Whitehead Kayak, Loch Shieldaig
It was a busy day, so I was meeting Emily, Tim, Elliot and George in the evening near the Shieldaig Lodge Hotel. We hadn’t managed to get out the morning before due to the wind speeds so we managed to fit it in now. Like with the rest of the day the midges found us early on, but soon got left behind on land as we paddled away from them. George took a quick dip early on in the session, I think a piranha to the face was partly to blame! Everyone else stayed dryish, ignoring the rain, till the end when Tim and George managed to go for a swim whilst Emily and Elliot kept their balance.
Pete and Linda joined me again this year, the #NC500 got them up here last year but the fantastic scenery and places brought them back to explore more. Last year we paddled from Mellon Charles, due to the very low tide we saw huge amounts of wildlife, this year we had another low tide and managed to see a fair amount of wildlife from star fish to urchins to seals.
Iain, Christine, Frazer, Calum and Cara joined me again for a session by the Shieldaig Lodge Hotel. We had paddled together a few years ago, from that experience I guessed it was going to be a very wet session with them! It was, and not just because of the rain! It was a fun session with plenty of games but we also managed to get some good views of seals whilst on the water.
Alan and Pamela joined me for two trips, initially from Gairloch Harbour and then from Poolewe. They have a family cottage in Poolewe, so know the area well but have’t canoed on the waters before. Alan is booked to go on a trip along the River Tay later on in the year, so wanted to get some experience paddling canoes.
Fiona and Bruce left the kids at home this afternoon as they joined me for a paddle. We headed out from the harbour to explore the coastline. It was a good paddle with a nice selection of wildlife on route and a few seals to keep us company.
