I went for a paddle on Loch Lomond for the first time on the weekend of the 23rd - 25th March, after having driven past it dozens of times whilst heading further north. I met Tony at the put in, and after a chat with some other paddlers and packing the canoes, we set off into a perfectly calm evening.
As it was my first time on the loch, I wanted to have a look around and explore a bit, and as Tony had been there lots of times before he was happy to go along with that. We paddled around the southern end of Inchtavannach, passed the western end of Inchmoan and then threaded through The Narrows.
We stopped at a couple of places to collect some driftwood and then looked for somewhere to camp on the northern end of Inchconnachan. There were a couple of lads camped on a headland, and we found a place in a sheltered bay facing north ( I hoped to see the aurora if it made an appearance, but it was so overcast that we didn't even see the sky ).
I set my hammock up, and Tony pitched his tent,
and there was still light left to collect more driftwood from the high tide line along the bay. I had my by now traditional first night out barbeque,
followed by a few scoops around the fire.
The next day dawned pretty much the same, overcast but very still.
After breakfast,
two lads turned up a bit further down the bay and started to put hammocks up. When we were chatting to them it turned out that they were Modern Day Womble and Mountain man off SOTP.
Tony had arranged to meet Jason and Colin, but due to a mix up with the shed keys, they couldn't get to their canoes, so we arranged to pick them up over at Balhama in the afternoon.
As time passed, the sun started to break through a bit and conditions were perfect as we paddled towards the passage between Inchmoan and Inchcruin,
before heading towards Inchfad and passing between it and Ellanderroch. I had a bite to eat here, sitting in the motionless canoe on the flat calm water.
We then crossed over to Inchcailloch, skirting it’s northern side on the way to Balhama to pick Colin and Jason up.
With those two and their ultralight overnight bags ( and Jack and Mr T ) safely aboard, we passed in between Inchcailloch and Clairinish, alongside Torrinch and then crossed to Creinch where we intended to spend the night. After a circumnavigation of the island though, there didn’t seem to be many good places for my ground dwelling companions to set up, so we paddled over to the northeastern tip of Inchmurrin. Here we found a perfect campsite for three tents, and a couple of perfectly placed trees for my hammock. Another bonus was lots of firewood nearby on the high tide line.
Once we were set up and the firewood collected and had a bite to eat,
the drink and conversation began to flow. Sometimes it got quite highbrow,
but other times it wasn’t.
A good night was had by all, and then the hotel on the western side of the loch gave us a spectacular firework display to round things off.
Another still, overcast day dawned,
and we had a lazy morning eating, packing and chatting. We then headed northwest over a flat calm loch in brightening conditions back to the cars.
Thanks to Tony, Colin and Jason for a great weekend.
Cheers, Michael.
As it was my first time on the loch, I wanted to have a look around and explore a bit, and as Tony had been there lots of times before he was happy to go along with that. We paddled around the southern end of Inchtavannach, passed the western end of Inchmoan and then threaded through The Narrows.
We stopped at a couple of places to collect some driftwood and then looked for somewhere to camp on the northern end of Inchconnachan. There were a couple of lads camped on a headland, and we found a place in a sheltered bay facing north ( I hoped to see the aurora if it made an appearance, but it was so overcast that we didn't even see the sky ).
I set my hammock up, and Tony pitched his tent,
and there was still light left to collect more driftwood from the high tide line along the bay. I had my by now traditional first night out barbeque,
followed by a few scoops around the fire.
The next day dawned pretty much the same, overcast but very still.
After breakfast,
two lads turned up a bit further down the bay and started to put hammocks up. When we were chatting to them it turned out that they were Modern Day Womble and Mountain man off SOTP.
Tony had arranged to meet Jason and Colin, but due to a mix up with the shed keys, they couldn't get to their canoes, so we arranged to pick them up over at Balhama in the afternoon.
As time passed, the sun started to break through a bit and conditions were perfect as we paddled towards the passage between Inchmoan and Inchcruin,
before heading towards Inchfad and passing between it and Ellanderroch. I had a bite to eat here, sitting in the motionless canoe on the flat calm water.
We then crossed over to Inchcailloch, skirting it’s northern side on the way to Balhama to pick Colin and Jason up.
With those two and their ultralight overnight bags ( and Jack and Mr T ) safely aboard, we passed in between Inchcailloch and Clairinish, alongside Torrinch and then crossed to Creinch where we intended to spend the night. After a circumnavigation of the island though, there didn’t seem to be many good places for my ground dwelling companions to set up, so we paddled over to the northeastern tip of Inchmurrin. Here we found a perfect campsite for three tents, and a couple of perfectly placed trees for my hammock. Another bonus was lots of firewood nearby on the high tide line.
Once we were set up and the firewood collected and had a bite to eat,
the drink and conversation began to flow. Sometimes it got quite highbrow,
but other times it wasn’t.
A good night was had by all, and then the hotel on the western side of the loch gave us a spectacular firework display to round things off.
Another still, overcast day dawned,
and we had a lazy morning eating, packing and chatting. We then headed northwest over a flat calm loch in brightening conditions back to the cars.
Thanks to Tony, Colin and Jason for a great weekend.
Cheers, Michael.
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