Just a short update today. As launch time gets closer, the list of things to do just seems to get longer.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I’ll be starting my journey on May 5th, a Monday bank holiday. As today is also a bank holiday it seemed like a good day to test out the portage from my home to the canal – a distance of about 1 mile through the normally busy West End of Edinburgh.
I had prepared the kayak last night and it was sitting on the trolley in the garage ready to go, so I didn’t need to get up too early. I headed off at 6am with the trolley making a little more noise on the cobbles than I would have liked. Once round the first corner on to the pavement it quietened down and the rest of the walk to the canal went without incident. The few early runners and dog walkers around at that time didn’t bat an eyelid at the sight of a kayak being pulled through town.
The kayak was only lighted loaded with the few things I needed for a three hour paddle, but I’m fairly confident the route I’ve chosen will still be manageable with a fully loaded kayak.
I was hoping to be on the water by 7am so was pleasantly surprised to be fifteen minutes early when I took the first paddle stroke.
With no wind or rain I decided to forgo a cag and it felt good to be paddling along unrestricted in just a t-shirt and buoyancy aid. I’ve paddled on the Union Canal a few times but this is my first outing on this section through Edinburgh. It’s all familiar territory though as I’ve cycled it often and ran the tow path regularly when training for my one and only marathon in 2017.
The three hour paddle went without incident until I approached Broxburn. I’d encountered a few swans throughout the morning and they’d mostly ignored me or got a little upset before turning as I got alongside them. The one in Broxburn had a different attitude. It took a very aggressive posture as I came up behind it but then appeared to accept the fact that I was going faster and slowed down as I went past. However, once I was twenty yards ahead I heard its wings beating and as I glanced behind it was heading straight towards me. I pointed the end of my paddle at it and it sunk down on the water just a metre away. I paddled on but the swan decided I was still infringing on its territory and it chased me a second time. This continued for a good few hundred metres before it finally felt it had chased me far enough away. I just hope it’s in a better mood in two weeks’ time… or will all the swans be grumpy by then!?
I finished the paddle in the rain and was thankful to see Wendy with the car at the prearranged meeting point.
One Man And His Boat 