastline along which we are having game of 'join the dots'.

I had the feeling that this part of the coast was going to be a bit unispiring which may sound a bit disrespectful but it certainly did form the transition from the industrialised area around Swansea Bay onto the stunning Gower coast.
It only really got going after Pwll du Point although there were a few interesting features.

There was plenty of faffing at the start and Neil decided to show off this years fashionable Kayak wear.

Lou had a one hour wait at the Nab slip while we sorted the shuttle and couldn't wait to get started.

This the MRCC at Mumbles Head with the lighthouse in the background.

Caswell Bay looking towards Brandy Cove and Pwll du Head.
I had forgotten not to be over optomistic with weather. We had a nice day with plenty of sun but a force 3 - 4 knot head wind. So progress was a bit painful. Not what we wanted for a first time this year paddle especially with my bad neck and shoulder.

We did not get to Three Cliffs which was disappointing, we headed straight over Oxwich Bay and round the head into Port Eynon Bay.

It was not a bad paddle but we probably should have done it the other way.
The chippy was open in Port Eynon and so was the campsite so maybe Spring is not far away.

Upper Barle 14 February 2009

2009-02-15T18:29:00.015Z

Friday 06 February 2009 and I was unfortunate enough to find myself snowbound in a Somerset pub at the foot of the Quantocks. Both Severn Bridges we closed and the village of Nether Stowey was at a standstill due to the snow. That evening in the Rose and Crown bar I received an invite to join some memebers of Exmoor Canoe Club for a paddle on the River Barle. I had never paddled a plastic boat on a river before so I thought why not.
I picked up my new guide John on Saturday morning and headed off up onto Exmoor.

We met up with the rest of the group at Dulverton where I was surprised to see a hive of activity and loads of other boats.
Our plan was to launch 6 miles upstream at Tarr Steps and paddle back to Dulverton. The guide books refer to this little trip as the Upper Barle.
The River Barle rises in Exmoor Forest and is a tributary of the River Exe. It has been designated a SSSI due to its abundant wildlife and is apparently the best example of an acidic upland river in Britain. It has suffered very little pollution and has only a small amount of river engineering and water abstraction.
The wildlife includes Otters and Kingfishers. During the trip we saw Dippers and Red Deer. I have never heard of River jelly lichen (Collema dichotomum) but it grows in abundance above Tarr steps and is extremely rare.

Despite the rivers obvious importance it is also a hugely popular venue for canoe/
kayaking and it is good to see so many different interests operating in apparent harmony.

Tarr steps is an old packhorse bridge and is also a listed ancient monument.

Before getting on the water we had the customary group picture.

From a Canoe/Kayaking perspective the river is an almost constant grade 2.
There was a fair amount of snow melt in the river for our trip and it was not too much of a bump and scrape. It was strange not to have to cringe every time I went over a rock. Pride dictated that I attempt to avoid every rock even though I did not have to, but old habits die hard.

John pushed himself with a couple of swims but still finished with a smile on his face.

One unwlecome aspect of the snow was the number of damaged or fallen trees. It was obvious that Exmoor has lost a high precentage over the past week or so.

Some of these have fallen into the river and are quite a hazard with the result that we had to portage six or seven times.

Just above Dulverton there is a small weir where a canoeing fatality occurred in 1998. After the accident a local gentleman, who was also an angler, kept his rowing boat on the bank for use in case of a rescue. The rowing boat is still there but sadly the gentleman passed away recently.

Many thanks to Rosie and Mel for letting me tag along and also for Mick for taking the lead.

A Potter around the Lakes with the Little People

2008-11-10T20:57:00.012Z

Sunday 09 November I had the privilige to be dragged around the Southern Lakes, on a bike, by the famous little people of the Lakes. Nothing to do with one of Beatrix Potters stories but I was in the company of our Kath and her friends Catherine and Jo. There is a fourth little person but H was off an a course down south. They may be small (if the three of them stood on each others shoulders they would not make fifteen feet high) but they are real whippets on a bike and I knew I was in for a kicking. Riding like a girlie with these three is a real compliment.

We met at the small trading estate in Staveley home to the famous Wilfs cafe and Wheelbase bike shop. The food in the cafe and goodies of the bike shop would have to wait for later. The weather was at best atrocious as we set off north up the bridleway on to Staveley Head Fell near the Sleddale Forest. Kath had a puncture and this was the cue for the heavans to open. The climb was long but not too steep and typically lakeland terrain of grass and peat bog mixed with some tricky rock sections which all conspire to sap the strength from your legs.

A nice sweeeping descent brought us down into Long Sleddale which is exactly what you would expect a Lakeland valley to look like. It was nice to get out under some big skies and away from the formality of a trail centre like Afan.

We rode up Long Sleddale to Sadgill over the picturesque Sadgill Bridge and commenced a 300M climb. This road was actually a permitted route for 4 x 4's and moto cross bikes but surprisingly it showed little evidence of traffic. This was a realy tough climb and I resorted to a push for the final section.

The descent down into Kentmere was on tarmac and the cold was starting to have an effect. I was stupidly wearing my short mits and and to stop to warm my hands up.

We crossed over to the other side of the valley through a farm and passed the church. We then had another short climb of a couple of hundred metres overtaking some walkers on the way. We parted company with Catherine at the top as she was riding back to Ambleside.

Kath and myself descended back down towards Staveley through two fords including Park Beck this was knee deep and gave us a real soaking. A short road section brought us back to Staveley where we warmed ourselves up in Wilfs.

A cracking ride and a good reminder that I need to get out more

Skomer & Skogholm 27 July 2008

2008-07-28T08:02:00.020+01:00

The weather this weekend was perfect for sea kayaking so a trip to west Wales was on the cards. I could not make the trip arranged for Saturday, but luckily for me it is such a good trip that Steve was more than happy to paddle it again on Sunday.

We arrived at Martins Haven bright an early and managed to get prime spot in the car park which is normally full of divers, anglers and day trippers. This is the emabarkation point for the visitors ferry to Skomer.

The island of Skomer is separated from the main land by Jacks Sound a treacherous stretch of water that has claimed many ships over the years. One of the more recent is The Lucy which was wrecked in Jacks Sound in the sixties and actually sunk in North Sound. It is marked by a wreck bouy and is very popular as a diving venue.

This weekend the tides were neaps, there was no wind and Jacks Sound was sleeping which was perfect for my first visit.

The Puffins were out in force. There were literally thousands of them bobbing around on the water and they are remarkably tame. We were careful not to disturb them too much and as a consequence they let us come up really close to them. It will not be long before they all head off to their winter feeding grounds so we felt lucky to see them.

We headed anti clockwise around Skomer past Garland rock and down the west side. The sea was a bit messy but were really spoilt with the conditions. Grassholm beckoned in the distance some nine miles away but commonsense prevailed and that will have to wait until another day.

From Skomer we crossed Broad Sound to Skogholm. This island is not as high as Skomer and the views were not so interesting.

We circumnavigated Skogholm again anti clockwise.

This is the ferry arriving from Ireland.

We then headed back across Broad Sound to the south side of Skomer.

Our confidence was high and Jacks Sound was not yet running so we toured around the Mew Stone and the south side of Skomer before paddling through the Sound and back to Martins Haven.

This was a cracking trip and one that we will surely be doing again soon.

New Team Member

2008-07-17T20:35:00.005+01:00

Today we had a new addition to the team.

Welcome to the world Ioan Huw

Proud Nanny

Chuffed big brother

Worms Eye view - Gower 16 June 2008

2008-06-16T20:32:00.017+01:00

This has been a week for new toys for the boys. I have a new shiny waterproof camera and Neil has collected his shiny new boat. A sea trip was always on the cards so that we could try out the new toys.
We planned to paddle out from Port Eynon and down to Worms Head on the ebb tide.
I reckoned that if we planned it right we could then ride the flood tide back to Three Cliffs Bay for a late lunch, do a spot of sun bathing and then take the evening ebb back to Port Eynon. This way we would avoid the Swansea traffic and alleviate the need for a shuttle. We might even get a play in the overfalls off Oxwich Point.
As it turned out we arrived at Port Eynon a bit late and did not get on the water until 10 15.

Neil enjoys his new boat off Port Eynon.

Despite the late start we still made good time down to Worms Head. We kept off shore in order to save the sight seeing for the return trip when the pressure of the tide times was off us.

Worms Head was quite impressive and so was the current coming out of Carmarthen Bay around the Head. There were lots of Shearwaters flying about which was good to see as they normally keep out to sea during the day.

We had not intended to paddle round the Head but I think this would have proved quite difficult anyway. At the point that Steve said his GPS was showing us heading out to sea at 1.5 knots we decided enough was enough and headed back.

The views of Rhossili Down were superb. We have ridden over the Down many times on the Gower Loop so it was interesting to view it from the sea.

We had a short stop in Fall Bay for a leg stretch. A few climbers were up on the cliffs. This is the place of the highest and most difficult climbs on Gower.

We kept close in shore and had a good look at the coast line which is riddled with caves and little inlets.

We eventually came to Paviland Cave the most famous cave of the 95 that exist on Gower.It is misnamed on the OS map because it is actually Goats Hole at Paviland. It is the site of one of the oldest discovered burial sites in the world. It was first discovered in 1822 when a local curate discovered animal bones in the cave. An Archealogical dig proper was carried out a year later and the body of a young male was discovered in the cave. The body was covered in red ochre and buried with numerous artifacts. It was also wrongly stated the the body was female and said to be a Roman prostitute. This was proven to be quite wrong but the name of 'The Red Lady of Paviland' still stuck. Latest techniques have shown the body to have been over 26000 years old and was it was buried when the ice of the last ice age was no more than an hours walk away.

This is Neil in front of Goats Hole Paviland, the shot is crap but the cave is too famous to omit it.

Once we came out of the lee of the cliffs the wind had picked up to a good F5 from the North and would have given us an unpleasant paddle back from Three Cliffs. We all agreed the trip had been good up to that point so we opted to cut it short and have a cup of tea at the camper.
Three Cliffs and Oxwich will still be there next week.

Stackpole Sea Kayak Festival 24 - 26 May 08

2008-05-28T08:43:00.015+01:00

Despite the horrendous weather foreccast I headed off to Stackpole hoping to get on the water some time over the weekend.
As it turned out we managed a paddle on each of the three days thanks to some positive thinking by the Coaches and organisers.
Stackpole Centre is owned and run by the National Trust and is set in a beautiful location close to the sea and the Pembrokeshire National Park. It is primarily an Outdoor Education Centre and apparently it is full of school children during the week. This weekend however it was home to some 60 sea kayakers of varying standard.

On Saturday we joined the experienced group and headed over to the picturesque Stackpole Quay. My wind gauge showed the wind speed at a steady 25 knots this is force six so there was not a lot of enthusiasm to get on the water.

We therefore went over to the more sheltered West Angle Bay which is on the East side of the entrance to Milford Haven.

This allowed us to shelter in the lee of Thorn Island and sample the windy conditions which was good experience.

Day 2 was a trip from Lydstep Haven near Tenby to Stackpole Quay. The wind was actually stronger than Saturday but our paddle at Angle had given us some confidence.

This stretch of coast line is stunning and contains numerous caves and inlets. It is not easliy accessaible due to the adjacent MOD firing ranges. This has the benefit of providng a haven for wild life particularly sea birds.

Day 3 The wind was still blowing a hooley in fact the forecast was for gale force 9! We still managed to get a paddle this time from West Angle along the coast to Freshwater West. Most of the time we were sheltered from the wind by the cliffs and the only time we really had to fight the wind was across the bay of Freshwater West to our get out point.

All in all another excellent weekend, but I will have to get myself a water proof camera in order to repay Eurian for taking some excellent pictures which are nearly always of me.

Six Hours North

2008-05-20T19:48:00.015+01:00

Life has been pretty hectic with work lately which is the reason why my blog has not been kept up to date.
Last bank holiday 3 - 5 May Eurion and myself headed North to Angelsey to attend the Nigel Dennis Sea Kayak Symposium.

Just in case you are wondering what a symposium is,from experience it would appear to be a teach in during the day, lectures in the evening followed by a few beers.
It was a long drive in the motorhome towing my new trailer (I cannot get the Kayak on the roof) so I opted for a classroom session on the Saturday learning how not to get lost. This was taken by Trys Morris and was really informative.

On Sunday Eurian, Hywel and myself decided to scare the pants off ourselves and signed up for the Tide Races and overfalls day led by Simon Osborne.

We set off from Soldiers Point adjacent to Holyhead Harbour and headed over to North Stack. This is a tide race adjacent to large cliffs.

The water runs really fast and forms standing waves just like a river but much larger.

There are also breakouts again just like a river. We ran the top fall and broke out in an eddy on the left under the cliff.

It was possible to ferry glide out into the Race, have a play/surf and then return to the comparitive safety of the eddy. So this was our base for the next couple of hours.

Just before lunch I decided to brave the larger waves further out and after one amazing surf I ended up swimming. The guys on rescue duty were very slick and proffesional and I was soon back in the boat with only a dented pride.

We then paddled around the corner to Parliament Cave for lunch.

The entry and exit was an interesting experience, there were plenty of rocks and you had to time your run between the larger waves. The wash of the passing ferries can also make the waves in both the cave and the tide race much larger.

We had an enjoyable night in the bar with some fiddle dee dee music and a few Newcastle Browns.

Monday was meant to be a half day paddle followed by the long drive home but it was actually an action replay of the day before, without the swim.

Overnight I had managed to do a deal with Brookbank and exchanged the Expedition LV for a full size one. I was sad to see the boat go but I had known from the start that it was not quite right for me and I partly blamed the seating position for my swim. Time will tell if this is correct.

The weather was much better on the Monday and we were able to see much more of the scenery.

South Stack in particular was looking spectacular.

On the way home we decided to play the tourists and visit Llanfair PG

All in all an excellent weekend and I am looking forward to the Storm Gathering in October.

Afan Jump School 13 April 2008

2008-04-15T15:01:00.010+01:00

Last Sunday I met up with Griff, Lee, Ben, Andy & Ross at Glyncorrwg.

We rode up Whites Level and had a play on the jump section of Energy which was riding well.

Andy then proceeded to give us lessons in how to jump.

I was a pretty poor student being far too old for this sort of thing.

Griff did a good impression of Biggles with his Dambuster goggles. How much higher would he have gone if he was not wearing them?

Ross then showed us how it should be done.

Griff thought it was as easy as falling off a log.

Devizes to Westminster 2009

2008-04-13T20:53:00.017+01:00

What is Devizes to Westminster (DW)?
When first conceived it was the longest Non Stop Canoe (Kayak) Race in the world. Its starts every Good Friday, surprisingly, at The Wharf Devizes in Wiltshire and finishes at the steps to the Festival Hall opposite The Houses of Parliament and next to the London Eye. The Race is 125 miles long, 54 miles are undertaken on the Kennet & Avon Canal the remaining 71miles are on The Thames which is joined at Reading. There are 76 locks which have to be portaged (ran around).
Juniors (K2's and K1) and singles (K1) are required to race over four days whilst Senior K2's have the option to go straight through. A typical target time is to beat 24 hours whilst racing crews go well under 20 hours, the record is sub 17 hours.

DW 2008 was particularly tough due to the weather which was extremely cold. There was a fifty per cent drop out rate and numerous injuries such as broken bones, bruises and various degrees of hypothermia.

The subject was being discussed between various members of the family (myself, Kath & Neil) and of course it had to happen.

' I wouldn't mind a crack at that'
' You'll never do it'
' I will, I'll kick your a..e'
' Right then'

So the challenge has been made, Boat 1 ( I will not be allowed to call it the 'A Team') - me and Neil.
I am the old man of the challenge, but I have experience on my side having done it three times. I have concerns about whether I can do it again 18 years later but, I saw a programme about a fifty three year old camera man who was covering Royal Marine recruits who eventually went to Afganhistan. He completed all the Commando tests and was awarded an Honary Green Beret. I did not get to try for my Green Beret so this will have to do. If you don't know the significance of a Green Beret its not for me to explain.
Neil, is the comedian of our boat and I will be relying on his fantastic sense of humour to see us through. He is also a superb canoeist and I have no doubts about his abilties.

The Competition - Boat No. 2 (we are all one team really)

Kath, ex Junior World Champ, British Champion, and GB Team member for seven years. An awesome record, but that was in Slalom. The question is can she make the switch? if the answer is yes me and Neil could be in trouble.
Helen (H), the dark horse and shy one. Will have to step up to the mark as far as the paddling is concerned. Never one to push herself unless it is necessary but always seems to surprise us and is always there at the end.

So there we have it a real challenge.

So far Boat 1 has had two outings to test out boats, we have been to the new Watersports Centre at Cardiff Bay and we have a Coach - Richard Rogers who also wants to paddle DW 2009. All we need now is to get ourselves a boat.

This is DW 1991, which give a feel to the event.

The Race starts on The Canal at about 8am, the canal is shallow and a lot of drag is experienced.

You have to get out and run around 76 locks, you also have to paddle through a tunnel half a mile long.

The Tideway is a welcome relief, BUT you have to arrive at Teddington to catch the out going tide. A K2 can mananage 6knots but the tide comes in at 6knots. This creates a lot of pressure on competitors.

It also gets very cold in the early morning, we are in there somewhere.
src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1RvkjRBrFVo/SAJySDv0_zI/AAAAAAAAAIw/gsuyAAhIVGM/s320/DW+finish.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188835375253356338" />
But getting to the finish must be like standing on Everest.

A big thanks here to Eryl Richards who I have not seen for years but put up with me for the first and third of my DWs and also to Mark Child who completed the second with me. I have also not seen him for years.

And, not forgetting my support crews especially my Wife who gave me all these marvellous children and washes all the kit and agreed to go through it again, my rock solid Daughter Angharad two DWs, Martyn Hughes an amazing three DWs and he is not even family and my Sister Barb and her Husband Charlie. This is one race you do not finish without good support.

A bit of history

2008-03-17T20:17:00.011Z

I was sent this photo last week and I liked it so much I thought I would blog it.

This is our Kath on the Olympic Course at Penrith Sydney competeing for GB in a World Cup Race which was also the Pre Olympics. This was the first international race to be held on the then new artificial slalom site. It was also the last time Kath paddled for GB. She now pushes pedals instead.

Like any good Father I have encouraged all the kids to participate in this sport of canoeing which is very healthy for both the mind and body:

Em at Frome.

Neil flat out at Teeside

and here is Kath a her first Div 2 event at Grantully 1991

The Custodian of Harrow School even had a go at Callander 1978, where did the last thirty years go

Finally, most people get to learn to roll in a swimming pool, in June 1969 I had to make do with the river.

Wall Whites Wall 09 March 2008

2008-03-10T20:42:00.012Z

The Afan Valley is situated in the centre of the old County of Glamorgan. To the North is the Rhondda Valley, to the East is the Llynfi Valley and to the West is The Vale of Neath whilst to the South is Port Talbot the Coast and The Bristol Channel. The old mining scars of the past 150 years have all but gone and in their place are 110km of some of the best Mountain biking trails in the country and they are right on our doorstep. There are four trails which start in two centres situated in the valley.
Two at the original site of Afan Argoed;

Penhydd, graded Red 22km long and The Wall, 23 km long also graded Red.

The other two are at the new centre in Glyncorrwg which also has a cracking Cafe and bike shop.
Whites Level, apparently 9km long with a 6km climb, I think this is wrong as it certainly feels longer. It has a tricky section everyone calls the Black Run and a new section 'Energy'.

The final route is Skyline, a full 46km and graded Black due mainly to the distance.

So last weekend Griff and I made one of our frequent pilgramges to Afan Argoed.

We decided to start at the beginning of Penhydd. This is a trail we do not often ride, it is the one most people start on although it is far from a beginners course.

Shortly after the start we swung off down hill over the the river Afan. I always think this is a strange name for a river considering Afan translates to river in English. So is it the River River, who knows. After the river we took a muddy bridleway up to the start of The Wall climb. From here the only way is up.

This Griff at the top of the main Wall climb just before the start of the picturesqe Nant y bar section.

Once at the top after a section called Picaddilly we turned right and headed over to Parsons Folly.

From this view point apart from Griff you can see the new Ffynnon Oer Wind Farm, Energy is in the valley, Windy Point is on the skyline. The Black Run on Whites is just out of the picture to the right.

The bit of trail commonly known as Parsons Folly is used to link The Wall with Whites Levels. However, this old railway emabankment on top of the mountain is only part of the story as it is just one part of The old Glyncorrwg Railway.
The Glyncorrwg Railway ran from Aberdulais through Tonna up the side of The Pelenna Valley and on to Blaencregan. It was built by Robert Parsons and Charles Strange between 1839 and 1843. It first carried minerals in 1842. The intention was to carry on to Glyncorrwg but Parsons was charged 4/11d per ton at Aberdulais and only received 4/9d per ton income so he made a loss and a lack of finances prevented the project from being completed. There is a misconception that Brunel helped on this project but his input was on the lower South Wales Mineral Railway which now forms part of the lower valley cycle route.

Back to Mountain Biking, after Parsons Folly we rode the new Energy section before going off Piste and heading over to the Whites Level climb. This trail is called Whites Level after an old drift mine the entrance of which can still be seen on the climb out of Abercregan.

By this time the light was fading and it was time to switch on the lights. We both have top of the shop lights which are essential for riding these trails in the dark. Anyone who has done a bit of Mountain Biking in the dark will no what a buzz it is. Your whole body wakes up and your senses are become finely tuned with 100% concentration.

Once at the top of Whites and the aptely named Windy Point/Corner we bypassed the Black Run (which I have yet to ride in the dark) whizzed down the Windy Point section and retraced our route back over Parsons Folly and straight into a blizzard of hailstones. The hail fortunately cleared before the final descent of The Wall which is very tricky in the daylight let alone at night.

If you are wondering what the trail looks like at night, this is the final descent.
Another great ride.

Coaching Weekend - Penzance 01 March 2008

2008-03-05T18:53:00.027Z

Following a request on UKRGB web site I managed to get a free place on a Level 3 Sea Coach Assessment Weekend, organised by Richard Uren of Paddlecrest Coaching at Penzance in Cornwall, acting as a guinea pig. It is a long time since I received formal coaching in a Kayak so I looked forward to this and I was not disappointed.

I had an overnight stop just outside Plymouth on Friday night and after an early start I found myself in a car park at Marazion with a lovely sunrise over St Micheals Mount in Mounts Bay.

I am keen to move outside my comfort zone which over the past few years has included the odd B&B and plenty of stops in the motorhome. This will hopefully help prepare me for a lightweight overnight expedition in the sea kayak up the West Coast of Scotland.

After cooking breakfast in the van I headed over to Penzance Canoe Club to meet up with the rest of the course.

Eurian was already there having blagged an extra days paddling with Simon Osborne. He had spent Friday trying to trash himself in the surf off Praa Sands (pronounced Pray Sands)

Penzance Canoe Club is located on the Cobb of Penzance Harbour in the most superb location with easy access to the water. Its facilities include a bar (not open) and showers (under construction) and is an ideal location for a course.

Five candidates were up for assessment (three eventually passed).The Saturday morning was spent in plastic GP boats (ugh!!!) practising skills, we emphasised support strokes and had a game of polo to round off. The afternoon was much the same but this time in our sea kayaks. It was good to practise the basics in a controlled environment in the sea kayak and the day did well for my confidence in transferring my skills over to the sea kayak. I even managed a few rolls despite the fact it was the first day of March.

Saturday night was an interesting stop over at the local YHA. I eventually slept in the van. Eurian who is well into the whole sea kayak experience slept in his basha in the garden. Needless to say I have ordered one together with the statutory Bivvi bag (thanks Kev)

Sunday was a wholly different matter. This was a trip up the coast to Newlyn and Mousehole.

First stop was Newlyn Harbour. On the South Pier is the Newlyn Tidal Observatory. This the place where sea level is taken from and is known as Ordnance Datum Newlyn or (ODN). The Datum was calculated from hourly readings of the sea level on an automatic tide gauge from 1 May 1915 to 30 April 1921. The observatory Bench Mark is 4.751M above the Datum.

During a tour of the harbour we were fortunate to paddle past the Penlee Lifeboat - The Ivan Ellen.

She is a Servern Class Lifeboat with a top speed over 25 knots, not bad considering she weighs 44 tonnes. The boat is completely self righting, has a crew of six and can carry upto 180 passengers in fine weather.

The Penlee Lifeboat is special; on 19 December 1981 the then Penlee Lifeboat The Soloman Browne went to the aid of a stricken coaster The Union Star which was drifting with engine failure in the foulest of weather. Hurricane force winds made the rescue extremely difficult. After rescuing four of the crew the lifeboat was smashed against the coaster and was lost with all hands. The Union Star was also lost, no one survived. A documentary of the event was shown on the BBC to mark the 25th anniversary of this tragic event. The bravery of the crew is awe inspiring and humbling.

photo courtesey of Penlee Lifeboat web site

The Ivan Ellen is an amazing sight and a tribute to its predecessors. Although I am full of admiration for the boat and its crew I sincerely hope I never have to make use of their service.

After leaving Newlyn we travelled up the coast to the old Lifeboat station which is now a Memorial to the crew of The Solomon Browne.

We then rockhopped to Mousehole for lunch and a loo stop.

A bit of open water paddling and navigation followed on the way back which gave me a chance to practise taking transits, a skill I have not used since the Dart 18 sailing era.

I enjoyed the course and was surprised how close Penzance now is, thanks to all the new dual carriageway although I doubt this comment will apply in the Summer.

Gower Loop 17 February 2008

2008-02-23T21:28:00.013Z

I persuaded Martin (Griff) to head off to the Gower rather than pound around Afan again. He had never ridden the Gower and it was a cold but gloriously clear day.

We parked at Penmaen and headed up on to the top of Cefn Bryn.

Griff had asked the question 'how long is this ride?' about two hours I said.
Half way along Cefn Bryn we turned left on to the main road and went down through the village of Reynoldston. The smell of Sunday lunch from the pub made me feel hungry. A quick stop in the Mini market at Knelston and we were fuelled up and on our way.

We took the Gower Way through the fields behind the Church at Llandewi and eventually came to a track which took us towards Middleton.

Just before Midleton we turned right and climbed Rhossili Down to thr Trig point.

The view from the top was stunning.

So we took a few pictures.

The ride along the Downs is a cracker, one of the best with views of Worms Head and across Carmarthen Bay. This trip had a double purpose.
We rode through Hill End down an interesting descent and then up on to Llanmadoc Hill.

This gave excellent views over the Lougher Estuary, the scene of last weeks epic, but it was flat calm and did not tell me a lot.

So Griff took some more pictures.

We cleared Llanmadoc Hill and headed for Ryers Down and then back up on to Cefn Bryn.
The sun was setting and gave us a fantastic sunset.

The ride took us four and half hours!!!!!!!

But at least Griff was impressed.

Carmarthen Bay - take 1, Sunday 10 February 2008

2008-02-16T21:07:00.041Z

The weather forecast looked good for Sunday so the question was asked 'where are we paddling?' I fancy doing Carmarthen Bay said Eurion. What do you mean doing Carmarthen Bay I queried. Well paddling across it. That sounds an awfully long way.
Apparently it is about 48km.
The logistics of such a paddle needed a bit of thought and required a shuttle wagon to be left in Tenby on Saturday night ready for the afternoon finish on Sunday. This resulted in a rushed set up and not enough regard for the six P's.

We decided to leave from Penclawdd, there was a good place to park the car and the launch was easy.
High tide was 8.15am and we left on time which is very unusual for me.

The paddle down the estuary was a good warm up and it was flat calm so we went straight down the middle.

Before we were half way to Whiteford Lighthouse the swell was clearly visible on the horizon.

I was not too impressed by this or the continuous whitewater further out on the horizon so I persuaded Eurian to head across towards the beach at Pembrey. This proved to be a mistake and we were soon stuck in the soup off the large sandy beach. There was also a tide race running parallel to the beach which made the waves a real mish mash. They were comming from two directions altenatively and were quite tricky to handle in the long sea kayak. Then two waves joined to make one very large one. A couple of fast panic forward strokes and I was up and through it. The Expedition just ate it, unfortunately the wave had ate Eurion and popped his deck. We carried out a rather hurried rescue which was far from text book, but we got him back in his boat and headed for the beach.

We warmed him with some hot chocolate and assessed our situation. I did not fancy heading out into the surf again, it was quite large and I was outside my comfort zone. Eurian had complained that he had started to lose the feeling in his hands and he had only been in the water for about 5 minutes. We decided to kick for touch and stay safe. This meant paddling parallel to the beach and surf for the complete length of Pembrey beach which is about 6 miles. This would take us to the Towy estuary. We reckoned the extra depth would reduce the height of the surf and allow us to go beyond the break.

We had not reckoned on the beach being so large and flat. We cleared the surf but we were miles off the beach. In addition we came across sand bank after sand bank. We were sometimes only in 300mm of water. This was going to be hard work.

I still do not how he took these photos, he reckons it was balance.

We stopped for lunch on a sandbank with not a sole in sight for miles. When we came to set off again the tide had gone out a good few hundred metres. Getting afloat again was a real effort and took about tewnty minutes.

It was obvious that we were off the pace and were not going to get to Tenby. We informed the Coastguard we were baling out at Pendine and I managed to persuaude my Son Neil to collect us off the beach.
We had paddled nearly 25 miles with 20 miles in the surf parallel to the beach, one of the hardest things I have ever done.

We have learnt many lessons from this trip the most obvious being that Prior Preparation and Planning Prevent a P..s Poor Performance so this will undoubtably benefit us and make us safer in the future. We have studied the chart and plotted the safest way out of the estuary which is actually the complete opposite direction to the one we took.

The challenge still remains for another Sunday in the near future. Meanwhile, we are off to Cornwall for some free coaching with Richard Uren of Paddle Crest Coaching Penzance.

Sunday 27 January 2008

2008-01-29T20:29:00.000Z

I took the sea kayak out for another spin with Eurion and the rest of the crew plus Adrain from Atlantic College. We launched at Penarth adjacent to the Life boat Station and paddled down the coast to Atlantic College. Having Adrain in our group is a distinct advantage. The distance was just under twenty miles, Eurion insists on using nautical miles but that only amounts to sixteen so land miles sounds more of an achievement.
The coastline is not particularly scenic, but it is nice to see where you live from a different perspective. I had seen the area many times from the air when I was learning to fly out our Cardiff Wales Airport. I recognised many landmarks especially Porthkerry Viaduct which we used to gauge our position when carrying out glide approaches.
Sully hospital is impressive from the sea, a big white building which provides an excellent landmark. Next door is HMS Cambria where I used to go when I was in the RMR.
The sea was quite bumpy off Barry Island. The constant head wind against the tide made progress painfully slow and I was glad the wind dropped off after our lunch stop in the shadow of Aberthaw Power Station. No pictures this time because nothing inspired me. Actually the camera was stashed in the dry bag and I could not be bothered to take it out.
The police were at the top of the slip at the College. Apparently the College Life Boat had been launched earlier in the day and recovered a body from the shore close by. A car had been found abandoned and it looks like another suicicde. The Bridgend area is becoming a very dangerous place to live lately.
It is very sad that so many people live in such a lovely place but sadly succumb to the pressure of modern living.

Mince Pie Trip

2008-01-05T20:40:00.000Z

I finally got the new boat wet in the Sea on New Years Day and without the customary hangover. I was saving myself because we were due to paddle around Nash Point.
I also got a mention on my friend Eurions Blog, check out the link to 'Beyond the break'.

South Wales Mountain Biking

2008-01-05T19:30:00.000Z

It all started on a trip to Fort William or Fort Bill as Mt bikers appear to call it. We hired some bikes from a bike shop and off we went round Leanachan Forest for a couple of hours. Once back home we bought some real mountain bikes and that was it.
However I had not realised that right on our doorstep was the Mountain bike mecca of the Afan Forest. I spent most weekends of the summer of 2004 up at Afan and promptly wore the bike out. So I had to buy better one, a Specialized Enduro full suss voted the best bike of the last ten years by MBR. I still have the bike but its like Murphys broom ( five new handles and four new heads). I will only change it when I have found a better one and after I have replaced all my old canoeing kit.
Since 2004 I have entered a few events:
The Brecon Beast
The Dyfi Enduro
Penrith Merida
The Rough Ride - see above
SSMM 24 hours
SITS - Sleepless in The saddle, as a pair.
Selkirk Merida
Polaris

I have now ridden most of the trails in Wales, Cwmcarn - Coed y Brennin - The Marin Trail and The Red Route at Abergorlech as well as The Seven Stanes Trails at Glentress, Mabie and Dalbeattie.

I ride most weekends and one or two evenings in the week in the dark. Mountain biking in the dark is highly recommended.

The Launch

2008-01-04T21:49:00.000Z

I first starting paddling when I was at school in 1968. We went on a week long trip to PGL at Llangorse Lake near Brecon in Powys. Once I had tried it I was hooked. After a brief spell going to Slaloms (I got to Div 1 in March 1971) I moved to Cornwall and spent two and half years surfing in my slalom boat. I have completed DW three times once in less than my target of 24hours. Then it was down to being a Dad but I got round the problem of finding time to go canoeing by teaching them to paddle.Trouble was they got better than me and I started to spend more time on the bank as a Coach.It all paid off when my Daughter Kath won the Junior Pre Worlds at Lipno in the Czech Repulic in 1995. A few good years followed with trips around the World but the politics of the sport finally got to us and we stopped paddling altogether in 1999.
Now after a taste in France earlier this year I discovered the world of Sea kayaking.
This is the first paddle in my new Island Kayak's Expedition LV on Ullswater 10 Nov 2007. It was a very windy day but i was impressed with the boats speed in the tricky conditions. I am looking forward to getting it wet on the sea