Has anyone canoed & wild camped down the river Tay?

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Hi bcuk,

Has anyone canoed down the river Tay that could give me some advice?

For a while I have wanted to go for a proper wild camping trip down a river in Scotland & the Tay seems like the obvious choice. I have canoed down several level 3/4 rivers & that was no probs so I want to tackle something more major. I was thinking of starting off in one of the rivers feeding the Tay like the Tummel because as I understand you can canoe the whole Tay in a day, correct me if I'm wrong. I don't have any mates with canoes & I don't fancy doing it on my own so is their anyone out there thinking of doing a similar trip who would consider accompaning me? would be good for transport - one vehicle at the start other at the finish.

Also I need to get some boyancy aids for the bow & stern of my canoe does anyone know of a quality set for not too much cash? or even a good diy alternative!

My canoe is a 15 ft GRP apache. I was thinking of going on this trip in the next month or two & any suggestions are welcome & very much appreciated.

Many thanks,

Martin
 
Nov 29, 2004
7,808
22
Scotland
"...Has anyone canoed down the river Tay that could give me some advice? ..."

Yes, it was bloody fabulous! :)

Have you tried asking over on Song of the Paddle for advice, lots of paddlers there.
You probably could manage it in a day but whats the rush? From memory we had two camps on our trip, one at the Grandtully campsite and one 'wild' camp. The portage at Grandtully was a bit too long I thought and in retrospect we should have lined it.

Check out the Scottish Canoe Association site for some Tay descent videos and contact numbers for information on the river state, paddling in the Tay in January and February will probably be quite 'interesting'.

tay_14.jpg


Edited to add:

Our get out was in Perth, you can probably go a little further, but not too far, very strong tides in the Tay, you might end up in Norway. :)
 
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silvergirl

Nomad
Jan 25, 2006
379
0
Angus,Scotland
The Tay is a good river with some challenging sections. There is plenty of scope for a multi day trip. It would take me at least three days to paddle its length, and I'd prefer to take a couple more.
You can start at Killin and paddle the Loch as well if you want. Or even higher up at Tyndrum if you want a real challenge.

Quite a few companies organise trips a couple I have some experience of are

http://www.beyondadventure.co.uk/Text/Trips/Tay.html

http://www.outdoordimensions.co.uk/canoeing-holidays-courses.htm
 
Yes, it was bloody fabulous! :)

Have you tried asking over on Song of the Paddle for advice, lots of paddlers there.
You probably could manage it in a day but whats the rush? From memory we had two camps on our trip, one at the Grandtully campsite and one 'wild' camp. The portage at Grandtully was a bit too long I thought and in retrospect we should have lined it.

Check out the Scottish Canoe Association site for some Tay descent videos and contact numbers for information on the river state, paddling in the Tay in January and February will probably be quite 'interesting'.

tay_14.jpg


Edited to add:

Our get out was in Perth, you can probably go a little further, but not too far, very strong tides in the Tay, you might end up in Norway. :)

Hi Sandbender - thanks for the reply,

Nice photo btw - looks like you've got some good gear for the job. I had a look at the SCA vids & read a few articles & I think I'd like to do pretty much source to sea. I have a freind who lives in Tyndrum so I could leave my gear with him and park the landy at Newburgh & get public transport back up & put in near there or at loch Dochart if the higher water is to narrow. I think I'd take about 3 days - I think that would be a nice gentle pace. I need to get some equipment sorted first though - Need to get a good helmet, I think I'm going to build some watertight storage boxes into my canoe that can act as permenant extra buoyancy rather than airbags so that will take a while, also if I can find a sports camera, quite cheaply, that I can attach to my helmet that would be good & if I can find someone willing to go down with me in the mean time then great. I know at this time of year & if there is snow melt the river will be "interesting" but I love a challenge & I'll be tarp & bivying so that'll make for an easy portage so if its too wild at some points I won't mind getting out. I'll try & get plenty of practice before then. If you have any ideas or see anything wrong here let me know.

Thanks again,
Martin.
 
Nov 29, 2004
7,808
22
Scotland
"...I'm going to build some watertight storage boxes into my canoe that can act as permenant extra buoyancy rather than airbags..."

That all looks good, maybe four days for a gentle pace and a look at the wild life. You should really get over to the 'Song of the Paddle' forum though, lots of experience there to draw on.

I have never liked the idea of having all my gear permanently attached to my canoe, if things go wrong then that it is just more weight to drag around. If your luggage floats and you are with another canoe then they can recover your gear while you try sort yourself out. :)

PS

Have a spare paddle secured to the canoe. :D
 

Nonsuch

Life Member
Sep 19, 2008
1,862
1
Scotland, looking at mountains
Don't underestimate the length of the trip - long sections have no current and can be hard work especially into a headwind. I have day paddled Kenmore to Grandtully a few times and that is all I would want to do in a day soloing, and that is with an unloaded boat.

I've never done the whole trip but I would say start at Killin, include the Loch, and finish at Perth, loads of places to wild camp along the way. If you decide to do the Tummel and not the loch, be aware that the Tummel is only really viaible if they are doing a water release.

Best done out of the fishing season if you can manage it, although Tay fishermen are quite friendly, and water levels can be low in high summer. You will pick up a good few gouges on that Apache n the way down.

Have fun - it's a beautiful river
NS
 
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