With the old dear being cooped up in her nursing home for the last 15 months and restrictions easing to the point where she’s finally allowed road trips again, I’m always on the lookout for locations to take her that are very accessible, offer an interesting view and have a park bench not too far away from the car that we can plump ourselves down onto.
That brought Parklea Playing Fields, just North of Port Glasgow onto my radar. Managed to get a parking space right on the waterfront AND next to a very smooth path, with a park bench within sight. Perfect! Doubt you’d be so lucky on Saturday mornings or when there’s football on.
When you get the paddleboard bug, you start seeing SUP-portunities (sorry) everywhere and as we had a natter and stared vacantly out over the Firth of Clyde towards Greenock and beyond, I thought it might be a decent location, less than 30 mins drive from my house, for a weeknight paddle.
Tides have to be right though and when I checked, they weren’t so I parked the idea until I was back from my Garlieston break with newly confident sea legs and a desire to get out onto the water straight after work one hot and sticky Tuesday evening.
Wind and tides
Wind and tides always worth researching before you go. I went just before high tide which meant it was very easy to get into the water. I also checked the wind direction and speed. A westerly 7-10 knots didn’t scare me off and it meant I’d be paddling into the wind towards Newark Castle and would have a relatively easier paddle back to the car.
When I got down there however, it was exceedingly choppy. The choppiest I’d ever gone out in. Great fun though and had loads of balance practice. The water wasn’t manky but certainly not the clearest I’ve seen.
I didn’t venture too far out, preferring to follow the coastline and dodge in and out of the rotting and dilapidated oyster beds, which kept me on my toes as you wouldn’t want to go over one of those if it was only partially submerged as you could puncture your board. Worse still, there was the added jeopardy of falling off your board and getting impaled on one…despite these negative thoughts it was a fantastic wee paddle and on a windless day I think you could make it to Newark Castle and the Ferguson Shipyard no bother.
