Canoeing a challenging and full-on Tay River

Words & photos:
Ashley Kenlock and
Richard Harpham FRGS

Bio

Richard Harpham, FRGS and Ashley Kenlock are human-powered adventurers, paddling coaches and leaders who have completed over 12,000 miles of expeditions by kayak, canoe, SUP, Ski and bike www.richadventure.com. They run the award-winning www.canoetrail.co.uk, watersports and adventure business together, offering coaching, expeditions and canoe and camp in Bedfordshire. Thanks to BAM Clothing, Paramo, Valley Sea Kayaks, MSR, Palm Equipment and Silver Birch Canoes for sharing the dream.

Check out our 2023 expeditions live on the Canoe Trail website. www.canoetrail.co.uk 

Canoeing a challenging and full-on Tay River

We have often wondered where you distinguish between a canoe trip and an expedition. When does it become worthy of the title expedition? Our recent canoe trip from the head of Loch Tay down to Perth certainly qualified as a full-on expedition as the river was pumping, swollen by days of Scottish Liquid Sunshine. We often say that the best you will achieve against the environment is a score draw, so I officially want to thank the river gods for safe passage.

Our crew of paddlers was a lovely group of customers from various walks of life with paddling experience in Sweden on bushcraft trips, intro courses and a little bit of sea kayaking. We met in one of my favourite Scottish villages, Killin, nestled at the Western end of Loch Tay. We were running the trip with our friends at Woodland Ways, market leaders in Bushcraft.

Killin has a great vibe with the Falls of Dochart crashing down through the village past the pub of the same name, the fantastic outdoor shop run by the eccentric Dutchman Robert and various other places to eat and relax. We briefed the team and loaded the kit for a week of paddling, reminding them of the need to pack light. On paddling trips, it is helpful to manage the kit requirements subtly, navigating between things you ‘want’ versus things you ‘need’.

Our passage was to head down the loch towards Kenmore to join the mighty River Tay and the promise of significant white water. On previous trips, our Canoe Trail best of Scotland, we had paddled and explored Loch Tay and had trained customers under the bridge (accessible by turning left at Killin and heading upstream) where the River Lochay enters the Loch.

The Western end of Loch Tay has various small islands that are home to local beavers and offer a great camping spot. We planned to paddle to Perth over five to six days and then shuttle back to Loch Tay with a contingency day to camp on the islands and explore if time allowed. We paddled Eastwards, getting to know each other, profiling our team and providing hints and tips where useful. Loch Tay is located in the historic central region of Breadalbane, meaning the high or upper part of Scotland and has plenty of evidence of prehistoric life with an ancient stone circle as well as Crannogs on the loch.

Crannogs are artificial Iron Age islands built by the people of the time by dropping rocks into the Loch to build a platform or islet that they then build a timber house on stilts. A Crannog site and interpretive centre have been built on Loch Tay to showcase the work and life of our ancestors. On our previous trip to Loch Tay, we enjoyed locating the Crannogs; one is near Tay Highland Lodges and gorge, walking and paddling other local rivers, including the Teith. We even enjoyed a flyby from the RAF as they used Loch Tay as a training venue.

Loch Tay is 15 miles long, so be prepared for a good day; paddling groups often camp at the Eastern End before heading onto the River at Kenmore. The Crannog Centre is located here, which is worth a visit. We camped on the beach near the mouth of the Acharn River confluence and picked a sheltered site with heavy rain forecast, which proved to be a repetitive pattern over the week. Walking up from here is the mighty Falls of Acharn. Our team were seasoned campers and bushcrafters, so the deluge of cats and dogs didn’t bother them, and spirits remained high. By morning, there was a sense of excitement and anticipation as we paddled past Kenmore Beach under the beautiful stone bridge. Game on.

continuous problem-solving

Calum and I have completed our Advanced Canoe Leader training and assessment with Ken Hughes, and we could hear his wise words echoing in our minds “Go fast when you need to go fast; go slow when you need to go slow”! We knew that navigating the river in spate would require continuous problem-solving and decision-making from us to avoid compromising safety and ensure our team had a good trip. We had further backup with seasoned white water paddlers Matt Harpham, my brother, Ashley Kenlock and Jason Ingammels, who runs Woodland Ways. We had completed hundreds of paddling trips, expeditions and big adventures between us. Our destination was past Aberfeldy, warming up for bigger things, including Grand Tulley, Campsie Linn, Stanley Mills, and Thistlebrigg rapids.

Arriving at the Chinese bridge was our first test of paddling skills and leadership on bigger water. We walked past the rapid and showed our team the line whilst Ash, I and Foxy, our four-legged crew mate, paddled under the bridge. Foxy in the bow was almost waterboarded as we took on some waves and water despite slowing our speed. We avoided a big hole further down and landed causally below the rapid. Next up were our customers who did well with their baptism of fire and water. The last time we paddled this section last season, two of our young instructors got well acquainted with this rapid gaining the ‘fish award’ for swimming.

Onwards towards Aberfeldy, we enjoyed smaller rapids working on breaking in and out and making eddies which were easier said and done in spate. We paddled under the stone bridge at Aberfeldy and then stopped at the slalom course for lunch and caught up with our mates at Beyond Adventure (located up the path). As leaders, we worked on the CLAP (communications, Line of Sight, Avoidance and Position of Most Use) principle, mindful that early or repeated swims might change the trip’s dynamic. We were cautious of information overload, so we coached some bits around power transfer to accelerate across rapids, for example, and provided other titbits as top tips.

navigation & leadership skills

Approaching Grand Tully, we had tracked the higher levels chasing us down the river and knew it would be massive waters. Given the levels, we had already briefed our charges that they would portage these rapids. Getting out safely was a real test of our river navigation and leadership skills. We slowed the pace, checking eddies and lines with the instructor boats; missing an eddy here would have significant consequences and jeopardy.

Whilst the team portaged kit, we ran the line river right to avoid the huge waves around the left side and holes big enough to swallow cars, never mind canoes. It was game on with strainers, a few rocks and big pushy water on the left channel. We paddled our canoe partly full, breaking out below the bridge before the final bit on a chicken run on rapid no.4 . The Previous paddling at Grand Tully, we had been a more central line making Eddie’s and then skirting ‘boat breaker’ none of which was visible at these levels.

autumn’s arrival

Our campsites were a mix of riverside woodland camping with pine forests and changing leaves, prompting autumn’s arrival. Our crew, as outdoor types, were great at setting up tents and sleeping systems and fending for themselves. Evenings involved cooking delicious home-cooked treats, including chorizo and three-bean stew with couscous (so good they named it twice), free-range cheeseburgers, Thai stew and veggie stir fry. The social aspect of our trips was important, and both Canoe Trail. And Woodland Ways are real foodies enjoying preparing delicacies in camp. It was great to share stories and make deeper friendships around the campfire – the perfect antidote to the liquid sunshine and damp conditions.

One of the key prompts we found helpful in shaping the expedition and how people get about the bigger rapids was distilled into two key questions. Are you happy paddling it? Are you happy swimming it? Thanks to Olly Jay of Active 4 Seasons in Berwick for sharing this wisdom. At Campsie Linn, we followed the right-hand channel behind the islands and searched for an easier route to avoid the huge hydraulics on the river left. With a quick bit of scouting, it was evident that a small eddy before the main back channel offered a safe haven to get the team out. They portaged the island, and we ran their boats down the crowded backwater awash with flooded bushes, trees and plenty of strainer hazards.

solid dynamic risk assessment

We rejoined the swirling flow of Eddie’s and boils heading down, satisfied with our decision-making and problem-solving. We conducted a solid dynamic risk assessment at each feature and asked ourselves what our team’s safety, rescue, and paddling plans were. This involved a wide range of techniques, including boat grab, throwlines, empty canoes, rescue canoes, portaging and more. It was like an ongoing game of speed chess against the river.

Arriving at Stanley Weir, we landed river left for the leadership team to inspect the rapid that had formed. River Right, usually a friendly play wave, had transformed into a monster hole. A more user-friendly wave and green tongue offered a safe passage on the river left. We put in place safety and briefed the team. Despite some big wobbles and ‘trombone faces’, the team makes it down. We had been tracking the high ‘high’ water conditions on the River App, so we knew the bigger slugs of water were chasing us down from Loch Tay.

our biggest challenge

The conditions had become pushier as larger flows meant little time to make eddies. Arriving at Thistlebrigg, we faced our biggest challenge: huge holes, boils and waves. A group of kayakers paddled through whilst we worked out the best route to make it down, as portaging was not a viable option. Calum scouted the river right with a large and precise ferry glide; we then communicated by phone to confirm not that side.

Our strategy of eddy hopping and searching for slower water had run out; the large sweeping bend did offer that possibility. Calum paddled down first, breaking out on the left-hand side; our canoe with the intrepid Foxy followed to allow a second safety boat to collect any pieces. On the apex of the bend, the water dropped over a slab providing a remarkable 2-3m drop and slide on the large tongue before a huge wave train.

We signalled back to the group to follow on one canoe at a time, following the best dryish line we could offer. All our crews did brilliantly, although we did get some swamped canoes and one team swimming, requiring some solid rescue skills to avoid swimming the next rapid. “We are all between swims.”

As a leadership team, we breathed a sigh of relief that the problem-solving of the past few days was over, and we could relax. At Perth, with the end in sight, we paddled alongside plenty of jetsam and flotsam, including whole trees and even a one-tonne hay bale. It was too good an opportunity to miss, so Ash jumped aboard to show off her SUP skills on a giant round object.

incredible adventure

We landed at the Willow Gate Outdoor Activity Centre under the bridge, having enjoyed an incredible adventure. We shuttled back to Loch Tay for a final night of wild camping on the Loch to finish our expedition which was the perfect relaxed end to our adventure. We watched the beavers meandering and patrolling their lodges and settled for food. Our evening was boosted by the commando raid by Robert and Will from Killin Outdoor Shop, who paddled in under cover of darkness!

Finishing our Tay paddle, I can honestly say it was one of the most challenging trips I have led, and I was glad we had a decision-making team of Calum, Ash and myself with support from Jason and Matt. It felt as worthy of the title expedition as many of the wilderness trips we have run in the Canadian or Alaskan Wilderness.