Tuesday, February 14, 2017

So many views in Loch Shiel, you had better take a seat!

As we paddled SW down Loch Shiel, the sun began to...

 ...occasionally break through the cloud creating ever changing patterns of light and shade on the crags above and...

 ...the forests below.

 Although there are many attractive shingle beaches the camping behind some of them is difficult due to bog and tussocky grass and we intended getting well down the loch before being stopped by nightfall about 6pm.

Glenfinnan was now well behind us and we...

 ...entered a great amphitheatre in the mountains which became...

 ...wilder and wilder. The roaring of rutting red deer stags echoed round the high glens a sound truly evocative of autumn in Scotland.

The only sign of the hand of man was a lumber track which wound its way round the headlands on the SE shore but there was no sign of vehicles or people.

We enjoyed each other's company as...

 ...we shared this magnificent...

 ...wilderness of rocky summits which...

 ...tumbled down to deciduous forests which...

 ...clothed the north west shore in...

...superb autumn colours.

 Every so often we would stop and turn to look...

 ...back the way we had come.

Shadows from the clouds were racing across the hillsides, driven by the increasing wind.

As we approached the wild delta at the mouth of the river which flows into Loch Shiel from Glen Aladale, we found this somewhat incongruously but gloriously situated chair. 

For the full stereo vision experience read Ian's account here...

Monday, February 13, 2017

Progress down Loch Shiel was impeded by frequent photo opportunities.

 As we made our way SW down Loch Shiel the sun broke though and despite it being mid October the temperature soared.

 Due to glaciation the west coast of Scotland is riven by many U shaped valleys which were cut by glaciers moving to the SW where the melted into the sea. Some of these valleys are flooded by sea water and some by fresh water but the bodies of water are both called lochs.

 So though our progress was slow, not only were we following the route of a long gone glacier we were making considerably faster progress than it had done.

The scenery in Loch Shiel is truly stunning.

The sunlight enhanced the shades of autumn and our progress was frequently impeded by...

 ...photographic opportunities or...

 ...by stunning shingle beaches where we stopped to...

 ...sit on a log under the shade of a great Scots pine and admired the dramatic mountains...

...which towered far above. I even went in for a swim but the water molecules had clearly retained a memory of the Ice Age.

For the full stereo vision experience read Ian's account here...

Sunday, February 12, 2017

A low point on the horizon but not in our spirits on Loch Shiel.

I have not updated the blog for some time due to ill health but I do make more regular posts on my Facebook page. Ian has started to post on his blog about a great trip we made back in October 2016 and this has prompted me to help create another of our stereovision adventures.

Mike and I travelled from SW Scotland and Ian and Lorna travelled from the NE. Sadly Lorna's husband Allan was not feeling 100% and didn't make it. This put a damper on our spirits  but what a great excuse to do this marvellous trip again, with Allan! 

We met at the Glenfinnan House Hotel where we had arranged to leave one car and launch from the hotel grounds into the fresh waters of Loch Shiel. Mike and I ran a shuttle car round to Samalaman Bay on the south side of the Sound of Arisaig.

Once on the water, we soon left the Glenfinnan Monument, which commemorates the fallen during the ill fated 1745 Jacobite rebellion.

We passed the Loch Shiel ferry, the MV Sileas. 

There is no public road along the length of Loch Shiel, so for most people a trip on the Sileas is the only way of seeing the isolated beauty of this Loch.

The hills on the SE shore are rugged and bare and...

...tumbled steeply into the silvery waters of the loch under dark grey skies.

Soon we were out in the middle of the loch where our bows naturally turned to the low point on the horizon. Somewhere beyond lay the sea, some 30km away.

From the middle of the loch we caught a better view of the marvellous mixed woodland of native deciduous and Scots Pine that has survived on the NW shore since the last Ice Age. A flash of brightness...

 ...attracted our attention to a marvellous golden leaved aspen whose leaves were shimmering in the light breeze.

Gradually the equinoctial grey skies brightened, a patch of blue sky appeared and our spirits soared....

For the full stereovision experience see Ian's account here...



Sunday, July 17, 2016

Pyranha Octane PE surfski

This is the new Pyranha polyethylene surfski called the Octane. It will be available shortly at £1095. It is based on a Think composite surfski design. I had a good look at these in the GoKayaking store in Perth back in January. They look like fantastic boats and I had a good chat with Cam Allan about them.

A lot of my friends are interested in surfskis but the thought of spending north of £2,000 on a composite surfski is putting them off. That is why I am delighted to hear of  the PE Octane which will provide an affordable intro to the world of surfskis. It will shortly be available in Corelite PE and I do hope it will be available in the new stiff light CoreLiteX PE construction later on. I got an email from Graham Mackereth MD of Pyranha confirming that it would also be available with a sail. Whoohoo! Even better I have just heard from Mathew Wilkinson from Pyranha/P&H marketing dept. that just possibly one might just find its way in my general direction for a test. Whoohoo! :o)