My recent posts on FB of an idyllic trip round Knoydart have brought to mind a very different past trip to the area. One that was very painful to experience and even think about until now. The following was an article I wrote after the event, which I would have submitted to Ocean Paddler magazine for publication. Unfortunately the passage of time has meant that Ocean Paddler is no longer ..read more

 Introduction.This really is a long term test. I first paddled the Volan MV back in October 2020 but a combination of injury, resulting in a fractured coccyx, chronic health problems and covid lockdown has limited my time to the extent that P&H have since renamed it the Volan 160! So with apologies to P&H, I have at last spent enough time in the Volan 160 to get enough experience for a meaningful ..read more

KCS have produced and refined a lot of new designs over the period of the Covid pandemic. This is the KCS compact day trolley. It is ideal for day trips when you might need to carry your unloaded kayak for some distance over a hard surface from the car to the launch site. I found it especially useful when it is windy or if there are a lot of people about... think Charlie Chaplin's ladder!!!It is ..read more

P&H Virgo MV CLXIntroduction.The beginning of August 2019 was rather sad. I had to return the P&H Valkyrie kayak and in its place I was loaned a P&H Virgo. Both boats were new models in 2019. I found the Valkyrie to be a unique and sublime blend of fun and performance in a hull that owes more to surfski design than other FSTs (fast touring kayaks). I reviewed the Valkyrie in Ocean Paddler ..read more

KCS are producing many new products these days and this V cradle for side loading roof racks really caught my eye. At £210 for a pair they are not cheap but exude quality and thoughtful design. Side loading roofracks such as the Kari-tec Easy Load Roofrack have transformed the transportation of kayaks especially for those slightly older kayakers who load and unload alone. The risk of shoulder ..read more

This beautiful book is an illustrated  guide to over 150 beaches scattered round the 19,000 km coast line of the Scottish mainland, the Hebrides and the Northern Isles. I particularly liked the introduction in which the author discusses beach safety, how to visit (responsible access), types of beach, seascape and geology (contributed by the author’s husband who is an oceanographer), how and when ..read more

Doug and Lara Cooper have just launched a new Scottish Sea Kayaking website. Already a huge amount of work has gone into it. It will inform visitors to new areas of many alternative places to go, other than the over visited, well known honey pots.A good number of people criticise guides like this. I admit I did not think the Bothy book was a good idea at all, especially when some of the ..read more

IntroductionAn edited version of this review appeared in Ocean Paddler Magazine issue #71. I have also published it several times on Facebook back in July/August 2019 but of course Facebook is useless for anything you ever want to find again. I keep getting requests for a copy of the Valkyrie test so here it is on good old fashioned Blogger where a Google search will find it!P&H do not have a ..read more

Introduction.  I was in Glasgow getting a steroid injection into my right shoulder in clinic F then having a pint of blood drained from my left arm in clinic P when I heard the news that a parcel from Australia was waiting for me at my summer home on the Solway. Despite living 50m from the shore for 7 months of the year I have not been very active recently. I last managed a kayak camping trip ..read more

Today,  I received a phone call from Gordon Brown to tell me that Duncan Winning OBE died yesterday. He had been ill for some time.  I send my sincere condolences to Duncan's family.  Duncan was a father figure in Scottish sea kayaking and because he gave of his time generously, he started many people off on a lifetime of sea kayaking adeventures. So  many people have stories about Duncan ..read more