Caithness – The gift that keeps on giving.

By Amanda GrantNo Comments
DCKC NE Coast Trip Report 26-29 June 2026 - Caithness - the gift that keeps on giving.                                                                                                                                                         Amanda G.At last, a trip to NE coast of Scotland coincided with good weather and a big thumbs up for 3 days paddling in an area famous for caves, sea stacks and seabirds. All was completely new to me. I have driven upon the A9 en-route to JoG, Shetland & Orkney and cycled parts of it on trips to the flow country and beyond, but never paddled there....
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2nd Saturday Paddle 11th July ’26

By Amanda GrantNo Comments
2nd Saturday Paddle 11th July 2026 - Balloch to Inchmurrin, Inchcaillach for lunch. Then south to shore near Portnellan farm and back to Balloch.  Leigh E. Lead by Sandy - Paddlers: Hannah, Mags, Siubhan, James, Zoe, Leigh. Originally planned as a jaunt from Helensburgh on to Kilcreggan and as far as we could get up Loch Long - the winds changed Sandy's plans and so the paddle was moved to Loch Lomond. Beaufort 3 westerly winds, with stronger gusts and the odd white horse appearing. Grey skies and about 20 deg C. We set off from the River Leven, up the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, crossing to Inchmurrin. The wind and waves made for an entertaining choppy paddle, keeping everyone alert - and me smiling. We had a brief stop at the north-eastern tip of Inchmurrin for a break and a nibble of food. The women chatted about relief zips - the conclusion was reached - 'men have it easy'. Zoe explained we were on...
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All Awayday to Loch Ard. Tuesday 30/6/26

By Amanda GrantNo Comments
DCKC All Awayday to Loch Ard. Tuesday 30/6/26 James H. Amanda was the trip organiser matching people who needed a kayak transported with those that had space on their vehicle but with constantly changing communications on people going or not going. - now understand why trip organisers ask for a week’s notice from people going on trips. The great certainty of the day was rain with the uncertainty being how heavy and when. I had rain on my drive up from Glasgow but as I unloaded my car the cloud over the Loch went from completely overcast to broken. By the time the boats were on the edge of the loch surrounding landscape was mirrored on a completely flat wind-free loch. Picture-perfect Scotland! Rain started not long after we were on the water and stopped within minutes and that was the last rain until I was in my car on the way home. Amanda did the briefing outlining the route going anticlockwise round the edge...
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Mingulay, Barra Head and the Uists, 14-24 August 2025

Mingulay, Barra Head and the Uists, 14-24 August 2025

By James Fraser Comment Closed
Words and Images By Paul Gardner A trip to Mingulay has been on the DCKC calendar for several years, but weather has always resulted in cancellation, or moving the trip to less exposed locations.  However, this time it worked: a forecast for settled weather, at least for long enough to make it worthwhile getting the ferry across to Castlebay on Barra. On day 1, nine people made the ferry journey in three cars and a van, arriving in Castlebay in the afternoon, with plenty daylight left to drive to Vatersay, pack up and paddle a few km to a beach campsite on the south coast.  Far enough to make sure you packed properly and didn’t forget anything, and near enough for one person to walk back to the car to collect their trousers. On day 2, we followed the chain of now-uninhabited islands south: Sandray, Pabbay and at last Mingulay, landing on a perfect beach.  We were greeted by the NTS warden Ben,...
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Kilcreggan Trip Report – Dearbhla Mulligan

By Amanda Grant Comment Closed
On the second Saturday in December, 7 of us met at Kilcreggan pier for what was to be a very successful day of paddling. After a 6am start and a dark stop off at Balloch we were spoiled with a gorgeous sunrise on the beach. While loading our boats, there was lots of trepidatious chat about cold fingers and toes. I was told by those who’d been on the Bonfire paddle two days earlier that neoprene gloves were not the answer, and Misha pointed me to an article in last month's Craic’n about keeping hands toasty on the water. We set off with two objectives in mind: firstly, to see as many of the nice houses along the shore as we could; and secondly, to try and spot the police boat keeping an eye on us as we approached Coulport. With Amanda and Ewen taking turns at the front, we were not disappointed. Shouts of “seal” from Ryan alerted us to...
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River Nith

By admin Comment Closed
What a great Sunday on the river for most , in the river for some! After a scenic drive through the Leadhills we arrived at the Glen Airlie Picnic Site put in, set up the shuttle to Drumlanrig Bridge and got on the river . First prize to bailoutboater - now you know where the forum / blog post name comes from. A good level of water meant that the rapids came in quick succession breaking us in (or eddy out) for the approaching gorge section. Here we had to have a wee look first before running safely. In the gorge section we came across two chaps panning for gold, if ah had known there was gold in them their river, I would have looked closer when upside down. Some skilful paddling at the pour over and a very technical tricky chicken run at the same spot. The day ended with a demonstration of spectacular seal launching. The paddlers in no...
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Lochranza Arran Trip, April 2012

By dckc kayak club Comment Closed
This trip happened over the weekend of the 14/15 of April. In total, 15 club members turned up for this trip away, some members were opting to take the Bus to the Hostel, others walking. The majority paddled up from Brodick to the Hostel in Lochranza. Others paddled from different locations such as Largs via the Kyle’s of Bute to Lochranza or from Portencross direct to Lochranza, such were the options!!! The weather was kind us overall, although paddling up from Brodick some might disagree with this point with a steady Force 3-4 in our faces coupled with low temperatures made this paddle a bit more of a challenge. There was also a Naval exercise in the area and the delayed wake from the ships was quite impressive! With clear skies the Arran hills were looking very impressive as we paddled passed Sanox. Once at the Hostel we all managed to get sorted out and feed. It was then off to the Pub, where we met the local Deer just sitting...
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