Nick and I left West Cumbria early on Friday morning, picked the canoes up and met Tony ( Peterlee Paddler ) at Penrith before an uneventful journey north to Loch Awe. After meeting Rhod, who told us a good place to park the cars for the weekend, we left Dalavich at three oclockish and headed north up the western side of the loch.
It was a bright afternoon, with a blustery wind blowing behind us from the south. After crossing the bay to Rubha Barr nam Breacadh, I stopped for a look around and found this shelter.
It would have been quite a good place to camp if we hadnt just set off. I put the sail up on my canoe and soon caught Nick and Tony up.
Wed planned an easy introduction for our first day, so we pulled in at a little peninsula just west of Eilean an t-Slinne,
and set up camp.
I phoned my wife and she told me that my paddle from Lloyd had arrived in the post that morning, about three hours after Id left. This was my first bit of bad timing on the trip. There was lots of firewood around, so the nights supply was soon gathered. With plenty of birch trees in the area, I collected a pocketful of birchbark and soon had a blaze going using my firesteel. A bite to eat and a few drinks later and the first day was over.
Saturday morning started off showery and windy and swiftly got worse. We managed to grab a quick breakfast and get packed up and away before the real rain and wind started.
Continuing north, we paddled along side the Taychreggan Hotel on its headland and then passed under the power lines.
The heavy rain continued and the wind picked up, so we stopped for a brew with some pine trees as a windbreak, and a good view of the islands.
While we were having our brew, we decided to change our plans because of the weather, and stop at the first good campsite we found on one of the islands.
We crossed to the Black Islands first, but couldnt find anything suitable, so we paddled to Inishail and had a look about. There were some interesting graves there,
but unfortunately the only part of the island that wasnt a bog was where the graves were.
It was here that we first experienced the litter that was to blight the rest of the trip, but would get much worse on the north eastern shore.
By this time, the rain had lessened, but the wind showed no sign of abating. We looked for somewhere to camp on Eilean a' Chomharaidh, Fraoch Eilean, and Eilean Beith, but dismissed them due to being too exposed, rocky, boggy or mosquito ridden. This was the least fun part of the trip, with a big swell being driven by the high winds, and the water going over the gunwales of Nick and Tonys canoe on several occasions. After dismissing the islands as places to camp, we ran to the eastern shore with the wind at our backs to the bay behind Rubha Dubhairt.
This proved to be a litter strewn bog inhabited by mosquitoes, so we turned the point ( where the wind span my canoe as I rounded it )
and continued NE looking for a suitable place to camp. The amount of litter along this shore was quite depressing. The beach where the men who had unfortunately drowned recently were camping has been turned into a shrine to them, but I wonder if theyd have approved of all the floral tributes, flags and football tops left to mark their passing that will be left to rot in a favourite place of theirs.
I often complain about the lack of access in the Lake District, but it seems to keep the litter throwing population away. There is so little rubbish on Derwentwater ( my local lake ) that I pick up any that I find. To collect all the rubbish on the shores of Loch Awe Id need a team of people paddling a flotilla of skips.
Eventually, after checking out and dismissing several places, we found somewhere that was a bit more exposed than wed have liked, but the best of a bad lot. The wind started to drop as we set up camp, and the sky cleared, so much that it turned into a very pleasant evening. Once the fire was lit and wed dried out a bit, things started to look up.
We found some enormous Horse's Hoof fungus ( with a SFA for scale ):
And settled ourselves in:
On Sunday, we had a chat about what to do. The original plan was to paddle back to Dalavich, but although the wind had dropped since yesterday, it was still strong from the south, and it was decided that rather than struggle back into a headwind, we would spend the day relaxing and fishing, and get back to the cars by other means the next day. At three in the afternoon, I thought that Id nip over the half mile of water to Loch Awe village shop for an ice cream. Once out of the shelter of the land, the wind really started to whip up, and I struggled to get over to the steamboat slipway due to the headwind. At least this little trip out justified our decision not to paddle back. I disembarked ( quite precariously ) from the canoe and crossed over the railway bridge to the shop, only to find that it had closed at half one. I could have cried with disappointment. The journey back was much easier with the wind behind me,
and I collected a canoefull of firewood for the night on an island just offshore before joining Nick and Tony at their fishing.
Since there was nothing biting, Tony and I got into my canoe and tried fishing offshore. We paddled out, and let the wind blow us down towards Kilchurn Castle. It was just past the castle that Tony got the only bite of the trip, a decent sized pike. We didnt have a landing net, so I paddled towards the shore ( with the pike swimming alongside me ) while Tony played the fish. Disaster struck about twenty metres offshore when the pike bit through the line ( there was no steel trace on it ). Disappointed, we had a few more casts before heading back to camp, where Nick had even less luck than us.
After another pleasant night, we packed up the next day, cleaned up the camp, Nick and Tony had a final try at fishing
and then we paddled to the railway bridge near Kilchurn Castle, where a 100 metre portage along a path got our canoes and packs to the car park. Rhod sorted us out with a taxi number, and Tony and I went back to get the cars while Nick stayed behind with the canoes and packs. An uneventful journey ( apart from hitting Glasgow at rush hour ) got us home just in time for a takeaway pizza, and I finally got to see my new paddle.
While I enjoyed the trip, if I ever return to Loch Awe I think that Ill stay at the southern end, like I did last year. The northern end looks more interesting on the map, but the amount of litter and the main road and railway line running along the northern shore means that, in my opinion, it cant compete with the much quieter and cleaner southern end.
Hopefully, Tony will add his comments and pics to this. Although his camera isn't waterproof, it survived a soaking on the Saturday.
Cheers, Michael.
It was a bright afternoon, with a blustery wind blowing behind us from the south. After crossing the bay to Rubha Barr nam Breacadh, I stopped for a look around and found this shelter.
It would have been quite a good place to camp if we hadnt just set off. I put the sail up on my canoe and soon caught Nick and Tony up.
Wed planned an easy introduction for our first day, so we pulled in at a little peninsula just west of Eilean an t-Slinne,
and set up camp.
I phoned my wife and she told me that my paddle from Lloyd had arrived in the post that morning, about three hours after Id left. This was my first bit of bad timing on the trip. There was lots of firewood around, so the nights supply was soon gathered. With plenty of birch trees in the area, I collected a pocketful of birchbark and soon had a blaze going using my firesteel. A bite to eat and a few drinks later and the first day was over.
Saturday morning started off showery and windy and swiftly got worse. We managed to grab a quick breakfast and get packed up and away before the real rain and wind started.
Continuing north, we paddled along side the Taychreggan Hotel on its headland and then passed under the power lines.
The heavy rain continued and the wind picked up, so we stopped for a brew with some pine trees as a windbreak, and a good view of the islands.
While we were having our brew, we decided to change our plans because of the weather, and stop at the first good campsite we found on one of the islands.
We crossed to the Black Islands first, but couldnt find anything suitable, so we paddled to Inishail and had a look about. There were some interesting graves there,
but unfortunately the only part of the island that wasnt a bog was where the graves were.
It was here that we first experienced the litter that was to blight the rest of the trip, but would get much worse on the north eastern shore.
By this time, the rain had lessened, but the wind showed no sign of abating. We looked for somewhere to camp on Eilean a' Chomharaidh, Fraoch Eilean, and Eilean Beith, but dismissed them due to being too exposed, rocky, boggy or mosquito ridden. This was the least fun part of the trip, with a big swell being driven by the high winds, and the water going over the gunwales of Nick and Tonys canoe on several occasions. After dismissing the islands as places to camp, we ran to the eastern shore with the wind at our backs to the bay behind Rubha Dubhairt.
This proved to be a litter strewn bog inhabited by mosquitoes, so we turned the point ( where the wind span my canoe as I rounded it )
and continued NE looking for a suitable place to camp. The amount of litter along this shore was quite depressing. The beach where the men who had unfortunately drowned recently were camping has been turned into a shrine to them, but I wonder if theyd have approved of all the floral tributes, flags and football tops left to mark their passing that will be left to rot in a favourite place of theirs.
I often complain about the lack of access in the Lake District, but it seems to keep the litter throwing population away. There is so little rubbish on Derwentwater ( my local lake ) that I pick up any that I find. To collect all the rubbish on the shores of Loch Awe Id need a team of people paddling a flotilla of skips.
Eventually, after checking out and dismissing several places, we found somewhere that was a bit more exposed than wed have liked, but the best of a bad lot. The wind started to drop as we set up camp, and the sky cleared, so much that it turned into a very pleasant evening. Once the fire was lit and wed dried out a bit, things started to look up.
We found some enormous Horse's Hoof fungus ( with a SFA for scale ):
And settled ourselves in:
On Sunday, we had a chat about what to do. The original plan was to paddle back to Dalavich, but although the wind had dropped since yesterday, it was still strong from the south, and it was decided that rather than struggle back into a headwind, we would spend the day relaxing and fishing, and get back to the cars by other means the next day. At three in the afternoon, I thought that Id nip over the half mile of water to Loch Awe village shop for an ice cream. Once out of the shelter of the land, the wind really started to whip up, and I struggled to get over to the steamboat slipway due to the headwind. At least this little trip out justified our decision not to paddle back. I disembarked ( quite precariously ) from the canoe and crossed over the railway bridge to the shop, only to find that it had closed at half one. I could have cried with disappointment. The journey back was much easier with the wind behind me,
and I collected a canoefull of firewood for the night on an island just offshore before joining Nick and Tony at their fishing.
Since there was nothing biting, Tony and I got into my canoe and tried fishing offshore. We paddled out, and let the wind blow us down towards Kilchurn Castle. It was just past the castle that Tony got the only bite of the trip, a decent sized pike. We didnt have a landing net, so I paddled towards the shore ( with the pike swimming alongside me ) while Tony played the fish. Disaster struck about twenty metres offshore when the pike bit through the line ( there was no steel trace on it ). Disappointed, we had a few more casts before heading back to camp, where Nick had even less luck than us.
After another pleasant night, we packed up the next day, cleaned up the camp, Nick and Tony had a final try at fishing
and then we paddled to the railway bridge near Kilchurn Castle, where a 100 metre portage along a path got our canoes and packs to the car park. Rhod sorted us out with a taxi number, and Tony and I went back to get the cars while Nick stayed behind with the canoes and packs. An uneventful journey ( apart from hitting Glasgow at rush hour ) got us home just in time for a takeaway pizza, and I finally got to see my new paddle.
While I enjoyed the trip, if I ever return to Loch Awe I think that Ill stay at the southern end, like I did last year. The northern end looks more interesting on the map, but the amount of litter and the main road and railway line running along the northern shore means that, in my opinion, it cant compete with the much quieter and cleaner southern end.
Hopefully, Tony will add his comments and pics to this. Although his camera isn't waterproof, it survived a soaking on the Saturday.
Cheers, Michael.
