FALLS OF CLYDE

Every once in a while, the companies controlling the dams on the Clyde decide that a bit of water needs releasing. Today was one of those day, and we headed south to look at the Falls of Clyde. These have been in my mind for a while, but today was a bigger release than I've seen and we were hopeful for a first descent of the Falls.

After spending a while scouting Corra Linn, the bottom falls, we had decided that there was at least one line, but it was marginal. So we traipsed up to Bonnington Linn (the top fall) with the intention of checking out the fall, the gorge and the other side of Corra Linn.

Bonnington Linn proved to have a multitude of lines: right, left and middle. Dave was convinced that the right was the best line, and spent fifteen minutes dribbling until we coaxed him away.

The gorge looked enticing (apart from the bottom hole, which was sucking leaves off the trees!), and we soon wandered down to the other side of Corra Linn. A bit of ropework was necessary to get down to fall level, but the view was immense. There looked to be two lines off the fall but both were sketchy. Needless to say the balls-up potential was massive!

A line did look feasible, and full of renewed optimism we made our way back towards the car. However, self-belaying back up the overhanging 20-ft cliff left us absolutely knackered and in no fit state for a first descent.

We will be back!!!!!!

SOLO ON THE LENY

After a very frustrating week, in which it rained all week whilst I was stuck in the lab, I finally managed to get out boating on Friday.

After some careful decision making I headed up to the Leny (see here) for a quick blast. To my suprise no-one else was up for boating, although I managed to scrounge a shuttle with Matt who was heading back to Stirling (cheers mate!) I was on my own!

The level was high, and the first few rapids were a lot faster than usual, but I made my way down to the top of the Falls without mishap. After a quick scout, I jumped on and headed down the Falls on the left, avoiding the heinous hole that is the right-hand side in high water. The gorge below was horrible, just a big long boil for about 30 yards!

The rest of the run was brilliant, and most of my time was spent dodging very very very low trees in most of the lines, especially Wee Stinker and S-bends. Some lovely waves delayed me for a while at the bottom, then it was time to head back to Glasgow and go to the pub! A magic blast: top to bottom in about half an hour.......

(Strangely, no photos as I was on my own!)

WET WEST PADDLEFEST 2006: ANDY JACKSON MEMORIAL WEEKEND

The event is now in its second year, and is a response to the dream of the late great Andy Jackson for a Scottish paddle festival. The whole thing kicked off on the Friday night at the Ice Factor in Kinlochleven. The prayers of many had gone unheeded and there was no water in the rivers: for once a September weekend in Scotland was dry! Quite a few people had migrated to the Etive for a scrapy afternoon run, but the car park slowly filled up with paddlers from far and wide.

Tickets and t-shirts soon sold like proverbial hot cakes, and the bar grew steadily busier. Hungry boaters were offered an all-you-can-eat buffet: just the ticket after a long drive. After some minor technical hitches the slideshows began: reports from India, Quebec, India (again) and a short Scottish creeking show. After these the bar became full again, and over a hundred people drank and partied the night away to the sounds of the (free) band. Tents were erected in the nearby campsite and midges feasted on juicy paddler-flesh.

The Saturday morning dawned on some sore heads and folk began to migrate up to the Garry, the first scheduled release of the weekend. The improvised car park filled up quickly, and the shuttle buses were soon doing a brisk trade ferrying people up to the get-on at the dam. As more people arrived, the refreshment tent became busier with hung-over paddlers seeking bacon sandwiches, and ticket sales rose towards the 200 mark. The play hole was busy but never packed, and the buses were kept busy with folk doing several runs. The sun was shining and the atmosphere was relaxed as the afternoon drew on, but soon the midges began to return and people began to get off and head back towards Fort William for the evening’s entertainment at the Nevis Centre.

Things remained quiet until around half past nine, but this was the calm before the storm. The ticket desk at the door was soon overrun with folk clamouring for tickets and the hall and bar steadily filled. Raffle tickets proved incredibly popular too and cries of “Werners for a pound” rang out across the foyer. Just when we thought the majority of the rush had been catered for, some genius had the idea of halving the price of raffle tickets and a fresh wave of eager paddlers overwhelmed the desk. Finally ticket sales were closed (after having sold over 2000 tickets), and MC Blobby drew the raffle. One happy winner won a set of Werners and various other goodies. The beer flowed freely and the band and DJ soon had the place rocking. Eventually we were kicked out into the street and weaved our way back to our respective accommodation.

Sunday morning came and went, and the car park at Invermoriston was relatively quiet. Around midday the bleary-eyed hordes descended and the car park was jam-packed. Once again the shuttle buses plied their trade and ferried people to and from the top section. Much fun (and carnage) was had on both upper and lower sections of the Moriston, but happily few injuries occurred. Refreshments were laid on in the village hall, and hungry paddlers feasted on cake, soup, tea and sandwiches. The afternoon drew on and slowly the car park emptied as people made the long trek home. The dust settled and we surveyed the aftermath of an excellent weekend: we had made a profit for next year!

Many thanks are due, and this list could be almost endless. Endless thanks go to Glenmore Lodge, Steve McKinnon and John Picken for the shuttle buses. Yvonne on the desk was a star: thank you! We are also indebted to the Ice Factor and the Nevis Centre for hosting our events, and to the landowners and water authorities for the negotiated releases on the Garry and Moriston. Thanks also to those who provided raffle prizes; SystemX and Werner, Tiso, Nookie, Perception, Palm, HighNMighty, Carlisle Canoes, PeakUK and Lomo. Thanks also to Pyranha for the demo boats and raffle prizes.

Finally, a huge thanks to the other organisers who made this event run so smoothly, and to the three hundred or so paddlers whose relaxed nature and friendliness made it such an enjoyable event for all. See you next year!