The SR and I have been deliberating over kayaking and canoeing for ages (one source of deliberation - which one is which?) and me being the control freak I am, wanted to have a few lessons before hurling myself into a canoe and potentially over the Scottish equivalent of Niagara Falls. Which is how I felt yesterday as we teetered over a broken weir. OK, so perhaps the weir was only a foot high and the worse that would have happened was that my butt got wet, but you know, it felt very dramatic at the time.
Anyhoo, after an evening of googling and discovering lots of opportunities to go sea kayaking, we found Epic Ventures, a local company that specializes in outdoor courses including kayaking, rock climbing, canoeing and mountain biking. A day or so later, we are booked in to spend a day with Martin, our fearless guide to try both kayaking and canoeing out, as you know, we were still unclear on the difference.
Now you see here, we are a feisty pair, and the idea of sitting in a canoe made for two brought forth memories of me, 14 years old, arguing vehemently with my canoeing compadres as we spun from left... and to right... and to left again. This could be a relationship breaker. More better a kayak, where I can just paddle off in a bad temper, or even better, soak him with a paddle full of water. So you see our dilemma, right?
So on a miserable, raining (no waterproofs with us, highly recommend you pick up some prior to trying a canoe course out), we set off up to the Union canal in Polwarth for a day of paddling up and down, getting used to the different methods of paddling in a forwards, backwards and sidewards motion. The canoeing was fantastic, as you moved away from the road, the peace that descended was... err.. transcendent. By the afternoon, the skies had exhausted themselves and we had a more pleasant afternoon in the company of kayaks. I tell you something now, kayaks suck. OK, maybe it's my handling of kayaks that suck, but no matter, I was in a complete huff with my kayak by the time we were done. I hate kayaks, I much better prefer a canoe. Whether the Silent Reviewer likes it or not, we're going into canoeing together, there is no getting away from me now!
Day 2 took us down to Peebles and a cruise down a low river Tweed to just past Glentress. About 25 kilometres of bouncing fish, suspicious herons, sand martins, cows, sheep, horses and midgies. After experiencing canoes and kayaks, we plumped for the canoe (pssht, you think I am going near a kayak again?) and had a wonderful time paddling down the river... with the occasional bump. As the river was low, we had plenty of 'features' to try out such as the aforementioned broken weir, which due to some bad paddling by the pair of us had us sail at high speed into a bank. But, all was well, and it was one more lesson learned (don't forget that reverse paddle acts as a brake, folks). Stiff and sore by the end of the day, every tweak and creak was a reminder of the lovely day we had, and the instructor couldn't have been more patient with us, even at my stroppiest.
Recommendations: book EV up for some outdoor fun, and remember to dress for the occasion including water proofs if you are on the water - surviving without is doable, but it will be more comfortable. We'll be most definitely hiring canoes in the near distant future to enjoy Scotland at it's best in the very short distant future! read more
