Whales and Dolphins
August 23, 2009 on 11:33 am | In Uncategorized | No Comments
After a long absense I short post is in order, I spent some of the summer skippering the Hebridean Wahle and DolphnTrust’s yacht towing a hydrophone to track the whales and dolphins of the Hebrides. On the last trip I shot some footage and have edited it together into a short video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuaSWAt2WYA
Ah to be back at sea, where there are so few worries, just the wind. Time is ships time and the outside world’s troubles and struggles are left in the wake …
Tim Pickering
http://www.canoehebrides.com
Living in the world's biggest adventure playground - The Outer Hebrides
CanoeHebrides.com - Sea kayaking Expeditions
BikeHebrides.com -Quality Mountain Bike Hire
Swimming Scottish White Water
April 3, 2009 on 9:55 pm | In Whitewater Kayaking | No Comments
Just as I set up for the drop (a water fall just over 2m high) lining up, getting focused and the ‘cameraman’ at the bottom shouts ‘hang on we’re not ready …’ I missed the eddy and suddenly I am heading backwards, over the drop. A couple of paddle strokes to spin round and at least I am looking where I should be going … but … I am now not in the right place, doing the wrong speed and over the fall I head.
The clatter of the paddles on the rocks is only dampened by the growing pain in my thumb which is between them and the paddle. The world goes white and then brown.
When you hit the bottom of a fall there is initially the white water then as you are driven down it all goes a brown colour, if you on the right line it then goes white again and you reappear and are able to breath again.
Me, today,I was not in the right place and to cut the bottom of the fall I decided it was time for the boat and I to part company and make like a fish.
The third swim of the weekend, not a great record but a great weekend paddling in the highlands.
Friday, we jump the ferry from Harris to Skye and then drive through Fort William heading for the river Etive. We were guessing there wouldn’t be much water but what we hadn’t banked on was the four inches of snow to trudge through to get to the river. The Etive is a series of ever increasing drops ending with Right Angle Falls, generally regarded as being about 6m (I would need to stand on my own head three and a half times).
After paper sissors and stone to decide who shoudl run triple falls the first series of drops on the river, I lost and after losing to the stopper at the bottom I swam for the first time.
The video footage we shot is on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvQU1AQtnd4 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3vkDGjnza. Not me swimming I had the camera.
The following day we headed for the river Roy with Ayr Canoe Club, with the water level perfect and rising we surfed all the waves and played in all the holes. The day completes by a trip to the kayaking night of the Fort William Film Festival and a couple of beers in the Maryborough. A place I hadn’t visited since working for Outward Bound over ten years ago it hasn’t changed, I suspect the same people might still looking for the same fight.
Sunday dawned, with snow flurries and much discussion. The decision; to look at the Orchy. We drove over Rannoch Moor in a blizzard looked at the river and drove back. Too big, too small? No I am not paddling in a horizontal snow for anyone.
Not wanting to stay dry we headed for the river Garry and were suprised by a wonderful level with waves and a play hole. But ice cream headaches all round as the water was so cold. At one point we were out of our boats on the bank trying to walk and could have been drunk due to our inability to stand up or walk a straight line. Warmed, in the evening, with a curry in the excellent curry house in Fort Willaim High Street.
Monday and we were faced with the prospect of having to go home but we sneaked the drop on the Hinnerdail on Skye just before we headed to the ferry and that was where I entered the water, again.
Not the best way to run a drop.
Tim Pickering
http://www.canoehebrides.com
Living in the world's biggest adventure playground - The Outer Hebrides
CanoeHebrides.com - Sea kayaking Expeditions
BikeHebrides.com -Quality Mountain Bike Hire
Diving in Scotland - West v East - Part II
March 29, 2009 on 8:40 pm | In Diving | No Comments
Off to the east coast - St Abbs to be precise - for a spot of shore diving. It’s quite a different environment and saw us divers swimming through and emerging from kelp.
The first lot of images was taking by professional photographer Gary Doak and you can see more of his work on http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/garydoakphotography:
(c) Gary Doak www.garydoak.com
(c) Gary Doak www.garydoak.com
(c) Gary Doak www.garydoak.com
And here are some of my first ever underwater pictures too - not bad for a first attempt I think. Watch out for the feeders on the sea urchin.
And don’t forget to let me know whether you prefer the east or the west!
Yvonne Press
http://
Has been diving for six years, most of it in warm water. She started exploring Scotland's waters in 2008.
Diving in Scotland - West v East - Part I
March 29, 2009 on 8:06 pm | In Diving | No Comments
Is diving better on the east or the west coast? Good question, and there is no easy answer I’m afraid, so have a look at this post and the following one to decide for yourself.
March brought some amazing visibility and ideal conditions for underwater photography. These pictures were taken on the west coast in Loch Fyne. The photographer was David Gilchrist who also provided the Latin names for the species. Enjoy!
Sealoch anemone (protanthia simplex)
Common hermit crab (Pagurus bernhardus) eating eggs
Short spined sea scorpion (myoxocephalus scorpius) and harbour crab (liocarcinus depurator) with the crab trying to eat eggs and being head butted by the fish
Long clawed squat lobster (munida rugosa) and its cavemate, a leopard spotted goby (thorogobius ephippiatus)
Lesser spotted dogfish (scyliorhinus canicula)
and finally, a rare picture of a cold water diver (homo sapiens scubafrigus)
This was the west - the east is next.
Yvonne Press
http://
Has been diving for six years, most of it in warm water. She started exploring Scotland's waters in 2008.
Loch Seaforth Wave
March 2, 2009 on 10:51 pm | In Whitewater Kayaking, Surfing, Sea Kayaking | No Comments
Sunday afternoons when the forecast is not great but when there is four metres of tidal difference provide only one source of amusement. The wave at Loch Seaforth on the border of Lewis and Harris. With the tide falling through a narrow gap and over a shelf it creates a wave which can be surfed in a river kayak. The perfectly positioned island provides the ‘tripod’ for the camera and the tea breaks. With the rest of the island getting rain and hail we seem to strick lucky and it missed. I will let the pictures tell the story:
Tim Pickering
http://www.canoehebrides.com
Living in the world's biggest adventure playground - The Outer Hebrides
CanoeHebrides.com - Sea kayaking Expeditions
BikeHebrides.com -Quality Mountain Bike Hire
Tiree Winter Windsurfing
February 24, 2009 on 6:35 pm | In Windsurfing | No Comments
Having just got back from 10 weeks in South Africa it is hard not to be cynical of the watersports conditions in Scotland…. Or is it?
Tiree in February equals air temperatures in single figures, occasionally touching 10 degrees and water temperature that requires all of the 6mm of your wetsuit to be doing its job. However I can’t get away from the feeling that I am desperate to get back in the water….
Cape Town has 20 degrees plus on a daily basis and certainly more consistant wind and waves generally over our winter (their summer) but there is something missing. Maybe it is the sense of achievement felt by braving the elements in one of the most remote parts of Scotland and being warm and active while most of the other inhabitants of the island are freezing in their houses but there is definitely something magnetic about the windsurfing on Tiree at this inhospitable time of year.
We have been back for two weeks now and the lack of wind throughout that period has only made my withdrawal symptoms worse and left me vowing to ‘ get in no matter what the temperature the next windy day’.
We will see if I put my money where my mouth is the next day we have force 5!
William MacLean
http://www.tireewatersports.co.uk
Windsurfer/Kitesurfer running Wild Diamond Watersports in Tiree
DYOD - Dive your own dinner
February 12, 2009 on 10:02 pm | In Diving | No Comments
Like any other outdoor sport, diving makes you hungry. And while chocolate biscuits may be a great way to fight that initial ravenous feeling, there are more sophisticated and adventurous ways to come by your dinner – diving for your own scallops is one of them.
I had the chance to dive for scallops last autumn during a weekend trip to the Sound of Mull of Scotland’s west coast. The Sound of Mull is one of Scotland’s prime dive sites with a range of wrecks to explore as well as a selection of scenic dives all of which are relatively easy to reach from the village of Lochaline.
You’ll want an experienced skipper to help you judge the tides and weather and Lochaline Dive Centre (www.lochalinedivecentre.co.uk) is a good place to start. The village is actually on the mainland and serves as one of the gateways to the Isle of Mull.
But back to the scallops: conditions in the water weren’t going to be ideal on this Sunday as the previous day had witnessed one of the worst storms in the area for decades. It’s not me saying that, it was our skipper at breakfast time calling off any diving for the rest of the day. Sunday dawned and the weather had calmed down considerably although we would still be limited in our choice of dive sites.
Luckily, though, we managed to do a fantastic dive exploring the wreck of the Thesis in the morning. It’s one of the best kept wrecks in the area, giving divers plenty of nooks and crannies to explore as wella s the chance to swim through the ribs that remain of the ship.Come lunchtime, we were ready to get back into the 10 degree water. Apart from the usual scuba equipment, we took large nets and descended to up to 20 metres to hover just above the sandy ground.
The current was strong and made for an effortless dive taking us past squat lobsters and small scallops at first. Looking out for large, fully grown ones we actually had to hurry up and grab them before the current swept us further. While the dive itself was completely effortless, there was many a scallop I simply was too slow to grab and collect.
After about 30 minutes, the net was full and we slowly ascended, planting a signal buoy to make it easier for the boat to pick us up. “This was more like acrobatics”, instructor Paul joked after we were back on the boat.
Back on board, the scallops were shucked and divided evenly among everyone on the trip. And dinner that night tasted more delicious than ever before.
Yvonne Press
http://
Has been diving for six years, most of it in warm water. She started exploring Scotland's waters in 2008.
Tents’, Tipi’s and Tarp’s in the Scottish Highlands
December 12, 2008 on 1:38 pm | In Canoeing | No Comments
As part of my eco-friendly family holiday search, a five day wilderness trip up in
Scotland sounded perfect and with trains running straight into Glenfinnan, the location was perfect too. The trip was to take us the entire length of Loch Shiel (better known these days as Hogwarts Lake in the Harry Potter films) and all the way down to the sea at Moidart.
It was bitterly cold and here I was in the Scottish highlands about to go camping again! Is that dedication or what? I have to admit to being slightly nervous about going on holiday with a group of people I’d never met before and I really didn’t know what to expect. I was about to say ‘not knowing if there was a mad axe man in our midst’ but there were plenty of men and a few axes so that probability seemed quite high! In reality though, everybody seemed lovely and in no time at all we were wheeling our boats down from the Glenfinnan Hotel car park to the waters edge.
Scotty our canoe guru for the 5 days, soon had us on the water to see what skill levels we were all at. There was Helen, a Vicars wife from the West Midlands who had been kayaking before but canoeing on open water was something completely new to her. There was Joel her 14 year her old son.
Me, who virtually lives in a canoe but has the laziest style of paddling possible and finally there was Richard, an Ecologist who had never set foot in a boat before. Even at this level Scotty soon had us prepped up in no time and it wasn’t long before we said goodbye to the shore and headed off on our adventure.
As this was day one, we took it easy and our first stop for lunch was only 45 minutes later, less than 2 miles down the Loch. There was a nice pebbly beach, some rocks and bushes and a lovely little island about 50 meters away. From here you would normally be able to see for miles down the loch but all we could see was the weather closing in on us. With this on our minds we didn’t stop long and sure enough within minutes of being back on the water, the snow began to fall. I adore snow flurries so I was in my element paddling through this magical winter scene.
As the snow got heavier it formed a thick blanket around us but it was fine as we could still make out each others brightly coloured Buoyancy aids shining through. Then suddenly the wind picked up and we were paddling in serious blizzard conditions. Waves were splashing over the gunnels as the winds swirled around us.
I looked over to Helen knowing how she’d feel, her first time in open water with her young son in the boat and being faced with conditions like this. She was amazing though, she kept her calm and held the boat firm until the worst of the winds had abated and then followed us into a sheltered bay to safety.
I would have been terrified if that had happened to me on my first outing. Anyway, after a quick assessment of the conditions it was decided that it was time to find our first nights camp. I’d read about a lovely camping spot about 6 ½ miles from the start, which if we paddled hard enough, would only be an hour away.
According to the map there was a river running alongside which when we arrived, made it really easy to find. It was a lovely sheltered spot surrounded by woodland (firewood) and a sandy beach which made landing simple.
The snow was still falling heavily which made the tarp building and fire lighting a bit of a challenge, but eventually we managed to sort it all out and we all had a relaxing albeit an eye watering evening (from the smoke) around the fire. The following morning we were all up fairly early and the sun was shining and spirits where high as we packed up camp and headed off to what has to be one of the most picturesque campsites ever. It was just under 5 miles further down the loch and we came across it by accident really.
We’d stopped for lunch on a little pebble beach and were having a demonstration by Tom on how to filter water using moss and sand when Scotty appeared from over a hill saying he had found an amazing site.
Ok so it was only lunch time and we’d only paddled 4.7 miles but this spot was just too good to leave. It was on a little headland (featured in the Highlander movie), surrounded by trees and even had perfect little spots already laid out to erect our tents, tipi’s and tarps. Helen and I soon commandeered a small hump to be the ladies bathroom, which had stunning views and the guy’s were left to trek over to an old fallen down pine tree on the other side.
We had such fun that day setting up camp and learning loads of new bushcraft skills. I think the idea was to acquire sufficient skills during the day so that we could all build shelters that evening and sleep out in them. This didn’t go quite according to plan though as we kept getting side tracked and the urge to make fire without the use of matches soon took over as the main objective of the day.
By early evening we decided to head out in our boats again and paddled over to the island of Eileen Fhionain. On this sacred isle lays the ruins of St Finan’s church surrounded by some magnificent Celtic Crosses. The views from here alone were well worth the 2.2 mile return paddle.
When we arrived back at the camp Pete had a big roaring fire waiting for us and lots of hot water on the boil for tea. We all set about making our own dinners whilst sat around the fire and watched in awe as the sun set over the loch. It was absolutely fantastic. Well apart from poor young Joel who was sampling his first ever Wayfarer meal. Soon after the words sickly goo and child abuse were whispered, which made us all laugh.
Later that evening Tom taught us how to make Birch Bark Torches. With only a stick a sharp knife and some carefully folded bark these torches were great and lasted so much longer than I’d ever of imagined. This was followed by some toasting of marshmallows, a few glasses of good wine and a really nice chilled out evening was had by all.
Day three and we woke up to quite a grey day with strong north westerly winds. Today was a canoe skills day and no sooner where we on the water than we were learning all about trim, wind and ferry gliding. We were heading straight across the loch to paddle up the River Polloch.
Here we were taught the art of Poling then later had a nice picnic under a tarp followed by an afternoon of Tracking and Lining. I can’t say I’m much of a fan of this and for me its something once learnt you only ever do again when you need it.
However, everyone else had a great time and amazingly no one fell in. Back at camp and it was straight into bushcraft skills again which I love. Joel started to build his own shelter out of branches, moss and rhododendron leaves and within a couple of hours he had a structure that Ray Mears would be proud of.
I was quite jealous as I would have loved to have slept out in one myself. It was another great night around the fire and Joel who slept soundly all night, declared his shelter was warmer and comfier than the tent he’d used the previous evening.
The following morning I was woken up by a text from a friend warning me of a huge storm and gale force winds which was forecast to hit Loch Shiel that evening. It all felt quite dramatic as Pete phoned his office to see if he could find out some more details. And true enough a storm was coming and the effects were set to last a few days. It was a tough decision especially for Pete who had everyone’s safety to consider and also the logistics of how to get us all back to Glenfinnan the following day.
So disappointingly but very sensibly it was decided to make the most of the days good weather and paddle the 6.4 miles to the bridge at Acharacle (which had access to the A861 main road). Pete set off early in the opposite direction towards Glenfinnan to pick up the minibus and planned to meet us at the bridge at the end of the day.
We were going to be cutting the trip short by 24hours which meant we wouldn’t reach Moidart or get to paddle with the seals but safety had to come first and we were all happy with the decision. So with the sun still shining and not a breeze in the air we made our way towards the end of the loch.
The scenery was stunning as we paddled between the huge snow covered mountains towering above us. We even saw a Golden Eagle which certainly made my day. The conditions were so perfect that we reached Acharacle in just a couple of hours so after 4 days of camp food we decided to treat ourselves and walk into the village to find the chippy we’d heard about. It’s a good 30 minute walk, which was quite uncomfortable in my pink paddling wellies but on tasting those chips, they was worth every one of the blisters.
Lucinda Manouch
http://www.manouchphotography.co.uk
Photo Journalist also working for Plas Y Brenin National Mountain Centre on a global search for family friendly paddling adventures.
Welcome to cold waters!
October 13, 2008 on 2:06 pm | In Diving | No Comments
Up until three months ago I was what you call a ‘warm water diver’ - someone who’d happily spend a large part of their sunny holiday in the water but hadn’t seriously considered braving Scotland’s waters. By July I’d finally had enough of people telling me how great diving was in Scotland and shaking their heads when they found out I hadn’t tried it and signed up for a drysuit course with Deep Blue Scuba to add to my diving certification.
I can only recommend it! Divers will know that down there is a whole new world waiting to be discovered and a well-fitting drysuit will make sure you stay just that - dry - and warm. Thus equipped, I took my first tentative steps into the 12 degree warm ?!? Loch Long on the west coast on a beautiful sunny July day and only little later was hovering above the so-called Anemone Garden, an amazing array of plants shimmering in all different colours.
Another, possibly more exciting, easily accessible dive site is St Abbs on the east coast near Eyemouth. Ample parking in the harbour master’s car park makes it convenient to kit up before meeting your skipper and motoring out of the harbour. There is a selection of dive sites here, which gives you plenty of choice but also accommodates different weather and water conditions. St Abbs is a favourite with Edinburgh-based divers because it’s close to home and there’s always something new to see. The Letterbox, which we went for recently, on my first dive after the course, is a swim-through under some rock and also allows you to see lobsters and other sealife. St Abbs is great for crab and wolffish too, and it’s fun to spend your dive looking into the nooks and crannies of rocks to see what might be hiding in there.
I have to admit, on this dive, I never actually went for the swim-through. My ears weren’t equalising the water’s pressure properly, so being a coldwater novice and all I just felt too pre-occupied to venture into the dark. Dives since have been much more enjoyable and I’m off to the Sound of Mull on the west coast to take a look at the wrecks there in a couple of week’s time - watch this space for updates!
Pictures courtesy of Deep Blue Scuba, www.deepbluescuba.co.uk
Yvonne Press
http://
Has been diving for six years, most of it in warm water. She started exploring Scotland's waters in 2008.
Discounted Adventure in Scotland
September 8, 2008 on 1:52 pm | In Sea Kayaking, Surfing, Whitewater Rafting, Canoeing, River Bugging, Open Canoeing, Canyoning, Cliff Jumping, Coasteering, Kayak Surfing, Body Boarding | No Comments
The new VisitScotland Adventure Pass offers some fantastic savings on adventure sports and activities in Scotland.
Offers include buy one get one free so why not try surfing in East Lothian, canoeing near Inverness, white water rafting in Perthshire or sea kayaking in Shetland to name a few.
To claim your vouchers log on to www.visitscotland.com/adventurepass
Gillian Thompson
http://www.visitscotland.com/adventure
Works with adventure sports in Scotland and has a keen interest in keeping fit and walking and a new passion for surfing.
