Loch Lomond

On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch
Lomond............That is where I was camped over the
three day weekend.  I was in a very little village
named Ardlui on the very northern tip of the loch.
The campsites were on the bonnie banks.

Maggie and I got on the road Saturday morning at 0500
and we arrived at Ardlui around 1000.  We would have
been there sooner, but I kept stopping to take
pictures.  This was my fourth attempt to invade
Scotland.  The first three were thwarted by 80 mph
winds and snow.  This weekend was spent almost
entirely in shorts.
After setting up camp and eating lunch, I drove around
and took some more pictures.  Around 1300, I put the
'yak in the water and paddled between 5 and 6 miles
south.  I knew it was time to turn around when I
spotted the ice cream stand on the eastern bank.  I
paddled over, waded through the crowd, bought a double
cone, and sat down on a bench to enjoy the sunshine
and the view.
I finished the cone, paddled back north, and set about
trying to learn about the new boat.  I have not foamed
it out yet, but I now have an idea of what needs to be
done.  I brought a block of mini-cell foam with me for
this purpose.  I can say already that the boat is a
pleasure to paddle.  It is not exceptionally fast, but
fast enough.  I was paddling on and off in 15 to 20
mph winds and never once thought about putting the
skeg down.  The boat has a ton of secondary stability
and it rolls easily.  Michelle will be taking pictures
of it home with her when she visits in June.

I finished off Saturday with a couple of pints of ale
from the local mini-brewery and a delicious dinner at
the local pub.  They happen to be in the same
building, which also serves as the office for the
hotel and the campground....talk about convenience.

I have decided to become Scottish.  Particularly, I
will become a highlander.  It is an incredible place
to see.  I got a chance to drive over to Fort William
from Ardlui on Saturday.  I parked the car in Glen
Nevis and hiked up to the top of Ben Nevis (highest
peak in the UK).  I took my time and was out for a
little over six hours.  The view is worth the climb.
I finished off Sunday with dinner at a local
restaurant, pub, hotel.  They happen to have the best
chefs in town.  I started off with the local mussels
(a bakers dozen) and finished it off with haggis....I
was tempted but went for a popular local chicken dish
instead, but from what I hear, haggis tastes a lot
like chicken.  I then took the coastal road south and
cut back across the highlands to Ardlui.

I paddled a bit more this morning and then loaded up
to get back.  I am still doing chores, but decided to
take a break for this and dinner.  I hope this finds
all well on your end.  More later......

DWR


     

New Kayak

The new kayak has a home, and I have found a few
places to paddle it.  Most require that I have
liability insurance (They must have seen how I
paddle.).  Going somewhere and throwing your boat in
is just not done here.

Spring is here!  I have been wearing shorts the past
couple of days and actually turned on the air
conditioning in the car today to make sure that it
will work if needed.  All the flora seems to be in a
rush to make up for it being a late spring.

We hiked in Shropshire (SW England) yesterday.  It was
gorgeous day and some interesting terrain.  The hills
are not very high, but they are steep. The valleys are
relatively narrow and most had streams running through
them. We passed through an Iron Age fort that had been
used by the local inhabitants to fight against the
Romans back in the first century A.D.  The fort was at
the top of a very steep hill.  Some of the original
ramparts were still in place.

Speaking of the Iron Age, a Shropshire local was guide
on this trip.  He was an interesting guy that I had
the pleasure of talking to for a large part of the
day.  His memory of the facts is that a large part of
England has been relatively treeless since the Iron
Age.  When you hike here, you do not have to worry
about trees obstructing your view.  For those of you
that have hiked the southern balds of the
Appalachians, almost the whole of England is like
that.  No trees, just lots of sheep!

I do not know if last week was offically pub week, but
I spent five nights in the local pubs.  It seems that
just as I would get settled in for the night, I would
get a call to join someone at a local pub.  I did not
want to be rude, so I threw some appropriate clothing
on and wandered down to have a beer.

I hope this finds all well where you are.  More
later.............

DWR

Kayak Symposium

Spring is in full swing here and it is beautiful.  I
spent the weekend in Holyhead (northern Wales) at a
kayak symposium.  It is a gorgeous part of the country
with a wide variety of water conditions on any given
day.

People from all over the world were there.  I now have
acquaintances in Germany, Denmark, Holland, Norway,
Sweden, New Zealand and some places that I can't
remember right now.  I saw a bunch of new boats that I
had never seen in the states, and I saw my first
pneumatic skeg/rudder.  This animal is a skeg until
fully deployed, at which time it morphs into a rudder
controlled by small hydraulic lines hooked to a
cockpit foot board.  Interesting to look at, but I
do not want one.
The faces in the crowd are the ones you see on
kayaking instructional DVDs.  I gave up counting the
upper crust of the touring kayak world.  Most seemed
very down to earth.  I got to play in the water every
day and I believe I may book it for next year.

Michelle and I are the proud parents of a new Romany S
(S for surf).  We have not named it as of yet;
although, "ah shit" may be appropriate considering
some of my rides in the surf with this thing.

I hope this finds all well on your end.

DWR