One Man And His Boat

Author: Ritchie

  • Day 4 – Traffic on the Clyde

    • Ardmore Point to North Bute
    • 43 kms

    It was taking me a little time to adjust to having so much stuff. It all went in the boat ok, but I hadn’t quite got familiar with where everything was. I felt like I was faffing a lot when getting ready this morning.

    I had my breakfast on the foreshore looking across the Clyde. I spotted the Waverley, the sea going paddle steamer, moored up behind a much less impressive cruise ship.

    Once on the water, I headed towards the “Sugar Boat”, the rusting remains of a boat wrecked on a sandbar 50 years ago. I’ve been round it before in a “Tail O’ The Bank” kayak race, but didn’t have time to look at it in any detail that time.

    Sugar Boat

    It was so calm today that I could have landed and taken a walk on its hull, but probably not wise considering the state of it.

    A windlass on the bow

    Before reaching the “Sugar Boat” I heard a radio message from the Waverley to say that it was heading out on sea trials. Great! An opportunity to get a better look at it. I wasn’t quite expecting to get as close as I did.

    The Waverley heading out past the cruise ship
    Away down the Clyde

    As I rounded the headland before Kilcreggan, I could see the Waverley again moored at the pier. Then, as I approached closer, it left the pier and sailed across my bow (I’m pretty sure the blast on its horn wasn’t targeted at me).

    Get out of my way!

    After that encounter, I was keeping a close look out and ear to the VHF to be sure I didn’t interfere with other vessels – especially the Dunoon ferries. I had the VHF on dual watch 12 (Clyde Navigation) and 16, but decided to switch to scanning all stations. The problem with this is you can’t tell which station a communication is on unless you’re looking at the radio.

    Temporary VHF positioning for getting past Dunoon.

    After Dunoon, the traffic dropped off, and the rest of the day was a lovely paddle with sunshine and light winds.

    My ideal retirement house.
    A seal getting bedded in on the ebbing tide.
    The Argyll Canoe Trail campsite at North Bute

  • Day 3 – End of the Lowland Canals

    • Kirkintilloch to Ardmore Point
    • 45 kms

    I was up early today as I had a long paddle planned and was a bit uncertain about how long the canal portages were going to take.

    Midday would be a good time to be at the end of the canal. It would allow me to take advantage of the last of the ebb on the Clyde and, more importantly, it would give Wendy time to get home for her German lesson.

    I wheeled the kayak back to the canal and was paddling again just before 6.30. My kayak was almost empty this time as Wendy was taking most of my gear to Bowling by car.

    Although the locks presented a number of challenges, having an empty kayak made all the difference. I could lower it down steep grassy banks or pull it up over concrete walls. I had brought along the plastic base from an old kari-tek trolley to use between wall and kayak that allowed the kayak to slide easily. It worked well on the two occasions I used it today.

    I completed the trip with just six portages, rather than the eleven I had feared. I managed to squeeze under all of the low bridges. One involved hanging on to the girders below the bridge and tipping my kayak on its side so that I could get my torso under – anything to avoid another exit.

    Maryhill locks. Just one railing on the ramp makes all the difference for getting the kayak turned.
    Getting back on the canal after the Maryhill locks.
    No pontoon at all at the Dalmuir drop lock.
    One of three low bridges that I could just squeeze under.
    No ramp! I had to jump from pontoon to canal verge and then pull the kayak up the bank.

    At Bowling, Wendy conjured up yet another excellent picnic lunch (courtesy of M&S), which we ate by the side of lock 38. The kayak was then loaded up in time for me to catch the last of the ebb tide. This, along with a slight easterly breeze, made for easy paddling down as far as Port Glasgow.

    Eventually, after a few ventures into shallow sand banks, I was able to cut north over to my final destination at Ardmore Point on the north bank of the Clyde.

    The Clyde at Bowling
    Dumbarton Rock and Castle
    Spreading my stuff about.
    I have the chance to upgrade to an orange boat.

  • Day 2 – Wheel and Locks

    • Falkirk to Kirkintilloch
    • 29 kms

    As soon as the sun went down yesterday evening, the temperature plummeted. It was a cold night in the tent, and there was even frost on the kayak when I awoke. Today, the sun was out again, and it started to warm up quite quickly over breakfast. I was on my way at 7.30.

    Paddle through a tunnel
    Walk through a tunnel
    Portage past a wheel

    … and then I was on to a new canal – The Forth & Clyde Canal.

    This canal runs between the Forth and Clyde rivers. It has a total of 40 locks numbered from 1 at the Forth end. The first 20 go up, there’s a long flat section, and then 20 more take you down. The Union Canal (which I’ve been on up till now) joins the Forth & Clyde Canal (via the Falkirk Wheel) between locks 16 and 17. That means I only have to get past four locks before I’m on the flat bit.

    The route between Edinburgh and Glasgow is all part of a recognised canoe/kayak trail and a certain amount of effort has been made to make the portages easier. The main one being the provision of low-level pontoons, from which it is easier to extract yourself out of your kayak and then pull the kayak out of the water. The edges of these pontoons are even covered with a thick nylon strip that allows a kayak to slide smoothly between water and pontoon (though you do need to check for raised screws first – I’ve seen several).

    Getting the boat from pontoon to canal path appears to have been less well thought out:

    The impossible right turn

    In this case, I had to put the boat back in the water and pull it straight out in line with the ramp – unfortunately, this is now the higher pontoon with no nylon strips and a mooring cleat in the way.

    When the locks were less than half a kilometre apart, it proved easier just to continue the portage rather than paddle between them.

    After lock 20 it was plain sailing (well, paddling) through some lovely countryside.

    Even the swans were chilled

    Paddling was over for the day in Kirkintilloch at 2pm. Time for a shower and a civilised night in a hotel with Wendy.

    Only 20 locks to look forward to tomorrow…

  • Day 1 – Ducklings and Cygnets

    • Edinburgh to Falkirk(ish)
    • 46kms

    What a great send-off. Getting up early enough for a 6am get-a-way goes above and beyond – even for The Team.

    The early birds

    Once at the canal, it didn’t take long to get the boat ready and in the water. As I pulled off a recorder magically sprung into David’s hands, and a fine rendition of the Skye Boat Song sent me on my way.

    Since paddling part of this section of the canal two weeks ago, it has come alive with ducklings. I must have seen 10 to 15 families in 30kms. As I approached they were always ushered into the reeds by an attentive mother and out of photo range.

    The angry Broxburn swan from two weeks ago was still in location, but this time, all I got was a hiss. I could see his mate sitting on a nest just a few metres from him.

    One pair of swans already with youngsters

    All the great photography today was done by Josh, my nephew, at the Avon Aqueduct.

    Today’s paddle at 46kms was a little longer than I’d like to do on a regular basis, but I needed to find a camping spot away from built-up areas. Thankfully I’ll make up for it with a shorter paddle tomorrow.

  • 2 days to go – Will it fit!?

    Just a short update today. As launch time gets closer, the list of things to do just seems to get longer.

    Down the hatch

    I packed things into dry bags today and went through a test packing operation in the garage. Everything appeared to get in… but there’s always those last minute things.

  • 4 days to go – Last training paddle

    Over the last four months, I have joined a group of other paddlers on regular morning training sessions. We go out three times a week at 8am for an hour and a half at Portobello beach in NE Edinburgh.

    It was just the three of us yesterday – Richard, Tina, and me – for my last session before heading off on Monday. Thanks to David, Richard, Tina, Gerry and Julie for putting me through my paces and providing company on some chilly mornings.

    It’s now time to get my boat and kit all washed, dried, sorted and packed away in a way that it will all fit in the kayak – always a daunting task.

    A few days ago I spent some time on the excellent BananaPrint website designing some cards I could use to advertise my trip. They came back yesterday, but missing a vital element. The 10 minute chat session with their support team was probably the best customer support experience I’ve had this year – Louise had me laughing with a great animated GIF with every reply. What’s more, she sorted the problem and the new cards arrived today.

    No Man, No Boat!

  • 6 days to go – SarcoidosisUK patient day

    I took a break from trip planning today. SarcoidosisUK run a Patient Day every six months where they arrange for experts in the field of sarcoidosis to present, share, and answer questions on their particular area of expertise. This is the second one I have attended, and I find them hugely beneficial.

    Today’s talk by Dr Tasanee Braithwaite on Ocular Sarcoidosis was of particular interest to me, as it was eyesight problems that ultimately led to my sarcoidosis diagnosis. It was fascinating to hear about the variety of ways that sarcoidosis can impact the different parts of the eye.

  • 8 days to go – Kilts at Bowling

    From google maps and streetview I’d been unable to work out how I was going to get from the canal to the Clyde at the end of the canal at Bowling. Normal boats just exit the last lock and sail happily on, but kayaks have to exit the canal two locks from the end and still several meters above the height of the river. In google maps all I could see were high vertical walls and impenetrable woodlands between the canal path and the Clyde.

    Another recce trip was required. Wendy and I put the bikes on the car with the idea of parking at Bowling and enjoying a leisurely cycle along the canal and a picnic in the sun. When we arrived in Bowling we were confronted with rain and thousand of happy hikers in kilts – we’d managed to time our trip to coincide with the Glasgow kiltwalk! The event marshals weren’t going to stop us cycling by the canal, but Wendy and I decided that sharing a narrow canal path with 13,000 Glaswegians was unlikely to end well, no matter how cheerful everyone was.

    On the bright side: the rain soon stopped, the kayak exit from canal to path is just a low grassy slope, and there is a rough path down through the trees from the canal path to the Clyde. Great to know that I’m not just going to have to turn round and go home when I get this far.

    Low banks and grassy slope before the final locks

    On the drive home we stopped in Kirkintilloch to look at the canal there and book a hotel for my second night out.

    Considering the large number of portages and the difficulties involved in getting the kayak in and out of the canal by myself, I have decided it is not practical (or safe) for me to do this lowland canal section of the trip with a fully loaded kayak. I’ll now take minimal supplies for the first three days. Wendy will meet me at Bowling with the rest of my kit so that I can load up before getting on the Clyde.

  • 10 days to go – kit testing

    Over the last few months I have joined a group of paddlers on regular morning paddles at Portobello. Today, however, none of the others were available. An opportunity for me to get out on my own and check that some the kit I’ll be using is working as expected.

    I haven’t used my greenland paddle for a while, but I like to take it on a trip as it provides an alternative if I’m getting any aches and pains from using my standard paddle. I gave it some love last week – sanded, oiled, and sanded again – so I was keen to see if it felt good on a short paddle.

    Surprised not to see any seals at Inchmickery

    Although I’ve been using my new trolley regularly to get the kayak to the water, I have always left it on top of the groyne to pick up when I get back from the morning paddle. Today I strapped it to the back of my kayak. I also attached my deck bag to the front deck. With the extra clobber aboard there was the possibility that it would be harder to maintain a straight course in a crosswind. However, I completed a short 10km loop round Inchmickery from Granton without being deviated by a steady F3 north easterly.

  • 12 days to go – bicycle recce of lowland canals

    Funny looking concrete creature
    Strange creature at Stockingfield junction

    Finding campsites when paddling around the Scottish coast is generally not a big problem. Canals through heavily populated central Scotland could be a different matter.

    I’ve also never paddled (or even visited) the Forth and Clyde canal. There are 40 locks on it! I need to get some idea of what challenges they’re going to present.

    I spent some time last night looking at maps and Google satellite images of areas of interest, so today, I had a clear plan on the bits I wanted to look at. After 40kms of cycling and photo taking, I have a pretty good idea of where I’m going to camp. How to get round the locks at Maryhill are a different matter. They definitely aren’t kayak friendly and will require a bit more thought.