Struggling with New Year resolutions?

Planning your New Year resolutions? Struggling to find something exciting?
Don't worry, you are not on your own. We are having some great plans too...

Cateran Trail near Forter Castle

• Cateran Trail - 64 miles circular route in Central Scotland. Starting in Blairgowrie, Perthshire offers some amazing views, wildlife and historical experiences. Located on a route offering some great places to eat, shop and stay, or like us you can wild camp. Complete over few days or challenge yourself and get it done quicker. Book guided walk and/or luggage shuttle

Beaver activity in Perthshire

• Perthshire beavers, canoe safari - we have teamed up with the best local, wildlife expert, Daniele from Perthshire Wildlife, hoping to take you on a canoe paddle safari, discovering some hidden locations of beavers activity in the area. Fancy joining? Book the trip

• Mountain biking on new trails. We are exploring new and less known locations in perthshire, worth seeing. Some are just perfect for mountain bikes. Routes differ from steep down hill rides in Dunkeld & Alyth area to some more settle routes, forest tracks and quiet roads in Bridge of Cally & Glenshee area. You can book a guided ride or hire bikes directly at Alyth Cycles (delivery option available too).

Love mountain biking in Scotland - suitable for all ages & ability level 

Enjoying wildlife in Dundee area

• Kayak with dolphins - just on our 'doorstep' we have often chances paddling with dolphins. So many people living in Dundee, Fife, Angus area have never seen one. On our 2015 trips we were extremely lucky to see them many, many times. This activity is novice friendly! We even made STV News back in May. So more details, contact us & book your experience.

• Improve your mountaineering skills, learn some winter skill - great expert in this field, Andy from Mountain Summits offers quality days out, all year round. He also has some accommodation available, so look at his page and give it a go!
• Go to Poland! Yes, you reading it correctly. Visit Poland, canoeing or/and kayaking for 5 days in summer 2016. Explore the historical town of Gdansk, northern Poland. Spend few days paddling through stunning locations following River Wda. Stay in tents or lodges, your kit also will be transported for you! Get in touch for detailsor read a bit more about it here. It's worth it!

As always, leave your comments & questions below or contact us directly; 07904 324102 info@outdoorexplore.org.uk

Going out before Christmas

Many of us is getting ready for Christmas now but we didn't have time for it yet...

We have decided to explore another 'gem' in the area instead - Ben Vrackie (841m).

Path is well marked

It is a popular walk in Pitlochry area. Despite busy it's still worth doing when visiting Perthshire. We have decided to take our friends, visiting from England up. As you can see snowy conditions, so take caution when exploring. We have experienced snow fall even in May 2015!

Loch a Choire and Ben Vrackie summit (841m)

It's about 8km walk, taking about 4hrs, suitable for pretty much any abilities. The part to the Loch a Choire anyway. From the loch up, path is very steep and in the winter not suitable to novice explorers.

Every step from the car park, taking quite steep path to start of, provides us with amazing views. As the summit is not in the shadow of any other, higher mountain, the views on a clear day are very far, far away. You may even see Edinburgh's Arthur Seat!

Rivers Meet Caffee - time to relax

The summit just behind the corner

The route is well marked from the car park. If this is full, you may consider the Moulin Inn, where after walk you can have own brewed beer or quality food as well.

Ben Vrackie is done very often by us and still each time provides amazing memories. This time, our guests made even better by getting engaged later on same afternoon! How amazing story is that!

As always, if you wish to know more about the route, location, area...simply get in touch. Happy to share more about the walk!

MTB at Drimmie; waterfalls, views & wildlife

Drimmie Woods despite being the nearest to us still can surprise. We chose to explore its new to us part last Sunday. So as expected, cold day but very clear. Nice difference during all this rain recently...

From the beginning we were very fortunate. Just next to our van we noticed kestrel hovering in the sky. It was there for even long enough to take the camera out and record this wee video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UIbovHmyHo

From there onward we followed various forest and single tracks leading us to north-east edge of the forest. Crossing few gates along the way (always stick to Outdoor Access Code!) we discovered a lovely, hidden waterfall. Picture below is not the best as we accessed it from the above. It was about 15ft high adding another 'hidden gem' mark on our maps.

Drimmie Woods offering some fantastic scenery, looking out towards Glenshee. That day was so clear that we had chance to enjoy all its beauty. We even experienced deer approaching us quite close as there was almost no sound around us...

Overall, this is a great location if you are looking for fairly easy & moderate routes where you can practice your nav skills, enjoy the wildlife and nearby scenery. If you wish to try it on a guided trip, rent bikes or just know more, as always, get in touch. Happy to help!

Why kayaking in the winter...

Many of us tried or considered trying kayaking or canoeing at some point. I hope it always brings you friendly, fun and ... warm memories.

So why would you do it in the winter?

I have tried for the first time many, many years ago. It was December 31st, quite cold outside but really amazing. It was 'crispy' and as long as you wrapped up yourself well you could be much drier than in many 'classic summer days in Scotland'.

Access to right venues could slightly more challenging in such conditions but this makes the whole experience even more adventures, isn't it?

Since moving to Scotland, I was very lucky trying winter paddling, mostly kayaking many times.

So many lochs and rivers can present you with some amazing scenery which often is better seen from water perspective. 

So as long as you pick dry, frosty day, wrap yourself warm and take hot drinks and some snacks, you should be fine. Choose wisely the venue and craft suiting your skills, so you limit the risk of falling in. 

Winter landscape is stunning but it can get even better seen from the water perspective!

Fancy trying it, get in touch; 07904 324102 or info@outdoorexplore.org.uk

www.outdoorexplore.org.uk

 

 

 

Autumn is upon us in Scotland...

Of course, it's an obvious thing at this time of the year. How many times we look out through the window, seeing rain, wind, etc and thinking 'naaa, not today'.

Is it still worth then trying to explore the outdoors? Of course it is! Just get some thinking on the go, which of the outside activities would be the most useful that day. Nights are also coming fast now, in Scotland. Hey, this mean we started doing night kayak trips! Truly great fun, specially when finished with a nice campfire, marshmellows and tea...

So here, below, some hopefully motivational photos, all taken in the last 10 days in Blairgowrie, Perthshire area. Fancy learning more abut any of these destinations, or maybe trying it yourself? We are guiding all year round, get in touch: www.outdoorexplore.org.uk

Campfire after night kayaking

Walking on Cateran Trail, Forter Castle area

River Isla, near Coupar Angus

Autumn walk near Bridge of Cally

Hidden loch near Blairgowrie

Loch Tummel

Enjoying the sun, in November!

Misty day walking Blairgowrie

River Ericht - lower section

It is not a secret, I moved to Blairgowrie priorly to be closest possible to the River Ericht. It upper sections, which I am visiting for years now I think are one of the nicest places to white water kayak in UK.

Yesterday was time to explore the lower section of the river. We started a bit down from the Blairgworie's road bridge, at the river right. Weather was quite warm, no major rain for couple of days now, with the water level (on SEPA gauge for Ericht @Craighall) 0.8. Standard spring, low-ish water level.

The whole stretch, till Coupar Angus, is about 11km long. First few are not giving you much time to warm up. You are straight away going through small rapids, plenty of meanders and you must navigate swiftly at time to avoid strainers. Inbetween, still near Blairgowrie, you should have a rest where water flow is gentle. Observe local beavers!

After 45 minutes we reached Kitty Swanson's bridge. It's being re-build now so probably when you will visit it will look different. It is also a good landscape and river changing moment. No more awaits from now on, only nice meanders. Also surrounding forest disappeared allowing you to enjoy the views of nearby Glens.

Soon also, 15 minutes further from the bridge, you should rich a confluence with the River Isla, from your left. Despite two rivers joining the flow is very slow now allowing time to gentle paddle, relax and enjoy the last stretch of the river. You will find here, mostly on the right, number of good spots for wild camping, away from fishermen, public and any roads or paths.

Coupar Angus bridge is impossible to be missed, with good egress points on both sides but better parking place for your car on the river left.
Overall Lower Ericht is a hidden gem of East Perthshire. You can truly enjoy your canoeing experience here and hopefully you will be back again. I know I will.

If you would like to try it or know more, just get in touch, happy o help:
info@outdoorexplore.org.uk 07904 324102 www.outdoorexplore.org.uk

Classic canoe skills on the River Ericht

River Ericht, East Perthshire is definitely my favorite canoe and kayak venue in this part of the country. Despite I mainly discovered the upper section and it's tributes when doing white water kayaking I think, the river is fantastic for touring too.

Blairgowrie, town located only 25min north from Dundee & Perth, provides great access and egress points to the river. You can also find free car parks, near the river, great places to eat, stay over night or have a refreshing pint after a great journey.

River Ericht has been a soul of this town for many, many years, helping to run the mills and bringing wealth and fame to Blairgowrie. Now all the mills are long time gone and the river is well under valued.

I am hoping to change it. Using the lower section of the river, starting near Tesco/Welton Industrial Estate, you can travel down and join River Isla, then River Tay and in 2-3 days time of mellow journey you can ended up in Broughty Ferry! This trip is really worth doing.

In the last few years a settlement of beavers is keeping well in Blairgowrie, which you might see if like getting up early. Few shallow parts of the river will be also


perfect for your canoe poling or lining skills. When you will reach River Isla, you can turn back again, creating a great full day of classic, trad, canoe skills. Otherwise you may want to stop by the road bridge near Coupar Angus. From there you could carry on for an hour or two and just before joining River Tay, there is another good access/egress point on the road A93.

So as you can see, this location and it's venue you can use in number of time, combing differently aimed trips and never get bored. Plenty of wildlife and fantastic view around will be a nice top up to a really good water features which you might expect. All access/egress points are very close so it's easy to shuttle, means more time for the journey. If you struggle with the shuttle, or wish to get more info (maps, borrow boats/kit, see more pictures) just get in touch. I am as always happy to help.

info@outdoorexplore.org.uk 

Kayak in your area, expect to be surprised.

How many of us always dreams or travels far away to explore some great places?
How many of us can see lochs (lakes), rivers, some sea on the daily basis, from home, work but never bother to explore it?

I was always a keen believer that beside great places to see somewhere far away there is always something interesting nearby.
Here it is my Easter, local travel story;

Loch Clunie, located just 5 miles west of Blairgowrie, the largest town in Perthshire.
Not many local folk is even interested in this venue anymore. Fair play, during the summer place is not managed at all, number of litter left by members of the public is spoiling the reputation of this venue.

Nevertheless thanks to my friend's information I have found out lots about the history relevant to the loch. If you explore Loch Clunie you will be exploring some of Scotlands oldest history. On the shore there are remnants of an old castle, once used by Kenneth MacAlpin, the first king of Scotland. The small island is actually man made and was used as a crannog with another castle built on it.

During the Easter time, just past, I have decided to take my family and friends to show them this well undervalued place. I think the pictures, some attached here (more on my Pinterest page: https://www.pinterest.com/o_explore/ ) shows how great little kayak journey we had!

Castles, an inland, great company, peace and quiet at this time of the year and nice views of nearby hills created a really great, 2hrs long journey. I would love to show the place now even more to visiting tourists and living nearby people. There is probably plenty of more hidden gems waiting here to be explored. I am hoping to find them all.

Do you have some great venues like this somewhere close? Feel free to comment it below or email me at info@outdoorexplore.org.uk

Mountain Biking trip on some of the best Scottish routes

What would you choose to do on your short holiday break, when you work in the outdoors?

Outdoor Explore offers kayak tours on lochs, rivers and sea mainly so this time we went mountain biking to Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland with friends from Alyth Cycles (www.alythcycles.co.uk).

If you haven't visited 7 Stanes Mountain Bike centres in Scotland yet, change it! They are really well developed project,, mainly by Forestry Commission. 

Five out of seven centres is in Dumfries & Galloway so it was an obvious choice for four of us to go camping and biking.

We set off from Blairgowrie on Saturday, as work still had to be done in the morning. Straight away we headed off to Kirroughtree. 

AS all these attractions, they are easy to find. Alwyas signposted well, included standard brown road signs, helping you to find the right directions when you are nearby.

Kirroughtree is quite large bike park, which beside great routes has also cafe, bike shop and camp site (closed at this time of the year though). As the day were still short on that day (clock was changing over the next night) we only managed to complete one route. We probably would stay longer but we also had to find somewhere to wild camp, ideally nearby and the weather was horrible; rain and quite cold (3-6 degrees).

Quite luckily we found a great, hidden spot nearby just by the edge of the bay. Even we started to set up the campsite in a pour rain and darkness we managed to have a great BBQ and chilled evening.

Following day was much, much better. Slightly less rain, so it was time for breakfast and hit the road to the next bike park. I do have to mention here a great gift I have been given earlier this year; Kelly Kettle. If you are camping often and would like some hot water to boil quickly, get one! It's a genius, Irish idea of boiling water on mini fire. I had 1.5l of water boiled in under 4 minutes, in the rain, using only two 'tweeks' of silver birch! Amazing, in my opinion.

So anyway, next bike park, Dalbeattie. Much less car park infrastructure but still done to a high standard. There is a toilet block and nearby cafe if needed. Tracks are much more 'rustic'. Plenty of single tracks, through the narrow forest and with great views whilst riding on the nearby hills. Again, place worth visiting. 

And at the end even sun came out! So a really good, very active and extremely short weekend.

To top it up, we headed off to Kippford, where an Anchor pub serves superb meals for not to much money! You really should head over there when you are in the area.

Once more, short, active breaks are amazing. Completing a challenging trip when you think there is no time for a 'proper' holiday is really worth doing. You might be exhausted on Monday at work, after driving 400 miles, riding in two bike parks, wild camping in cold March and cleaning all the gear at 6.00am before going back to work but at least you have amazing stories to tell...

Till the next time then

www.outdoorexplore.org.uk

www.alythcycles.co.uk

 

Spring, sea kayak season 'is open'

So here we are again.

Spring time, 20th March, we decided to have our first sea kayak trip at our nearest location, Broughty Ferry.

Just by coincident, it was a day to observe an eclipse, whats a bonus. I was glad sun kept clouds away and the trip was an amazing success. We set off, from the beach, by the castle at 8.30am. It was a LW time. We crossed the Firth of Tay first and follow the southern shore to the sea.
Throughout the trip we had minimal amount of wind and waves making this trip extremely pleasant. It really didn't feel like it's real. As we have been exposed to the sun all morning, moment of darkness was not as obvious as you would expect. Nevertheless, it was great to kayak during the eclipse.

All journey took us around two hours, of pleasant paddling with a little bit of tidal race on the way back. We have been very lucky with the weather, which resulted with few nice pictures (see samples below). If you ever fancy trying sea kayaking, get in touch. Our email is info@outdoorexplore.org.uk

Great wildlife near Dundee & Perth - another kayak trip completed

Classic trip, from Perth to Broughty Ferry completed. Nearly 40km distance but if you count your time right and use the benefit of tide in the River Tay it takes only up to 7 hrs. We did in two half days with a great wild camp in the middle. Trip worth doing!

We were lucky and as a small enough group,permited to access river at Perth Sailing Club grounds. Very polite people even allowed us to put our car on their grounds. If you considering taking a bigger group or regular trips, use SCA access point instead, in Perth.

River is nice and mellow, but be aware that during the high water quite large ships might be travelling up and down here as well, going to Perth Port!
Leaving Perth you already can see first two out of five castles you will be lucky to view during the trip. There is also number of herons living around here so trip is enjoyable straight from the beginning.

After River Earn joins us from the right keep your map handy. There is a lot of sand banks and overgrown river edges. Make sure you stick to the main channel, otherwise you might get lost, stuck or just simply slowed down. Worth checking what each water buoy means and how should you behave when other water crafts are passing by.



Newburgh is a lovely small town, worth stopping by. For those who don't have 7hrs spare, could be a good start point of the trip. From now on you will see Dundee at the horizon. Plenty of abandoned houses on the right bank. Left bank is way to overgrown to access the land.
Shortly after passing town we have spotted first seal!

We decided to stop 2-3 miles down from town. Stony beach but comfortable enough and plenty of drift wood. Keep your fires under good control! This summer there is way to many large fires initiated by disposal BBQs. I know, I am a firefighter too!

Soon sunset was absolutely amazing. It was also a bit windy, so no midges as of yet. Two sea otters came out of the water and walk near us, ignoring the world around, to their hidden settlement. Then five herons as a group flew by, heading East. More seals can be seen not far, settling for the low tide on the river's sand banks. What's an evening...and all of it with Dundee in the distance. How many of folks living there doesn't even relies about this great spot we are in.

Morning welcomed us with no wind, so classic midges waited for us. Thousands of them, so it took maybe 10 minutes to pack up and go. Breakfast, we decided, will be eaten on the water :)

Completely flat conditions maintained all the way to Tayport! We paddled against tide, but because of this great weather it only took us 4 hrs from camp site to Broughty Ferry beach! Pictures taken in this conditions (see link to them below) are probably one of the best I ever took!

Seals. I can't finish without saying how lucky we were that day. We started trip when water was still low. Before approaching Tay Rail Bridge, we passed by a sand beach with 20 - 30 seals relaxing in the early day sun. When we arrived to them, quietly, they all went on the water at once. We waited when suddenly they started to appear near us just curiously looking at us and diving here and there. They are massive animals but staying a safe distance from us. Fantastic experience we had , which lasted nearly 20 minutes. Then some of them followed even us for a while...Loved it!

Who wouldn't enjoy such trip? But there is more to it and also plenty more to see, so get in touch! Join us for our next venture or propose your one, we will arrange it all for you!

Contact: info@outdoorexplore.org.uk

Link to pictures:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/107970469148549274301/albums/6041715116301347009

Long distance swim support

Last weekend we tried something new; supporting a group of people who are preparing to swim across English Channel! This great challenge cannot be undertaken without a proper preparation prior. Those who wish to achieve such probably should check Channel Swimming Association  website first for some details. We were working with Chris, from Swim4miles, who is a well experienced coach. It was a second time this type of boot camp took place.

Loch Lomond, Inchmurring Island was our base. And I tell you, that's a fantastic venue, run & owned as a family business since 1933!

Supporting swimmers, from a kayak need a little bit skill. How to feed, pas drinks, look after their and own safety (specially in rough weather), watching for other crafts flags and signals, etc.
Because of that and massive demand on safety kayaks, we will deliver half day Swim Kayak Safety Bolt On Courses. Get in touch (info@outdoorexplore.org.uk) if you would like to take part in such event or do need a safety kayaker for your swim...

Swim4miles is not only working with English Channel swimmers. They work with ANYONE who likes open water swims. So you already doing so and considering it taking up, check their website (below) for details.

Channel Swimming Association: http://www.channelswimmingassociation.com/

Swim4miles: http://www.swim4miles.com/

Dogs like camping too!

Our dog, Ozzie (5 years old, black Labrador) loves being outside and around us. Yesterday, to break again our normal working week, we took him for the first time camping with us! Weather was great, so we headed up the hills near Tarland (Aberdeenshire, Scotland). We set up a separate old tent, for Ozzie. He loved it! Various flies and midgees were very annoying. This tent was his sanctuarium... He happily spent there all night. What's a great news to all dog owners who like camping! Try it as well, let us know how did it go.

Kayak with dolphins

Number of dolphins is visiting the mouth of River Tay (East of Scotland) each year. I always wanted to paddle next to them, so this Saturday we are heading to Broughty Ferry, near Dundee. We are planning to be there for 10.00 am and spent few hours paddling upstream and around the area looking for this amazing creatures. There are still four spaces free on this event,so get in touch if you wish to join us! Only £25 per person! Email info@outdoorexplore.org.uk

Carrying a map - essential in the outdoors

Sometimes really surprises me that in UK not all river paddlers do carry a map. If you would ask them if they do the same in the mountains, probably the answer would be 'no'. I do recommend carrying always a map when exploring the great outdoors. You never know when you going to need it. I have also found the best pace to buy them, in UK:

Dash4it - visit their website. Some OS maps will cost more as of today. Dash4it is always selling them much cheaper. Brand new, next day delivery, what do you need more? Strongly recommend not only for OS maps but many other too.

Follow the link for their website:
http://dash4it.co.uk/

Testing new canoe paddles

Everyone who does a little bit of boating knows how important is to have a decent paddle. Light, strong, flexible, working for the purpose, feels good when using and also not extremely expensive, if that's even possible. Here are some pictures from testing new canoe paddles, which you will here more, much more in upcoming future.





Here, in Miastko (Poland), testing paddles using a fiber-glass canoe: