What a place to have my first proper Sea SUP!
Where is Camusdarach?
Camusdarach is about halfway between Arisaig and Mallaig. It’s a couple of miles South of the silver sands of Morar. You get there by driving through Fort William and then heading West for 45 minutes along a brilliantly scenic stretch of road that I absolutely love driving on.
We’ve been up this way quite a few times as a bunch of good people we know gather together every May bank holiday for some beach (or fairly close to it) camping. Our favourite spot is Camusdarach Campsite. It’s one of the best campsites I’ve ever stayed on and is almost always booked out well in advance.
It’s a 10 minute walk to the beach (but WHAT a beach) from the campsite so not exactly handy for getting your board to the beach but it’s so worth the effort. If you’re planning on going here, definitely make sure you get yourself a paddleboard carry sling . The one I bought from Amazon was a lifesaver!
On the water
Arrived around 2 in the afternoon, spent a couple of hours getting set up and my mate arrived with my Red board which in no time at all was inflated using my Rebel Leisure pump (review coming soon!). I apologised to everyone in advance about the noise. No such thing as a quiet electric pump!
Water was fairly calm but there were some wee waves that made balancing a bit more of a challenge. Fell in quite a lot and the water was very cold. I had a 2mm long sleeve shorty wetsuit on and really wished I’d brought some neoprene gloves with me. Water was so clear (and the majority of the bay had a sandy bottom) so it was glorious to muck about in.
After getting used to the wobbliness a bit more, I ventured out to sea a bit further and had a wee snooze on the board! It was so peaceful and the perfect antidote to the hustle and bustle of packing/driving/unpacking/tent pitching.
Even though I’d have happily stayed on it for hours, I made sure everyone got a decent shot of the board and straight away we had an army of paddleboard converts! Amazing how easily hooked people are after just one shot!
Saturday was fun. Went out exploring to some little islets and enjoyed the increased levels of jeopardy that came with getting out beyond the bay and into slightly choppier and unpredictable waters. Fell in several times and lost my hat without noticing at some point.
I spent Saturday afternoon at the campsite drinking and eating and then felt the sea calling again so after a little pause in the festivities, I was back out on the board for an early evening paddle. This time I headed toward the Arisaig end of the bay. Glad I went back out as I found the hat I’d lost earlier floating in the sea!
Sunday was a scorcher and I always wake up early when camping, especially when it’s hot. Went out for a very hilly run to Morar first thing, got some fried stuff down me and then headed back out on the board. Great thing about the beach weas that the tide doesn’t go out very far so any time is paddle time!
Went back out for an explore to the islets and a girl appeared out of nowhere on one of the islets and asked if I could transport her blanket and some clothes back to the mainland! Turned out she’d walked out there over the rocks during low tide and fallen asleep! When she woke up, the tide was in and she was kind of stranded!
She phoned her boyfriend (they were wild camping in the dunes) and he’d swum out to help her get back. There was plenty of room under the bungees for her stuff so I ferried it back to the beach. Wee dose of jeopardy. I love it when that sort of thing happens.
Sunday was a bit breezier so it was good fun having that to contend with. Had some further paddles, fell in a couple of times (like to think it was deliberate) and lost my hat(again). Amazingly, later that day I found my hat when I was walking along the beach and there it was, lying on the sand. It doesn’t seem want to leave me.
How long does it take to get there?
We left Glasgow around 9.30, stopped off outside Fort William for some ice, firewood, seafood and a last minute dash to M & S and got to the campsite around 2ish. Others who arrived much later were full of stories of the drive taking 8 hours because the traffic was so bad, especially around the Great Glen, so it’s definitely not a daytrip.
Loads of places to launch from along that coast, although the traffic and parking can be hellish and the way some visitors appeared to be treating the countryside left a lot to be desired.
Kind of insulated from it all, tucked away at the campsite and already booked for next May! I think next year I may even try to structure my drinking a bit differently so I can safely get out for some sunset paddling as the sunsets are awesome up there.
