alcoons Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Can anyone give advice on paddling Scotland next summer? Would like a 5+ night organized trip. Level 3. Enjoy camping. Looking for great scenery, safety, competent guides, and good equipment. Not looking for epic long challenging days. Not looking for anything fancy - wine, gourmet food, helicopter delivery of the NY Times, etc. Willing to do my share of the work such as putting up camp, helping cook or clean up, etc. I have been looking online and there seems to a mind boggling set of wonderful locations.Which area(s).Which company(s)?What might I need to know?Also would not mind hiking after or before. Have not been to Scotland before.Thanks for any advice,Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lallen Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Al, check out Gordon Brown in Skye. Have not paddled there yet, but have heard good things. Other NSPNers have paddled there with him, and can undoubtedly give you more details/personal experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prudenceb Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Years ago I did a solo walking tour in the Outer Hebrides - Lewis, Harris, N. Uist etc. I wasn't a kayaker back then, but in rambling over the islands, I was struck by the incredible beauty of the water - white sand beaches and blue green water. As Lorrie suggest, Skye is nice as well, in the Inner Hebrides. I've fantasized about paddling there, so if/when you go, hopefully you'll let us know your experience.pru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suz Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Can anyone give advice on paddling Scotland next summer? Would like a 5+ night organized trip. Level 3. Enjoy camping. Looking for great scenery, safety, competent guides, and good equipment. Not looking for epic long challenging days. Not looking for anything fancy - wine, gourmet food, helicopter delivery of the NY Times, etc. Willing to do my share of the work such as putting up camp, helping cook or clean up, etc. I have been looking online and there seems to a mind boggling set of wonderful locations. Which area(s). Which company(s)? What might I need to know? Also would not mind hiking after or before. Have not been to Scotland before. Thanks for any advice, Al Group of us went over in Sept 2006 and did training with Gordon Brown on Isle of Skye. We did camp for a couple of nights while paddling but mainly we were in a lovely cottage. I'm sure that if you contact Gordon and let him know what you are looking to do, he will arrange for you based on your needs. Nice thing is that he has decent boats. Recommend planning to bring your own camping gear and paddling gear, including paddles. You could either ship ahead or pay extra for your suitcase. I remember one campsite were we set up the tent on a bed of heather - what a great place to sleep. Careful what you choose to use for bags as we found the hard sided bags are particularly difficult to get into small rental cars - we were four in the car and we rented a large vehicle and barely fit. If just two of you, less of an issue. We flew into Inverness and spent the day traveling to Skye. Definitely plan your meals well and pick up any supplies prior to getting to Skye where the groceries are more limited. For our camping, we just brought dehydrated meals and did the boil and eat - not my favorite way of eating but it allowed for us to bring less gear on the plane. We brought jet boil stoves only and purchased the canisters on route. Scotland you can camp just about anywhere. For info: http://walking.visitscotland.com/usefulinfo/wild-camping Suz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alcoons Posted October 23, 2011 Author Share Posted October 23, 2011 Thanks for all the great feedback so far. Much appreciated.Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzert Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 Hi Al, I have a copy of Scottish Sea Kayak Trail you're welcome to borrow. Barry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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