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/