Tues Eve: 13th Aug : Loch Oich & Laggan Canal Reach

Tues Eve: 13th Aug : Loch Oich & Laggan Canal Reach. Eight of us braved the lilly smooth conditions. Paddling from the Forestry Commission picnic site at the Well of the Seven Heads down to the lock gates at the entrance to Loch Lochy proved to be a pleasant surprise.

The A82 swing bridge at Laggan

The Allt an Lagain enters the canal

Loch Nevis - Sourlies

The latest NCC adventure was a trip to Sourlies bothy at the head of Loch Nevis. Four paddlers (Ian Mac, Colin McC, Steve G and Martine Cooper) set off from Mallaig in very calm but overcast conditions. Occasional showers eventually turned into a downpour and our lunch stop at Tarbet was a scramble to find a doorway to shelter under to avoid very soggy sandwiches. Wildlife sightings on the way out included porpoise and a very energetic seal breaching beyond the narrows at Kyles knoydart. We arrived at Sourlies about 15.30, grateful for the shelter of the bothy and the opportunity to get some gear dry for the morning and avoid the midges.

Plenty of Cetaceans around

Mandatory NCC beach lunch stop

Cameron Mcintosh's place at Tarbet

Arriving at Sourlies

A welcome shelter after the rain

A little luxury thanks to Martine

Colin chose to brave the midges in order to avoid the snoring in the bothy so pitched his tent outside. Surprisingly (or perhaps not given the forecast) no one else joined us in the bothy so we had it to ourselves. A few drams and wine accompanied by some luxury chocolates (Thanks Martine for sharing your birthday chocs!) helped to send us all off to sleep for a good nights rest.

One brave soul chose to camp

Arriving at high tide as we did hadn’t prepared us for the expedition required just to get the kayaks launched in the morning! Martine’s work carrying rocks around to repair footpaths paid huge dividends and Colin was left feeling a little inadequate as he struggled with his share of two fully laden kayaks. We returned following the north coast of Loch Nevis and encountered curious seals, an otter hunting and more porpoise along the way. The wind was a bit stronger than the Saturday and provided a little swell to deal with but nothing too challenging, and overhead was a mixture of sunny spells and spectacular cloud formations.

Best to plan to avoid low tide for launching!

Relief that the long carry is over

Passing Kyles Knoydart

We made a short stop at Inverie, just to say we’d been (the coffee shop wasn't open!)  then paddled on up the coast to find a deserted sandy beach for lunch. Most of the group missed the young white tailed eagle sitting on the point just before Mallaig harbour entrance. However all arrived back exhausted but exhilarated after a great weekends paddle, especially Martine as it was her first real kayak expedition,

Ian MacLeod 31.07.2019

Looking back to Sgurr na Ciche