Sea kayak

Taylor Canoe & Kayak

The Taylor’s where staying in Loch Ewe Cottage in Mellon Charles and had seen one of my adverts and noticed my canoe trailer at home. Linda wandered across one evening to see if she could book some paddling. I was able to fit her in and we chose to paddle from the beach a few hundred metres from here and their cottage.

They all knew what they where doing, so Colin and Linda opted for a canoe whilst Alasdair and Keith chose to try something new and paddle sea kayaks. It turned out that Colin was a marine biologist, so instead of me showing them the sights he showed us what lay beneath us.

Their was one creature that I had never seen before (and promptly forgot what it is called…), anyway here’s a poor picture of it

Howat Kayak

Chris and Lynne where staying in Mellon Charles on their travels so they thought it would be good to get out paddling to see things from a different level. We paddled from my local beach, and only a few hundred metres from where they where staying at Tranquility B&B.

It turns out Chris is also a scout leader, and in fact knows Rose and Jim (scout leaders) that I took out paddling a couple of weeks ago! We paddled around the rocky shoreline, spotting lots of jelly fish.

Fingland Kayak

David and Norma are regulars to the area, David has been coming up since he was a child to their family cottage by Aultbea. Since we’d been having a fantastic week of weather with practically no winds their little wayfarer dinghy wasn’t much use so they decided to come out in some kayaks.

We set out from their cottage and paddled along the coastline, getting used to the boats and practising some skills. Despite donning wetsuits from the start neither fell in and they both handled the boats well. They liked just how close in you can get in kayaks, fitting through the smallest gaps to see what’s hidden along the coastline.

Elliott/McIlwhan Kayak

Rose and Jim wanted to get out for a bit of kayaking to see the scenery from a different angle and hopefully see some wildlife.

It was a glorious day, so the scenery was, as ever up here, outstanding. We had a good paddle along from Poolewe, Jim getting back into the swing of it all and building his confidence in the boat.

On our return towards Poolewe we where followed by a seal, inquisitive as ever to what we where up to in his territory.

Myatt Kayak

David and daughter Frances have been coming to the area for many years, generally staying at Sands campsite just north from Gairloch. They normally paddle their kayaks from the beach at Sands, but this year they wanted a trip elsewhere.

They both demonstrated good paddling skills so I knew I was in for an easy trip. With bright sunshine and a light wind we had a relaxing afternoon, enjoying the peace and beauty that Wester Ross has to offer.

A nip to the shop

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, so I thought I’d put up a few pictures.

I only had a few things to do today, one of them being nipping to the shop. Would have been daft to drive on such a nice day.

Aultbea Stores across the millpond like water.

The mountains south towards Torridon, snow covered and inviting.

An Teallach to the east, not the most rugged looking from this angle but we know it is really.

A spot of wild life watching on route – just a spot though.

Gentle paddling back home to Mellon Charles, a lovely little paddle out for milk and bread. I’ll have to find an excuse to nip to the shop tomorrow!

Wester Ross can be fantastic at this time of the year, not just the summer time.