Sophie and Dai were driving around the #NC500 for their honeymoon, they found time to see a bit of Wester Ross from the water level. I’m not sure I can think of a better thing to do on your honeymoon! They live in a village not far from where I grew up, down by the Ridgeway.
Sarah, Dom, Gracie, Toby, Olly and Lucy met me for a lively energetic trip around the craggy scenic coastline from Gairloch harbour.
Iain, Sue, Alex and Katie came out for a paddle from Gairloch. The eagle eyed amongst you might notice one of my woolly hats on someone, obviously he didn’t fall in….
Shona and David came out on beautifully calm day. The sea kayaks glided across the mirror like water, the only ripples caused by the seals swimming around watching us.
Rachel, Michael, Leon and Mathilda met me at Gairloch for a fun session on the water kayaking around the craggy coastline.
John, Finn, Archie, Hamish and Luke joined me for what I guessed at the start was going to be a very very wet session. It was, Finn probably spent almost as much time in the water as he did on his boat! I lost count of how many times they swam, one thing for sure is that they’re all great at self rescue now – I wasn’t going to be rescuing them all the time, far too much danger of being dragged in!
Yet more customers come back for another year, this time it was Holger, Christiane, Terina, Adrien, Andrew and Iain that came out in the sunshine to paddle with me. It was another great session ending with Andrew and Iain getting very very wet!
David, Susan and Erynn came out with me again today for another great session a year on from the last. David didn’t get on too well with the sitting position of the kayak last time so he jumped in the front of a canoe with me whist Susan and Erynn paddled themselves around in kayaks.
Gavin, Morven, Angus, Ailsa and Isla are were in the area again so couldn’t resist coming out for another session with me. We had nicer weather this year and nobody swam accidentally this time!
Neil had recently bought a kayak and wanted to refresh his skills and get it paddling well. We spent a good amount of time chatting about kit so that he’ll be able to keep himself safe when he’s out on the water. By the end of the session he was getting his kayak to go where he wanted it to, not so easy with a boat that wants to spin like a roundabout!
I had been due to be paddling with Neil the day before but had to cancel as I was out on the hill with the MR team, so thanks Neil for being flexible and able to slot into the next day.
When Neil’s in the area he spends most of his time down at the harbour manning the Glendale boat hire office, you can hire small motor boats to explore the area.
Brothers Ken and John came for a paddle this afternoon. We had a relaxing paddle around the craggy coastline to a little beach for a brew before heading back to the slip way.
Richard, Kelly and Cale met me today in Gairloch along with their friends in their own kayaks, Jacqui and Gary. The sun was out for most of the time as we paddled around the coastline searching for urchins, star fish and seals.
Alistair, Shona, Alice and Peter joined me for a damp morning on the water. Despite the rain and midges we had a great morning. I assessed Peter on his Cubs paddle sports stage 1 badge, obviously he passed perfectly. I’m sure if there was a Guide badge for Alice she’d have passed too.
The fantastic sunshine continued into the afternoon as sisters Corinne, Winnie and Lia joined me. We had a relaxing paddle whilst basking in the heat of the summers day. It was even nice enough for a bit of swimming from our brew break beach!
Jon, Lesley, Erin and Eilidh came for a paddle with me on a beautifully sunny day. Jon brought his own boat with him as he’s getting into sea kayaking. It was probably the nicest day so far this year – hot and wind free, lovely paddling conditions!
Tricia, James, Louise and Andrew met me on a breezy day near the Shieldaig Lodge Hotel. Despite the wind we had a great session paddling around the loch.
Kerry and Alan met me in the glorious sunshine for a good time on the water. We were able to relax as we paddled around the coastline in search of sea life. The seals kept watching us as we looked for star fish, sadly this trip we didn’t get a great view of a star fish (one was sat below us but well hidden at one point) but we did see plenty of urchins and seals.
Claire and Olivia met me on a sunny Wednesday morning for a fun session paddling. We had a great time learning how to paddle the kayaks and seeing the sights whilst playing games. The seals made their normal appearance to watch us as we watched them.