Sea kayaking from a dear green place.

The following kayak posts are about sea kayaking from Glasgow Green, in the heart of the City of Glasgow, down the tidal River Clyde to Port Glasgow at the head of the Firth of Clyde.

This morning we met at the Newark Castle car park in the upper Firth of Clyde. We then ran a shuttle on the M8 motorway into the heart of Glasgow, the "dear green place".

We were bound for Glasgow Green, the oldest of the city's many parks.

It marks the upper limit of the tidal River Clyde. Above the tidal barrage is the preserve of several rowing clubs.

Below the barrage there is a solid railing fence to discourage the locals from going for a swim, especially if they are pished.

You can drive a car and park at the West Boat House. The best entrance to Glasgow Green is off Ballater Street on the "north" bank of the Clyde. There is a "no entry approved vehicles only" sign. Assume you are approved and drive through the park at 5mph with your hazard lights on (local bye-law). On a winter Sunday,  I left my car here until 17:30, well after dark, with no problem. At 09:00, when we arrived, there were about 5 rowers' cars, mine was the only one left in the evening. From talking to the rowers, they would not leave a car here after about 10pm, due to the local nocturnal wildlife.

Downstream of the barrage, there is a locked pair of yellow gates. In the past you could only paddle down the Clyde as part of a large organised group, on a specific day and an annual paddle has been held for several years now. Recently the Scottish Canoe Association has negotiated access for individual kayakers to put in below the barrage and to paddle the Cldye through Glasgow harbour to the Firth of Clyde. You can contact them for the combination for the padlock. Directly below the gate the bank is steep into deep water but 60m downstream you can launch here...

...in the corner of the Albert Bridge.

Before setting off, you should contact Clyde Estuary Control on VHF channel 12, tel: 01475726221 who will inform you of any shipping movements or whether seaplanes are expected to land/take off and warn of areas to avoid, which side of the river to follow etc..

You can download the Clydeport Marine Leisure guide from their website.

You should also contact Clyde coastguard on channel 16, tel: 01475729988 and contact them again once you are off the water. You need to carry a VHF and listen for warnings on channels 12 and 16. You also need to leave your VHF call sign with the coastguard.

Another consideration, before paddling this route, is the water level in the Clyde. In periods of heavy rain or thaw the Clyde can rise dramatically. The week before we paddled this route there was a major thaw and at Daldowie, 11km upstream of the barrage, the level was 1.4m compared with a base level of 0.2m. Down at the barrage the water was going straight over the top, creating a nasty stopper and at high tide launching would have been very dangerous down a steep bank into deep fast flowing water.

We put on when the level at Daldowie was a much more reasonable 0.4m and had little difficulty. You can monitor Clyde river levels p to 24hours previously at the Sepa website.

There is a risk of a serious bacterial infectious disease called leptospirosis or Weil's disease, which can be caused by coming in contact with fresh water contaminated by infected rats' urine. Running through a city, the Clyde has an ample share of rats so you should take precautions. Don't paddle if you have an open blister or cut. Don't let any river water get near anything you are going to eat or drink. (We normally paddle with drink bladders/tubes on deck, we didn't this time. Don't put your hands near your mouth or nose if they have been in contact with water or with grass or soil on the bank. We used alcohol gel to clean our hands before eating. You should also avoid licking your lips if water splashes on your face. We decided it would be prudent not to practice rolling in the Clyde!

The incubation period of leptospirosis is about 3 days to 3 weeks after exposure. If you develop some or all of the following: high temperature, severe headache, muscle pain, nausea, red eyes, skin rash, you should see a doctor as an emergency and say you have been paddling in the Clyde and are worried about leptospirosis.

We believe we are the first small group to make use of this new concession and it was with some anticipation that we set off below the Albert Bridge. What would we find? Some of our friends did not come fearing pollution and urban decay.

Sea kayaking to Lochgoilhead from Arrochar, Loch Long

A 25km day trip from Arrochar at the head of Loch Long to Lochgoilhead at the head of Loch Goil.

Entering Loch Goil from Loch Long.



Hunched by the cold, a long, long way from the open sea.

Sea kayaking in the mountains with torpedoes and invisible ink.

Sea kayaking in search of the lost Ark.

 HMS Ark Royal, final voyage to Scotland.

Two million barrels of crude in Loch Long.

The mark of a good bothy

War and peace at Carraig nan Ron.

Carrick castle and the leading lights of Loch Goil.

A hall of mirrors in Loch Goil.

Photo album map.

Seakayaking in the shade of mountains.

The beach at the mouth of Glen Sannox usually has a deep covering of silvery granite sand, which has been washed down from the mountains. Recent storms have stripped much away and it was a rough landing on the exposed boulders. We were now in the chilly shade of the mountains.

We paddled down the east coast of Arran below rocky ridges that rose high into the blue vault of the sky. A couple of paragliders were soaring above the windward slope of Goatfell.

We emerged into the sunshine again as we approached Merkland Point, which guards the north entrance to Brodick Bay. The silhouette of Holy Island reminded us of another great sea kayaking destination in the Clyde.

The sun began to set behind the beautiful mixed woodland, which grows right down to the shore at Merkland Point.

Unfortunately the resident otters were nowhere to be seen, so we paddled out...

...into the broad expanse of Brodick Bay. The sun was now well below our horizon but high above us, the A'Chir ridge and Goatfell still caught the dying rays of the sun. It was now only a short paddle to the ferry terminal. We were in good in time for the 16:40 ferry to Ardrossan and a welcome hot meal aboard.

Sunglasses and pogies across a dazzling, cold sea.

The stop on Bute was cold despite the winter sun. It was a relief to start the 10.6km crossing of the Sound of Bute to Sannox on Arran. Pogies helped keep our hands warm. The thermometer on my radio didn't go above -2C all day.

We left Bute in very calm conditions and a little sprinting soon had us warm again.

It was a very companionable crossing and the mountainouus backdrop was its usual magnificent self!

About half way across, a breeze got up from the SE. It seemed to accelerate round the steep slopes of Holy Island.

We were glad of our sunglasses as we paddled across a dazzling sea.

As we approached Glen Sannox, our tiny craft were dwarfed by the scale of the landscape. When  we entered the cold shade of its mountains there was no more need for sunglasses. Indeed, the nearby village of Lochranza gets almost no direct sun in winter. The sun never rises above Arran's peaks from its street..

Making light work of a huge volume of melt and a small volume of malt.

It did not take long to reach the Little (Wee) Cumbrae from Portencross. One of the first Scottish light beacons to warn shipping is situated on the summit of the island. It is a simple round tower, 8.5m high, which...

... was built by James Ewing in 1757. An open coal brazier was situated at its top and served as the source of light. It proved to be a profitable business as there was a tax on every ship, which passed on the way up the Clyde to Port Glasgow and Greenock. However, it was often obscured by low cloud and it had a voracious appetite for coal. The coal came from near Glasgow and was transported by horse and cart for 45km over the hills to Irvine in Ayrshire before being transferred to a boat for the Wee Cumbrae. It was then hauled another kilometer up to the 123m high summit. It was not exactly light work...

...so it was replaced in 1793 by this lighthouse (with oil lamps and reflectors) on a raised beach on the west coast of the island. From here we now crossed the main Firth of Clyde shipping channel...

...to the Island of Bute. Our arrival was marked by the modern Rubh' an Eun automated solar powered light.

We hadn't bothered watching the GPS as we thought we were crossing the channel at slack, low water. However, looking at our tracks later, we discovered we had been carried 0.7km down tide, before we started correcting. The ebb had lasted longer than expected, because of the huge volume of  melt water from the recent snow coming down the Clyde. This happened after a dramatic thaw, which saw a 22 degree Celsius temperature range in less than 24 hours.  The Clyde river levels at Daldowie gauge were 10 times higher than base levels!

We landed at Port Leithne for first luncheon. Jim, Phil, Tony and I had come equipped with fine Scottish fare.. we had each brought a different malt whisky. We were somewhat bemused to discover that our four friends from the Castle Craigs Canoe Club had brought none! That's one of the problems with paddling in a regular group, you begin to think that the way you do things is normal. One of the advantages in paddling with a new group is having your preconceptions about what is normal behaviour exposed for what they are.

Well, all I can say to our new friends from CCCC is "Fancy thinking that coming out seakayaking without a dram of malt is normal!" :o)

A new dawn on a favourite paddle.

On Sunday we went for one of our favourite local paddles. We met in darkness  at Ardrossan ferry  terminal where we left shuttle cars. We then drove north to Portencross as the sun was coming up.

It was low water at Portencross, where we met the Castle Craig Kayaking Club who were planning a similar trip. At low tide this is one of the most awkward launches on the Ayrshire coast. An alternative is to carry or trolley the kayaks 300m to the little beach to the north of the castle...

...talking of which... Portencross Castle has now been restored and will be open to the public on limited occasions from April 2011.

Phil and...

Jim were quickly on the water.

Bruce from CCKC soon caught up with Tony and they swapped stories about their recent 5* sessions on Skye.

Although Harvey and Rob are both from CCKC, Harvey had just come from Ardrossan but Rob had driven 3 hours from Selkirk on the other side of Scotland!

Kathryn also CCKC was more sensible, she comes from Largs just 10 minutes up the road!

Introductions over, it was time to go. We were bound for Arran via the Wee Cumbrae and Bute. Yes, I know we did this just a few weeks ago, but I did say it was one of our favourite paddles!

Sun goes down at Turnberry, after a three castle day!

By coincidence, four refreshment breaks had taken so much time that we arrived at Barwhin Point just at sunset.

Both Turnberry lighthouse...

...and Ailsa Craig...

...add a certain something to Firth of Clyde sunsets.
 

The sunset did not last long...

...and soon the flash of Turnberry lighthouse was the brightest object in the sky...

...and we paddled into Maidens in near darkness after a three castle day!