...well it was actually a day and a half but I had enough footage for a ten minute vid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXbSIzW4_c4Much happier than my last blog! Again the weather wasn't great with some high'ish winds forecast but there was a decent weather window around Tummel for a couple of days so off we went.
We stayed at Ardgualich farm campsite, decent if a little shabby. There's plenty of camping spots round Tummel right on the bankside but not exactly wild (roadside). As I suspected the roadside spots were pretty much all inhabited and non too attractive (might go back in the autumn when it'll be a lot quieter). The easy access to Tummel on the south shore unfortunately allows for the inevitable abuse - we saw everything up to (new) tents abandoned. Apart from that it is a beautiful area and much of the banks being wooded gives a greater illusion of 'wilderness'.
We arrived and set up around mid-day and paddled the east end of the loch from Ardgualich. Second day we paddled as far as we could to the west - managed a wee bit up the Tummel river but came to a set of rapids a few hundred yeards up before turning round to find a lunch spot. A day and a half was plenty time to paddle the entire length and back allowing time for exploring and a couple of hours fishing.
Weather conditions were a bit four seasons in one day but generally favourable with some decent sunny spells. We were paddling into the wind for some of the time but never blowy enough for it to be a slog. As we had loads of time we sat out the two very heavy but brief showers we ran into.
The wind freshened up a bit (as forecast) as we headed back up the loch in the afternoon. It made a nice change to get a boost on the way back, with the long fetch (WSW winds) there were long slow swells circa 18" - it did take a little effort to keep the canoe on track but by 'eck we fair shot up the loch (made it up to An Dun Island about an hour earlier than I expected).
An Dun is a good sized wooded island which has also unfortunately not escaped the abuses seen on the shoreline (a multitude of fire rings). It's a pretty little spot with some viable camping areas and two good landing sites - both at the west end of the island one each side (north and south).
Wildlife (flora and fauna) was seen in abundance - everything from butterflies to Eagles.
Ardgualich campsite - £17 per night (for our large truck tent) owners very nice, shower block shabby but functional, has a purpose made put-in (at the end of the video).
Fishing - Permits available from the campsite for £8 per day for perch, pike and brown trout, bank fishing only but quite restricted - a lot of the bank is not viable for fly fishing so I took a wee spinning rod.
We stayed at Ardgualich farm campsite, decent if a little shabby. There's plenty of camping spots round Tummel right on the bankside but not exactly wild (roadside). As I suspected the roadside spots were pretty much all inhabited and non too attractive (might go back in the autumn when it'll be a lot quieter). The easy access to Tummel on the south shore unfortunately allows for the inevitable abuse - we saw everything up to (new) tents abandoned. Apart from that it is a beautiful area and much of the banks being wooded gives a greater illusion of 'wilderness'.
We arrived and set up around mid-day and paddled the east end of the loch from Ardgualich. Second day we paddled as far as we could to the west - managed a wee bit up the Tummel river but came to a set of rapids a few hundred yeards up before turning round to find a lunch spot. A day and a half was plenty time to paddle the entire length and back allowing time for exploring and a couple of hours fishing.
Weather conditions were a bit four seasons in one day but generally favourable with some decent sunny spells. We were paddling into the wind for some of the time but never blowy enough for it to be a slog. As we had loads of time we sat out the two very heavy but brief showers we ran into.
The wind freshened up a bit (as forecast) as we headed back up the loch in the afternoon. It made a nice change to get a boost on the way back, with the long fetch (WSW winds) there were long slow swells circa 18" - it did take a little effort to keep the canoe on track but by 'eck we fair shot up the loch (made it up to An Dun Island about an hour earlier than I expected).
An Dun is a good sized wooded island which has also unfortunately not escaped the abuses seen on the shoreline (a multitude of fire rings). It's a pretty little spot with some viable camping areas and two good landing sites - both at the west end of the island one each side (north and south).
Wildlife (flora and fauna) was seen in abundance - everything from butterflies to Eagles.
Ardgualich campsite - £17 per night (for our large truck tent) owners very nice, shower block shabby but functional, has a purpose made put-in (at the end of the video).
Fishing - Permits available from the campsite for £8 per day for perch, pike and brown trout, bank fishing only but quite restricted - a lot of the bank is not viable for fly fishing so I took a wee spinning rod.
Phil