Product Description

At last, here it is ...Scotland's first guidebook for sea kayakers wishing to explore its amazing coastline and magical islands. It brings together a selection of fifty great sea voyages around the mainland of Scotland, from the Mull of Galloway in the SW to St Abb's Head on the east coast, as well as voyages in the Western Isles, ranging from day trips to three day journeys. Illustrated with superb colour photographs and useful maps throughout, it is a practical guide to help you select and plan trips. It will provide inspiration for future voyages and a souvenir of journeys undertaken. As well as providing essential information on where to start and finish, distances, times and tidal information, the book does much to stimulate and inform our interest in the environment we are passing through. It is full of facts and anecdotes about local history, geology, scenery, seabirds and sea mammals. A fascinating read and an inspirational book.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16768 in Books
• Published on: 2005-01-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

About the Author
Doug CooperDoug has spent his entire life involved with the outdoors. At age seven he was introduced to scrambling amongst the Lakeland mountains, and first sat in a kayak at thirteen. Since these early days it has become Doug's career as well as his first love on a day off. Through work and play it has led to expeditions and trips to many of the remoter corners of the world. At present Doug is based at Scotland's National Outdoor Training Centre, Glenmore Lodge. Here Doug is Head of Paddlesports working as a Level 5 Sea and Inland Coach, as well as a Mountain Instructor. It is in this work that he realises his real passion, which is coaching and introducing people to an activity and an environment that has given him so much over the years. Doug has been exploring the Scottish coastline in a sea kayak since 1990 and in this time has grown to love this amazing natural environment. Through work and play he has also sea kayaked many other fantastic areas of the United Kingdom. In addition to this he has enjoyed expeditions to Greenland, Norway and Iceland using the sea kayak to explore the coastlines and cultures. As long as he is in the outdoors coaching, exploring and learning, then there is nowhere else he would rather be.George ReidGeorge is known to many outdoor folk through his work with Glenmore Lodge (Scotland's National Outdoor Training Centre) that has spanned a period of 20 years. He became an International Mountain Guide (IFMGA) in 1987, subsequently working in the European Alps and the Canadian Rockies guiding rock and ice climbs, making ascents of Alpine peaks and leading ski mountaineering trips. Despite being introduced to sea and river kayaking at school in Edinburgh during the mid 80's, George focused his attentions on mountaineering. It was not until 1996, when at Glenmore Lodge, that George was exposed to the scope of sea kayaking.It was his wife Catriona who suggested that George should A"join the dotsA". She bought him a map of Scotland, pencilled in the trips done, and that in turn focussed the weekends and holidays for the next few years until a continuous line appeared on the map around the mainland of Scotland. If there is one thread that links all George's adventures it is an appreciation of nature. His knowledge of the flora and fauna, be it on the mountain or the sea, is well known and one of the greatest pleasures he receives is when he can share these experiences with other people.

Customer Reviews

really informative reading
I bought this book in order to assist with route planning kayak trips around the isle of Skye and maximise the few days I had. I have paddled for a few years mainly in the South West but had never paddled in Scotland.

It is really easy to read and interpret the useful facts and figures contained within it. One of its best feature is the quick reference map of all the west coasts best kayak trips identified with a numberd spot on the map making it really easy to pick out where you want to go and look that route up directly.

Other really useful features.
All routes are graded in difficulty / distance.
Loads of useful tidal and current information.
each route has a detailed colour map and plan making it easy to follow and lists the relevant OS map for that area.
Lots of other local facts and figures and beaching spots to keep you amused on your journey.

Top production. Well worth a read if your planning trips in this area and are not familiar with local hazzards or scenary. It helped me maximise my trips. I saw loads of amazing sights and had some great wildlife encounters (Seals, porpoise, Sea otters and millions of seabirds of all shapes and sizes).

How soon can I get away?
This is a good all round guide with trips graded from one to three (one the least difficult). Although some of the trips are covered in other books (at least in part) it is still worth having the book for trip planning and using this book along side other guides such as "Scottish Canoe Touring" and "Scottish Canoe Classics". Using the books together should allow some sort of trip no matter what the weather - if the sea state is not as calm as one would like there could well be a loch or river trip near by that would still run.

Better maps would help as would O/S map numbers.

This book does make you want to drop everything, pack the car and head for the sea.