Last week I went to Scotland with the Exeter Uni club. We had a truly brilliant time with fantastic water levels and great company!
This was my first paddling trip to Scotland and I'll be honest I wasn't expecting much. Perhaps this whitewater snobbery had stemmed from a lack of research or having been lucky enough to travel abroad to some magnificent boating. However, by the end of the week I had to eat my words in a big way...
The first day started with some warm up boating on the Arkaig. We had good water levels and so decided to head to the Roy. After an entertaining upper section we continued down the Roy Gorge, a run which I would have to class as one of the best grade 4 runs in the country. A truly committing run with some classic rapids and at least one very large must-run! For many in the group, this was the hardest paddling they had done, but everyone stepped up and had a great day. I couldn't have asked for a better start to the week.
Me entering the tight S-bend rapid on the Roy Gorge - photo by Ben Watts
The following day we had we did some more warming up on the Spean and Roy followed by the
Allt Ionndrain. This is a great little run which gave the chance for many of the crew to test their skills on steeper boating, the likes of which are hard to find on Dartmoor!
After positively monsoonal rainfall over the next day or so we had a fantastic run down the Spean Gorge at epic flows... a fun bit of water with confused boils and eddy lines. In dramatic contrast we went for a paddle on the Gloy gorge later that day; this is a short run which had little water and lots of trees, watch out if you're heading there any time soon.
Later that day came one of the main highlights of the trip... The Abhainn Righ! Well I certainly wasn't expecting this in Scotland. After a long scout of the drops I decided to fire up the two biggest drops. The first is a huge slide, approaching 20m in height. It's very steep and has two large kickers that give you considerable air time on the way down. I was happy with my line although I lost it at the last moment landing all but upside down in the pool. As a result I was ejected from my boat leaving me to walk to the side to empty it (whilst wearing a smile as wide as the river itself).
Having a last minute scout - Lynne Medlock (LM)
The full sequence (LM)
The second large drop is a sloping slide into a large drop. A total drop of just over 10m I guess... This is quite a spectacular fall with a small line to hit but it is a real beauty! I went first hitting my line just as planned (trying my first paddle throw in the process), Andy went next sending his first waterfall effortlessly. Unfortunately Ben got unlucky on the lead in, resulting in a dislocated shoulder, get well soon mate!
Lining up for the big hit! (LM)
Flying off the lip (LM)
A great line from Andy C (LM)
Ben W 'Bucking up and Hucking it' (LM)
An overall view of the two drops. This is a stunning river! (Andy C)
On our last day boating we went to Glen Etive where we got to sample the delights of the middle Etive and Alt a' Chaorainn at medium – low levels (I guess). Both of these rivers, as I'm sure you all know, are real gems. The sun was out, the whole crew was paddling well; it was one of those days that I will remember for a long time!
So the brilliant week certainly made up for the long journey to and from Exeter and I will without doubt be back again next year to check out some more of the seemingly never ending collection of classics that Scotland has to offer.
Check out this short video from the week's boating. Thanks to everyone for all the footage.
Thanks to: Zet Kayaks
Check out this short video from the week's boating. Thanks to everyone for all the footage.
