About this trip

This epic journey is certainly one of Scotland’s most finest to paddle in an open boat!

Not many trips in the UK offer such variety and distance by linking bodies of water all of which are unique and beautiful.  For any canoe adventurer and wilderness enthusiast this trip is a must do!

Route description

The route begins high on the Rannoch Moor 300m above sea level. About 9 miles north of The Bridge of Orchy on the A82 the road travels through incredibly vast landscape void of any evidence of humans expect for the road. Here the road comes alongside Loch Ba where the trip begins.

Leaving the road behind you start linking several Lochs together through a maze of stunning islands and rivers. This is without a doubt the most remote section of the trip, a truly amazing way to start a journey, you soon feel like you might not even be on this planet anymore.

As you journey over the 5 days paddlers link a variety of different river sections from gentle flows and scenic views to raging rapids requiring inspection, skill and portage!

The rivers along the way include Abhainn Ba, Garbh Ghaoir, Gaur and 4 different sections of the Tummel. The Lochs vary in size from the mighty Loch Laidon, Loch Rannoch (16km long) & Loch Tummel, to the smaller yet sometimes even more beautiful lochs of Dunalistair & Faskally. Towards the end of the trip the A9 eventually comes into sight as you reach Pitlochry and a chance for a well-deserved pub dinner, beer or hot chocolate before dropping into the final section of the Tummel and heading for Ballinluig; the end destination.

What to expect 

Through the wilderness, lochs and rivers of this journey you are required to navigate the waters using a variety of canoe skills. The winds play the most crucial deciding factor on this trip, with either westerly winds required or gentle breeze from other directions. The trip follows the watershed which heads east throughout the wholetrip. Nothing more satisfying than a tail wind to hoist the sails on this trip!  The amount of water in the rivers will also play a large role during the trip, as you learn and implement the tactics and techniques to move your boat through the rivers with some rapids requiring certain portage. Sometimes the rivers are low and careful lining, poling and tracking techniques can be used to negotiate the shallow waters.  Other times a slide and shove of the boats over the marsh grass can be a more effective way to move the canoe around obstacles. If the rivers are up and safe to paddle, they can offer a fantastic challenging paddle with some truly epic rapids. All the harder sections of river on this trip are challenge by choice which is the beauty of this journey.

What’s included?

Coaching and Guiding – Liam & Emy will be your coach’s and guides throughout this journey. The aim of this expedition is to help you improve your canoe skills from open water sailing, river running, trad skills and portaging to expert tips on campcraft, boat outfitting and packing your canoe. During the trip we will ensure you are at the heart of the decision-making processes, discussing options and tactics together as a team. For us is this such a crucial part of any successful expedition. By sharing and including everyone in this process we aim to help you leave with a deeper understanding and confidence in your own ability to plan and execute such trips.

The most important part of this trip is that everyone is safe and enjoying themselves. As we cannot control the weather this can sometimes mean that alterations to the length and nature of this journey cannot be controlled. This means that our finish point can sometimes vary. In some cases, the weather may even dictate that we need to change our route completely. Should this happen, we will discuss alternative options with the group, of which there are many!

Shuttle – Depending on numbers and meeting points we will organise a lift from fort William or Bridge of Orchy to the start and then shuttle back from the point at which we end the trip to Fort William. Numbers, boats and timing will all affect the shuttle organisation and will be organised closer to the time.  Due to the nature of the shuttle for this journey, there will be additional cost which will be confirmed and split between everyone evenly closer to the time.

Pre trip departure there will be a zoom / google meet where you will meet your two guides and the rest of the clients joining the trip. This pre trip meeting will give you an opportunity to voice any questions and discuss our trip together as a team and come feeling fully prepared for a real adventure!

Post trip you will be sent a link to download all trip photography that the guides will be taking throughout the expedition.

Equipment hire of items and kit can be arranged – Please refer to the Kit list and recommendations at the bottom

Trip Grading, is this trip for me?

This trip is set up for the canoeist with previous experience and is our most advanced canoe journey entailing large bodies of open water, white water paddling rivers up to grade 3 where portaging, paddling and other traditions skills will be required to negotiate sections of river. The journey also will also require a certain level of fitness as portages of up to 4km on tarmac or forestry track are a part of this journey.

As part of this Journey we are here to coach and support you throughout and help improve a wide variety of your canoe skills. From running challenging rapids & sailing open waters, to how to get that portage trolley set up and make those portages feel as cruisy as possible!

To get the most out of this trip we recommend:

•  Comfortable on grade 2 white water – be able to move your boat around in some grade 2 rapids e.g. catch eddies, speed up, slow down and ferry glide (grade 3 stuff is all avoidable if you don’t fancy it)
•  Experience using a portage trolley (See our instructional video for tips and help then practice at home)
•  Happy with wild camping for 4 nights with little to no amenities
•  Solo paddlers should be comfortable paddling up to 20km a day
•  Be able to pack light for expedition (see our instructional video for tips and help then practice at home)
•  Have a sailing rig fitted to your boat and have set this up before (see our instructional video for tips and help)

The videos will be uploaded to our greenwaveguiding YouTube channel –

https://www.youtube.com/@Greenwaveguiding 

If you are unsure please get in touch with us either on our socials or email us at [email protected]

Kit List Requirements

Below is a suggested kit list for the trip.  Items are split in essential and recommended.  If there are items of equipment that you do not have, these can be provided and rented at an additional cost; equipment marked with * are available for rental.

Essential:

Canoe with airbags or floatation blocks & 5m Bow & Stern Line*

Buoyancy Aid*

Paddle (plus spare) *

White Water Paddling Helmet*

Barrell / Dry Bags* suggestion – 1 x 80/100 litre dry bag or barrel with items in smaller dry bags inside this.  Ideally the barrel or dry bag should have shoulder straps for easy carrying. You could have one smaller dry bag (20litre max) as a day bag to carry food and have stuff easily accessible through the day. Remember you have to carry all this!

Swim line (20m floating line minimum)

Paddling Shoes (Something with a solid sole and ideally ankle support NO BOOTIES)

Kneeling Mat & Bailer*

Paddle Clothing & Waterproofs

Tent, Inflatable Roll Mat & Season 3 Sleeping Bag

Camping Stove & Gas / Cooking Utensils + Plate / Bowl / Coffee Mug

Food: 5 Lunches, 4 Breakfast & 4 Dinner + Snacks

Water Container (min 2L bottles) + flask (additional drinks optional)

Footwear – Trainers for road sections and camp (light running trainers or trail shoes are ideal)

Spare Clothes – merino / technical base layers, thick socks

Warm Jacket for wearing around camp area ( synthetic jackets are excellent are super light, warm and pack very small)

Head Torch plus spare batteries or charger cable

Warm Hat & Gloves (plus spare gloves)

Lightweight towel & toiletries

Recommended:

Dry Trousers & Cag or Drysuit (weather depending)

Sail (solo or downwind sail rig)*

Personal First Aid Kit

Water Purification Tablets

Camping Chair ( lightweight packable )

Suncream, Sunglasses & Peaked cap (it can be sunny)

Portable Charging Device

Camera

Spare Bags for Wet Kit

A particular snack, treat or drink that doesn’t weigh much but really makes you happy!

Trip Highlights

Journey using a multitude of different traditional canoe skills on one of Scotland’s most remote open boat expeditions

Experience paddling on white water up to grade 3

Learn and improve traditional canoe skills such as lining, poling, portage and sailing

Develop your paddling skills and receive coaching from two expert canoe guides & qualified coaches.

Become a more independent paddler and gain new experience to help you feel ready to go on your own adventures.

Post trip – receive a link to download photos from your journey to have as memories from the 5-day expedition.

Additional Information

Due to the the nature of this trip certain weather conditions may dictate that the route needs to be altered or changed completely to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the group which is paramount to our guides and coaches. Should this be necessary we will ensure an open dialogue is kept with the group and coaches leading up to the trip.

If it is unsafe to run the trip and the alternative options are not to possible we will ensure a full refund is given. For any questions relating to this don’t hesitate to get in touch.

See calendar for course dates!