Loch Ness Trip Report – 26-28 April 2024
By Si Harbisher
-It started with 7 signed up and eager peers, ready to take on the majestic Loch Ness and it ended with three determined explorers having a lovely weekend.
Day1
Two members met in a not so secret carpark in Dores, paddler three was significantly delayed. After some deliberation and logistics discussion, it was decided that we would cross out plan A and plan B and head to our “hobbit pod” located in Foyers as plan C.1.
Having unloaded, deliberated, some logistics and some further deliberation, the two paddlers launched some three hours later than planned for a wonderful evening paddle north in flat calm waters.
We passed Foyers power station and wondered if Nessie was perhaps employed on an underwater treadmill these days, providing power to the local area….
Noting a convenient table and chair setup on lovely beach, we returned to camp to find our third paddler waving happily from the slipway – 7ish KM.
After dinner and a quick consult we agreed on Fort Augustus as our car shuttle starting point for Saturday with a 10:00 target for OTW at FA. Multiple forecasts suggested a Southerly wind would provide an assist back to camp and we returned to our Pods confident that we had a plan…
Day2
Saturday started well and after some deliberation, a standoff with a local driver and a decision not to risk pontoons, we agreed to launch at a layby next to some boat wrecks just west of Cherry Island.
A stunning calm paddle across the breadth of the loch followed by a growing wind assist and we progressed much more quickly than expected northwards along the East shoreline. It was noticeable how little birdsong could be heard from the ScotsPine monoculture along the shoreline for quite a while but this was soon replaced by a better variety of trees and our ears where filled with the sounds of wrens, robins, tits and Jackdaws.
A highlight of the trip was a close encounter with two birds of prey circling our kayaks which (arguably) were Kestrels…
We returned to camp far earlier than expected, collected our shuttle car and enjoyed a delicious dinner at Dores Inn. Big thanks to the Des for driving! Distance approx 20KM
Day3
The Etapi cycle race meant all access to the campsite was closed on Sunday and so, with a strong Northerly we launched into the wind aiming to paddle for a couple of hours and see how things went. As we progressed, the cold wind grew stronger and we started to experience some very frequent waves, progress was slow but we reached Inverfarigaig, sheltered from the wind, ate lunch and agreed that none of us could pronounce our location. With the wind at our backs and concentration faces fully engaged, we returned to camp. Distance approx 8KM.
Lessons learned, “they are not swifts they are swallows”, “it isn’t Brush its Gorse”…when the till systems are down, only cakes can be purchased for cash…
A fantastic, chilled out weekend, thanks to Louisa Newby for organising and pushing ahead despite various cancellations. We missed our fellow paddlers but enjoyed a weekend of making the most of it.
