#NC500 Sarah and Sam are yet more folk doing the fantastic North Coast 500. It’s becoming very popular, it’s easy to see why. On our paddle around we had some very inquisitive seals, coming up right next to our boats for a look. Towards the end of the afternoon we had a light spot of drizzle, this gave a great rainbow!
#NC500 Natasha and Chris met me in Poolewe during their journey around the North Coast 500. We paddled from just in front of Poolewe campsite and headed along the shoreline of Inverewe Garden. As we got around to Camas Glas we found some seals swimming around watching us as we watched them.
Downton Abbey star, Susie, and her husband, Chris, joined me in Gairloch for a paddle around with the seals in the sunshine. The weather was perfect (this week probably being the best week of weather all summer!) making paddling around the coastline very relaxing and nice. We had seals following us along our journey as we paddled along spotting star fish and urchins under the water.
They have had a variety of larger boats in the past, Chris was keen to get Susie out in a kayak for her to try it out before possibly getting some. We couldn’t have had a better day to help persuade her!
Innis has been coming along on some of my sessions recently to practice his paddling skills and see how I run my sessions. Today him and his dad, Robert, came paddling with me on Loch Maree. Robert grew up in the area and has always looks across to the islands as he drives the A832, today he got the chance to paddle through and around them. We had a beautiful day for it, leaving a damp and midgy Gairloch we arrived at Slaterdale in the sunshine and practically no wind at all – perfect.
Gairloch High School’s Gairloch Malawi Partnership Project had 4 Malawian youngsters and two teachers in Gairloch for a while. They were keen to do an activity with the local Explorer Scouts (which I’m one of their leaders), so we thought we’d take them canoeing. We had a great night for it, sunshine and windless. Everyone had a fantastic time splashing about and getting wet.
More pictures can be seen here.
Nicola, Libbi and Kadya joined me again, this time to paddle from Badachro. We set off quickly as they are all proficient paddlers and all had my safety briefing a matter of days before. We had a much dryer session this time, far less swimming. The coastline around here has some great patterns in the Torridonian Sandstone, so we explored along lots of the coast. As normal, seals popped up along our route to say hello.
Alan, Amanda, Thomas, Harry and Matthew met me at Gairloch Harbour with the plan of having some fun on the water. We headed out in little kayaks, practised some skills, played some games and entertained some seals. The lads had been keen to get wet throughout the session, so at the end I made sure they couldn’t get any wetter!
Nicola, Mossy, Kadya and Libbi joined me just along from the cottage that they stay in up here. I’ve been out paddling with this family for a few year now, and this trip ended up being the first of two this holiday with them. They where all keen to get wet, so at the end of the session we played some really wet games!
Today Jacqui, Andy, Hollie and Sophie joined me near the Shieldaig Lodge Hotel. We headed out onto the water in kayaks to get away from the midges. The sun was shining nicely on us, the seals came out to watch us and we had a great time paddling around – learning skills, playing games and enjoying the scenery and wildlife.
Linda and Peter met me at my house before we made the short journey down to Mellon Charles big beach. We set off in kayaks as the tide was approaching it’s lowest point. Having the tide so low relieved lots of wildlife along the shore line, we saw huge numbers of star fish above and below the waterline along with vast quantities of sea urchins stuck all over the rocks. Some seals made an appearance right at the end too, they made up for the dead one we saw earlier.
Jeremy, Rachel, Martha and Anne joined me for the afternoon paddling from Gairloch harbour. We started out in canoes before switching to kayaks, learning paddling skills in each, playing games and seeing the wildlife. Martha and Anne soon got to grips with the boats and we had flying piranhas all over the place.
Good luck with Strictly Come Dancing Jeremy!
Andrew and Angela met me in Gairloch for a session kayaking. They know the waters well from sailing around in their wayfarer dinghy, but found kayaking enabled them to get much closer to the shore line. Being in little robust boats lets us explore every nook and cranny of the rocky coastline.
Allison, Ian and William joined me for another session – the forth they’ve been on with me. There paddling skills where good, so I had a very easy session to run. We set off to see some sights, the seals didn’t disappoint and kept popping up along our journey. The one difference I noticed this year was that William wasn’t quite so keen to go in the water – must be cold, or he’s gaining some sense.
Euan and Donald had met me earlier on in the week at the Gairloch climbing wall, where I’d pushed Donald to try some tricky climbs. They were keen to get out in some boats, so we arranged a session. As normal from Badachro, we met some seals and saw plenty of jelly fish along with other sea creatures and sights.
David and Rhianne arrived for the afternoon session in Badachro. The wind died a little throughout the session, turning the water into a calm and tranquil place to be. The seal came out again to greet and watch us as we paddled along the coast.
Jane, Isabella, Christopher and Jennifer joined me in Badachro for a breezy session. We managed to find lots of sheltered spots from the breeze, enabling us to practice some strokes, play some games and see some wildlife.
Stuart and Louise joined me for a slightly early birthday present for Stuart. We had a good paddle around the coast and found a seal that wanted to be our friend. He kept swimming with us, under our boats and surfacing next to us.
