Paul, Mimi, Lily and Ned met me for a sunny October afternoon in Gairloch. They’ve recently bought a house in the area and are keen to get out and play in the outdoors lots.
It was one of those sessions that I looked at the group early on when they were paddling around and thought – yep, Ned is likely to fall in. He didn’t disappoint!
On a sunny morning Adrian, Carol, James and Ella met me for a spot of kayaking. We had a good time getting used to the sit on top kayaks by learning some strokes, playing some games and paddling around. On our journey around the coastline we spotted seals, star fish, urchins and a few fish nipping around.
We headed out to explore the coastline in canoes, finding a beach to stop for hot chocolate and biscuits. Along the way we played games, watched seals and of course we learn’t some paddling skills.
Allison and Will joined me for another nice day of paddling. They where staying down in Wester Alligin on Upper Loch Torridon, a bit out of my normal area but since I’ve paddled a lot with them and I fancied a change of scenery I headed south to meet them.
Lorna, Iain and Jean met me again, this time they brought along Gregor and young Jack. We had another day of sunshine and blue skies (it’s always like this in October up here….honest….), so we had a great time paddling around with the seals.
Mandy, Duncan and Cameron joined me again, but this time they brought along Roger, Elaine, Cameron and Tom. We had a great time paddling around the craggy coastline and playing competitive games along the way.
Another day, another glorious blue sky. Mark, Paula, Ben and Alex met me at Gairloch Harbour for a fun morning in canoes. We headed out to learn how to paddle them then after getting the hang of them we played some games and headed off to see the sights.
Brian and Duncan joined me again, this time with Alastair, for a sunny (and very wet) paddling session. The wetness certainly didn’t come from the sky, when they all turned up in wetsuits I knew it was going to be a wet session! Quite a bit of the session was taken up trying to balance the kayaks from strange positions.
Rebecca, Calum, Thomas and Sarah met me on a sunny morning at Gairloch Harbour. We had a great time learning how to paddle the little kayaks by practicing strokes, playing games, journeying around the coastline and having fun. After the session they headed off to see what other excitement they could have on their journey around the #NC500.
Rowena and Rob had been planning on paddling with me for months but we hadn’t quite found a day with good weather that we where all free on, finally we found a day and Fiona was able to join us.
We had some sea kayaks and some sit on top kayaks out with us as they’re thinking of getting some boats but aren’t sure what type yet. We where able to have a go in different boats and learn how to manoeuvre them.
Gill and Harry have recently moved to the area and after a few days paddling last year have decided that it’s something they should get into up here. Certainly a good decision to make if you’re going to live on this fantastic bit of coastline!
Charles, Edwina, Thomas, Clare, Malcolm and Sue met me for an afternoon paddle from Gairloch harbour. We set off in a variety of boat types to suit everyone. The seals came out on cue to entertain us as we paddled along the rocky coastline to a beach for a brew and biscuits.
Dana, Rachael and Toni met me on their #NC500 journey in a motorhome. We set off from Gairloch Harbour and enjoyed paddling around the coast seeing the seals and scenery.
Izzy and Ellie first met me at the climbing wall in Gairloch, we soon planned to get out paddling when the weather allowed. Setting off from Mellon Charles’ boom beach allowed us to explore the exciting coastline there.
It may have been cloudy and damp but that didn’t deter Shaun, Liz, Tom, Andrew, Ian, Ellen Hilary or Kath. We met at the boom beach in Mellon Charles for a mornings paddling.
After discussing the different boats available we all chose what we wanted to paddle and then set off around the coastline.
Susie, Ross, Isla and Eva met me for the afternoon session. We had a great paddle around Loch Shieldaig, playing games and seeing the wildlife as we went. 
Jo and Steve met me near the Shieldaig Lodge Hotel for a kayaking session around the bay to see what wildlife and sights we could see. We had a good session seeing seals, urchins, crabs and star fish to name a few things.
Another paddling session this year for Jeff and Lorna, this time they brought Jean along too. We had an interesting paddle around the coastline, exploring the passageways and caves along the way. At the end Jeff and Jean even capsized for fun.