Alan and Pamela joined me for two trips, initially from Gairloch Harbour and then from Poolewe. They have a family cottage in Poolewe, so know the area well but have’t canoed on the waters before. Alan is booked to go on a trip along the River Tay later on in the year, so wanted to get some experience paddling canoes.

We had a fantastically calm morning at Gairloch, the sea was still with not a breath of wind in the air. Sadly the same can’t be said for the rain in the air – but luckily a bit of rain doesn’t really matter too much. Poolewe’s paddle was far dryer but a bit windier, which was good as we wanted a breeze to practice more challenging paddling in.  We spent a lot of time over the two sessions leaning the basics of lots of strokes, practising them as we paddled around the coastline seeing the wildlife and sights.