Like the Hillwalking thread, I think it’s worth having a paddling thread.

It seems lots of us canoe/kayak/SUP/SOT here. It’s nice to see what everyone gets upto.

I’ll kick off with a lovely paddle most of the length of Loch Voil, through the narrows and up into Loch Doine. 25*c, barely a breath of wind, and the north shore looking more like a Spanish beach.
A lovely way to spend our 27th wedding anniversary.

Ooh, I’ll join this one – just back from an outstanding holiday in Pembrokeshire, and got to SUP at Broadhaven South; the photos are rubbish (from a cheapie go pro copy camera!) but I did nearly 8k in two trips that day, in and out of the rocks and caves, and out to sea a bit, going round Church rock. It was amazing, loved it!

If i had a Camera i could show you pics of an inquisitive seal pup that was happy for me to pass about 5 meters away out the back of the sandbar on Hayling Island
Plus the ( i think) blond rays that were skimming along in very shallow water.
3rd go out on the lidl Isup and getting the hang of catching little waves and not having them roll under the board

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Keep ’em coming… 👍

Got our town’s annual raft race tomorrow in aid of the RNLI. Today was spent building the raft.

🤞 It stays together, it’s held with big cable ties which are quite brittle, had loads from the packet fail on us when tightening.

Down the Spey a couple of weeks ago

THere wasn’t much water then. It’ll be even more bony now!

Testing to see if this image posts….

Dammit, still can’t share directly from iCloud. Is Imgur still the go to? We just had a lovely few days paddling the Wye from Hay to Hoarwithy. Was very hot, and a bit shallow in places, but lovely none-the-less.

@scotroutes – would love to hear more about the Spey, that is on our list of rivers to paddle.

Sadly my 1975 Christmas present kayak went to the tip last week, so might seek inspiration here for a replacement.

In the meantime this was my paddling from yesterday.

Testing to see if this image posts….

Dammit, still can’t share directly from iCloud. Is Imgur still the go to?

Posting images on Singletrack forum using Postimage

On the way to a well known North Wales sea kayaking destination, last Sunday

Beautiful week in the highlands recently. Lots of walking but did manage to steal a couple of short paddles on the sup.
Bit windy on the lochs for sup to be honest but great to be out.

Me and Harold had a short trip around an island on Loch Leven. Paddling back into the headwind was a mission. Had to be on my knees and the waves were scaring the dog so he was locked back into me as tight as he could! Made paddling very difficult 😂

Seal island

Then back on ‘Shakespeare’s Avon’ this weekend. I’ve been paddling sections of it from source to Severn when I can, and although I’ve got a little bit left from Rugby to Warwick when river levels come up a bit, yesterday I paddled from Eckington bridge to when the Avon joins the Severn at Tewkesbury, so having paddled everything from Warwick to the Severn, that’s all of the ‘navigable’ Avon done.

Absolutely stunning paddle and made even better by sleeping in a ditch, or ‘wild camping’ as the kids are calling it, right next to the river upstream of Eckington bridge. 😊👌

Paddling at dusk to find a camp spot by the river

5am and packing up to beat the heat, and also because my sleeping mat has a puncture!

Getting on the river at 5.45am with my gear

Eckington bridge. Stunning and serene at 6am

Sun rising over Bredon Hill

The majestic M5

Bit of wake action

Floating into Tewkesbury

Borough Flour Mill in Tewkesbury.
Amazing building and totally on the wonk

The very end of the river Avon as it flows into the mighty Severn

Crossing the official painted line where the Avon ends and the Severn continues

Dragon pedelo in Upper Lode locks on the Severn. They were doing a charity pedelo down the Severn

My finish at Lower Lode picnic spot***

Strava or it didn’t happen

***Weird thing happened here. I was sat on the landing platform of Cheltenham boat club on river left. Had my board in front of me and my feet on it about a foot or so below the landing platform.
I then crossed the river for a cold drink at the Lode Inn(non-alcoholic)
When I came back across the river, the landing stage was submerged, the river level having come up maybe 2 feet.
I can’t explain this. It’s not tidal there* and the river is massive wide, no way the lock above could do that.
Any ideas?

*Edit – Just read that the Severn can have a tidal reach as far as Tewkesbury, so it must be that. Woah…

Another from Pembrokeshire, off Newgale. Unbelievable to see the water this calm just off one of the best surfing beaches in the UK!

Thanks @kayak23

A few pics from our Wye trip last week.

Had my first go on a SUP today. Hooked and want to buy one for the canal, local rivers and occasional trips to the coast. I wasn’t great at standing as I’m used to being sideways as opposed to face on. Definitely need to start researching and saving now.

Awesome pics!

A few from the other side of the pond . . .

Nice pond ^^^ 😊👍

☺️ Counting down till we go back

Love these pics. Haven’t got any to post as have been leaving my phone in a pouch, but had a few lovely paddles recently on my SUP. Really enjoying it

Had planned a paddle out to a pontoon yesterday with my daughter but the wind and extra weight was making it hard work. Moored up by a buoy instead and spent a while jumping in and swimming around. The return leg was a piece of cake with the benefit of a tailwind, wasn’t even that strong a wind really! SUPing isn’t particularly streamlined. But daughter loved being able to swim around with the aid of a buoyancy aid, gave her so much more confidence in the water (she can swim without a BA)

*Edit – Just read that the Severn can have a tidal reach as far as Tewkesbury, so it must be that. Woah…

Iirc the Severn has the second biggest tidal range in the world, a friend of mine surfs the Severn bore whenever he can, does crazy distances!

This thread is very timely, finally got myself a packraft and just in time for the amazing weather this weekend! Wish I’d got one years ago (like my friend kept telling me to)

Can’t get the images to post but had a lovely little paddle down the Medway this evening. Tonbridge down towards Yalding. First time out in an inflatable 2 person kayak my wife bought me for my birthday.

Lovely bit of kit and now trying to work out how I can combine it with cycling. I think probably use the kiddie trailer to carry the kayak somewhere is the way to go

I’m not very confident in water and can barely swim but these are great photos. Almost  makes me want to jump in the river Severn which is next to our campsite…. almost but not quite

I’m such a wuss

Mrs Kilo kayaking on Lough Currane . Nice easy day and went around a few of the islands there.

https://photos.google.com/u/1/photo/AF1QipNPH9L26P-Cu55HvIgK-1im5KsPmp26iqbzr3w4
Can’t get it to post a picture!

Took my daughter & her boyfriend on their first SUP & was treated to a lovely sunset at the end.

Yesterday at Broad Haven it was windless and absolutely flat, a perfect day for paddleboarding. Once the tide had come in late in the evening I paddled around to Little Haven, the longest paddle I’ve done, stopping in to go into the cave on the headland which was also a first. Looking out at the sunset over still water was magical, but I didn’t take my phone as I hadn’t planned on going that far. So no pics 🙁

In the haar on the Moray firth before Sundays thunderstorm

*Edit – Just read that the Severn can have a tidal reach as far as Tewkesbury, so it must be that. Woah…

Bear in mind that the tide has several effects. There’s the actual tide coming into the estuary. Then there’s the surge resulting from it being squeezed into the mouth of the river. Then unless there’s a weir it’s effectively blocked the mouth of the river so you’re slowing the whole river down. If it’s a gentle gradient this will cascade back upstream quite a considerable distance. The Thames was officially tidal upto where the M25 crosses it west of London until they put the locks in at Teddington. The saltwater doesn’t make it anywhere near that far, but you still get a range as the river speeds up and slows down.

Tidal parts of the Wye are pretty impressive, no doubt a result of all that water being squeezed.

I got very confused when I first started going to London because I’d think I was on one side of the river and then I’d look at it and see it flowing the other direction which made me think I must be on the other side. Didn’t realise how fast it flows inland when the tide comes in.

Bear in mind that the tide has several effects. There’s the actual tide coming into the estuary. Then there’s the surge resulting from it being squeezed into the mouth of the river. Then unless there’s a weir it’s effectively blocked the mouth of the river so you’re slowing the whole river down. If it’s a gentle gradient this will cascade back upstream quite a considerable distance.

I can understand the effects the tide has, but it was more the speed of it that got me thinking I’d imagined sitting on the landing stage that was now underwater just ten minutes earlier… 🤔

Some outstanding pictures up there ^^.

Here are a few pics from an overnighter with my son at the end of May on Loch Duntelchaig just South of Inverness. The outbound trip into the wind and rain had us very nearly nearly admitting defeat and turning back. I’m glad we didn’t as the conditions the next morning were stunning.

An evening paddle on the River Weaver near Warrington back in March.

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Sunset at New Brighton last year

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View post on imgur.com

Do windpaddles count?

North Uist

(There are two packrafts on that wee beach, honest!)

Loch Mullardoch in the next glen North above Glen Affric.

First trip there for my son and I. There couldn’t have been much less water in the loch, its part of a hydro electric scheme so the water must have been released recently to generate electricity. The black mud in this picture was soft enough to push my paddle into right up to the top of the shaft:

My shipmate standing at what would be the normal water level:

I think we’ll return in the Spring when hopefully the water level is back up again.

<img src=”https://postimg.cc/zy0M2Jgc&#8221; altaftwernoon paddling on the Dee
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**** it. The full page add that pops up when I try to post makes it impossible to do a proper post.

Mullardoch and Loch Beinn a’ Mheadhoin are on ‘the list’ for a long weekend at half term…

Mullardoch and Loch Beinn a’ Mheadhoin are on ‘the list’ for a long weekend at half term…

This was Loch Beinn a’ Mheadhoin in Oct ’20 after weeks of rain and perhaps a top up from Mullardoch:

It was full to the brim!

Timely resurrection of this thread – was packrafting in the Lakes this weekend. A few of us paddled Crummock Water on Friday night, Buttermere on Saturday, and back down both on Sunday, camping overnight. A few pics:

One of the best photos I took was of some other paddlers on Saturday morning:

Spot on. 👍