Chris and Stu's Bogus Journey (loch/canoe/camp)

[toilet digger]

come!!

are you a good swimmer?.....

haha ,...

no seriously...if you keep the gear minimal then it';ll go in wi us,..you could use Chris's one man thingy,....

you can tell by my terminology im no expert,..

hell i'd be up for any ''journey''. ya's both got me number, back in the day i was a competant paddler in a kayak.

[lannyman8]

ha ha ha ha ha ha, Stu has never been midged......

i have got 2 head nets mate, if you want to borrow 1, i find long sleeve running tops stop them doing anything to your arms, i use a thin pair of cycle gloves, and wear my normal walking trousers, and a shirt with the collar protects your little bit of neck that sticks out...

the thing is they totally love me, mozzies leave me alone when others get feasted upon, but the midge just loves me to bits....

still looking forward to it though.....

[lannyman8]

i have got a small kayak Jamie, not sure you would fit in it though, its just bit enough for me, and you are a little bigger than me??????

[toilet digger]

i have got a small kayak Jamie, not sure you would fit in it though, its just bit enough for me, and you are a little bigger than me??????

your bum is way bigger than mine

i gots the chain sharpening stuff, bar the chain file guide, by the way.

[lannyman8]

your bum is way bigger than mine

i gots the chain sharpening stuff, bar the chain file guide, by the way.

check you out dude......

you the man, i have been so busy with work mate i have not had a chance to sort anything out, things wont get much better as im away on course next week...

[boatman]

Why Loch Awe etc where we had a foul time in a Forestry lodge thanks to midges? Far better in every way would be West coast in and out of little islands? We were free of midges and it seems to be so all around the mainland bit of Somerled's kingdom.

[gabrielsdad]

Im up for doing a river run. And ive got enough room for one more and gear. Not really up for travelling so far for a loch trip untill midge srason is over.

[lannyman8]

well the meet is set to east scotland and it looks like a cracking location, bit of foraging along the shore. i might even try and dive for some lobster or crab.....

stu might have to rescue me though....lol

will post some pics when i get some, or when we are back...

regards.

chris.

[andybysea]

* UPDATE* Stu and Chris arrived at my house last night apporx 8.50pm and we set off to my fave brew spot,due to Stu having to set off later from his end otherwise they were going to be heading straight for there beach location,but this is 1 to 1.5 miles paddling so they saved that for today due to fading light etc, i cant put any pics of last night yet as i can no longer post new pics but i will email last nights and this mornings to Stu and he can post them, Last night we just bivi'd on the grass on a little cove, a few bevy's and a small fire later then it was bed,I woke up approx 4.30(first light) needing a call of nature and took the opertunity to get a crafty pic of Stu and Chris dozing away,then a hour later Chris was up cooking Bacon,Chorizo,black pudding.I think we all got up proper at about 8.00am.A few brew's and a bit of packing then it was down to the Jetty to lauch the inflated tractor tyre's(small infatable canoes) this is were they launched from, its a old pic but shows the area,,

The weather was/is fantastic blue skies no cloud,sea was a bit of a swell but it had dropped from last night is due to continue to do so, i sat and watched them/took pics for 40 mins until they were just specks even through my bins, hope they have a good un and looking forward to there report.

[ex-member Raikey]

cheers to Andy for hosting us on his little cove spot,

he even shared his booze and brought some firewood,....cheers mate ,..it was excellent to see you and have a natter,...

[ex-member Raikey]

we did plan on taking the canoe, but troubles with my pick up meant we had to use the car, hence the inflatables.

myself, knowing that the little inflatables had limited capacity, had packed light, (much to Andy's amusement) ,


and when i put the pack on it took a while to find the confidence to start paddling with any vigour,...


Chris on the other hand packed all kinds of **** and as such felt too top heavy with it on his back,...


so with Andy's help he strapped it to the nose with bungies ,....gotta love a bungee eh?...


a bit swell on the way to the "other beach" meant we were fighting on the way there ....


the sun was blazing too and i was getting burnt,... but finnally we came to the place as described by Andy,..

hung a left and headed inland,...

the place was rammed with bone dry driftwood so my priority was to get a fire going to dry out (the kayaks arent the driest paddle),

It seemed lannymans preffered first job was to get naked and run about a bit,. hahahaha ,......

we got dried, and went for a mooch,...found the spine and skull of a strange alien beast,....seal i think...lol...

and the bow of a big rusty ship,..

also found a bit of gearbox, i reckon the syncro on 4th was a bit tight...(fellow engineers might get that) hahahah

made a little arty sculpute and a nice simple drift wood pot hanger,...

second run out for my new mess kit too,...its a nesting coleman affair with pan lid and bowl, cup etc,.....its just earnt its place as my main kit, due to the practical nature and size,..

anyway,.. gotta say massive cheers to lanny,...the deal was, he'd provide the meat if i got us there (fuel) ...

so he saved me from a slow death of porrige and rice with his finest chorizo, black pudding , bacon and salami,....

can you say meast feast? ,...say it with me now,...MEEEEAAAATTTT FEEEAAAST!!!!

ahem,....

come low tide Chris paddled out and laid a few chorizo baited lines ,...

then the weather came in,....oooofff!!!!!

we had to batten down the hatches and drop the tarp poles to the floor,....it wazzed down!! (or so Chris says,.....i was snoring like a beast,...his words not mine)

woke up at 9 am ish this morning,had a brew and a bit of breaky.

packed up, loaded up the kayaks,..i went with the front loading method,for more stability.

as we passed the lines Chris pulled them in and found a little Bass on the hook!!! yay!!!

it was a lovely paddle back as we had a little tail wind and some sun,.....

had a dry of and a brew at the car, rang Andy and pipped the horn as we went passed his gaff just so he didnt call the coastguard,.....

all in all a proper mini adventure,

thanks to Chris for getting me off me backside to go, and of course the companionship,..

and to Andy for facilitating the trip with what is a beautiful virtually unspoilt location,....(youre a lucky man dude!)

..

ok i,ve rattled on enough,

thanks for looking ,...

Stu

x

[bilmo-p5]

Looks like a cracking excursion, lads, and you certainly had the weather for it. Thank you for sharing it with us.

[ex-member Raikey]

ooh a few more pics just come through from Andy,...

i,m trying to look cool (failing) and Andy is out of breath from running back from the camera...ha

Attachment 11667

ahhhh thats what the flashing was,...thought it was lightning,..

Attachment 11668

Attachment 11669

Attachment 11670

did Lanny actualy wear and cloths this weekend?



Attachment 11671

[lannyman8]

thanks for the write up Stu and of course the lift....

will post my pic's when i get a better signal as they are on my phone.....

thanks to Andy for being an awesome sport, and showing us where to go, tis an awesome spot and im sure we will meet up again some time, your a very lucky man indeed....

regards to all..

chris.

[andybysea]

Some nice pics there lads,glad you liked the two location's if there's another trip in the future i will take you to my new place...

[toilet digger]

looks tremendous fellas.

[lannyman8]

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[resnikov]

Looks like you guys had a great time. Cheers for the report and the pics.

[lannyman8]

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[Partickpebbles]

Looks good lads, thank you for sharing. Been ages since i ventured out!

[andybysea]

Some more nice pics, hmmm woodlice lovely,oh that one of me i look like some sort of cave troll.

[lannyman8]

ha ha ha ha ha ha, no not a cave troll mate, more rugged mountain survivalist.....


Again thanks Andy for all the help.....

well, what a weekend, and NO, i was not naked at all, well apart from getting changed out of my wet-suit that is....

started of at a wonderful little spot. because we arrived later than we wanted to, the paddle had to wait till morning, had a fire under am over hang wich reflected the heat really well, Andy had about 2 million brews throughout the evening....

Stu and Andy managed to sleep in, well, i woke early and the only good reason to have a watch is so you dont get up at 5:30 am.... (i didnt have one)... so decided to make a brew and felt rather peckish, so cooked up some chariso bacon and black pudding, Stu having barely any food took the brew but declined the meat feast at 06:00, strange that???????
well after that i collapsed the bivi sleeping bag and tarp, just dozed on the grass until the other 2 stirred...the view was awesome too... the climb back to the car was a bit of a beast though... we collected the stuff from the car inflated the kayaks and bid Andy a fare well, and then i returned to shore, to strap my kit to the kayak as i was way to unbalanced, strapped on it was very doable though, so said by to Andy again....

the paddle out was ok, the swell was around 3 feet, with a low wind but it was slow going, it must have taken around 1.5 hours in total....now having ever only done kayaking and canoeing on rivers and lakes i did not know that you could get sea sick in such a small craft, well i did, i felt pants towards the end of the paddle, thats why i shot of a bit and left Stu bringing up the rear, (sorry dude...)....

after landing on the beach and having a moment to myself to get composed and feel better we brought the kayaks up out of the returning tide and went to explore.... we found the site that had been used before, then went to collect all the kit and return to the site.....we didnt set up straight away and decided to look for fire wood and kit that would be of use, the beach was a haven for useful bit, bottles barrels and all sorts of rope and stuff that could be used...

we foraged for some fresh foods, we found some shrimp in the rock pools, crabs small fish, winkles limpets and all manner of other things...i decided to opt for the wood lice which where in abundance....a simple dry fry in a pan and they where done, they taste quite like prawns but not so fishy, i find they change from area to area a little though...

anyway, we had loads of meat, stu cooked some rice and we just chilled, then very late in the day i decided to make some fishing dits to fry and get some fresh fish for breakfast, now leaving it late i was a little bad and paddled out to set the line just before dark, but all went well and once the kayak was back up to the camp spot i got warm by the fire and dried off, the kayaks are not a dry paddle....

the next day sleeping in later after a very gusty rainy bad night we got up broke camp having breakfast as we went, not wanting to waist time, thinking the paddle back could be worse than the paddle in, but it turned out ok in the end....as we went i checked the lines and was very surprised to find a small bass, i quickly returned the lines to the beach above the water line ready for next time we go, then paddled out to meet stu, and away we went....

the swell was almost nothing, but the wind was bad at times with strong long gusts, but it helped us along as it was blowing toward the way we where heading...

well thats our trip, was an awesome weekend and im planing on getting a kayak for myself now, they are awesome, and take up no room are very robust and do the job well, if a little wet...im going to look for some spots nearer to us for a paddle and camp along the coast.....

Thanks to Andy and Stu for a brill weekend and good old chill before Afghan....

regards to all

chris.

[lannyman8]

oh also forgot to say, my last picture of the hill side, the dark rock in the center of the picture, there is a brown blur against it, it was a red deer hind, i was quite surprised to see it so close to the shore, the picture is pants though as it was my phone...

[ex-member Raikey]

oh aye!

i forgot to mention ole tea belly andy,

Jeez the guy can put the brews away,

his crusader never got cool i dont think,

[andybysea]

Ah you calling me Mrs Doyle?

[ex-member Raikey]

Ah you calling me Mrs Doyle?

awwww gooo on!!!!

[gsfgaz]

i find the tesco's own brand midge repellent work's for me ,, Avon skin so soft doesnt work , for me any way ,,, , a midge net is great , or a very smoky fire ... or yi can run like feck .....

[persistent king]

that looks fantastic

[lannyman8]

that looks fantastic

twas an awesome trip.......

[andybysea]

Chris, ive seen many a Roe deer on the slopes above that beach,a few foxes and the odd Peregrine,never seen a Red deer though.