You’ve got to love the June evenings where it never really seems to get truly dark. Couple that with living just off the A82 near Anniesland and the evening paddleboarding options just open up in front of you.
I’d been chatting to M at the weekend about taking her out paddleboarding the next time I was going and as the weather looked good for the following Wednesday, we locked the date in.
She’s no stranger to the sport. She was part of the support team behind The Great British Paddle 2020, where an out and out mentalist (I doubt he would mind that description) called Jordan Wylie was attempting to complete a full circumnavigation of Great Britain on a Standup Paddleboard in aid of Frontline Children. Seriously hardcore. Check this out:
For our Wednesday evening trip out, I was planning something a bit more sedate and headed to Loch Lomond. It looked like there was going to be a bit of Westerly breeze so I wasn’t sure whether to head to the West side of the loch and depart from Aldlochlay (easy access to and shelter from various islands but very limited car parking opportunities) or head to the East side and set off from Milarochy Bay (knowing that the wind will favour blowing you towards the shore).
After picking M up we decided where to head to by tossing a coin. Milarochy Bay (and the East side of the loch) it was. Easy drive up there, and in no time we were parked in the Forestry Commission carpark and getting ready to take the somewhat choppy water.
We had to paddle out into a fairly stiff breeze and the chop was easily covering our boards. Took quite a bit a constant adjustment to get used to balancing and it was definitely easier to keep upright if we kept moving.
Quite a lot of falling in until we’d got our balance right. We’d both wetsuited up (M had borrowed my daughter’s 6mm suit and I was in my 3mm long-sleeved shorty). Could easily have got away with not wearing them though as the water was a lovely temperature.
The wind changed directing slightly to more of a North-westerly direction so we had to make sure we didn’t drift too far South. Would have loved to have gone for an explore round Inchfad Island but was concerned that the paddle back into the wind would have been a bit too taxing. Next time though!
We paddled North towards Cashel and hit a really sheltered bit of water that was great for mucking about on.
Looking forward to heading back up there to explore the islands to the South of the bay. Such a peaceful place in the evenings, I’d imagine it’s markedly different at weekends.
I think we could easily make a cracking weekday family evening of it, do some swimming, cook some food, get the boards out and have a fire…. Must try to take more pictures the next time.
