Tummel Trip

Photos and videos from yesterday's beginners' trip with Jenny & Babs up at Pitlochry / River Tummel (15.08.21) - Thanks to John for selflessly (and cheerily) coming to open up the boathouse on his day off. As you will probably see from the photos, we all had a good time. Jenny & Babs went through equipment checks and a safety talk with us both in the car park at Pitlochry and then before going on the water, checking for river features and finding out what each of us knew/noticed. We were on the water from about 1pm-5pm paddling down the 8km from just below the Pitlochry Dam & Fish Ladder, to Ballinluig with a short stop on a gravel/pebble beach to eat our lunch on the way down.. Jenny & Babs provided a calm and reassuring presence, giving us guidance and coming to our aid when needed. We did lots of ferry gliding practice and entering/exiting the river's faster flowing areas to/from calm water eddies. I hold the honour of being responsible for 66% of the day's 3 'swims', proving that pride comes before fall, capsizing on two occasions just when I thought I'd made it out of the quick water. Those classic 'look at me, I did it....wwwooooah splash' moments. A lovely, tiring day. As always, really nice instructors and good company all round. Long live Edinburgh Kayak Club!