I spent last weekend getting my outdoor fix on Loch Lomond - Two friends and I canoed around some of the islands. Having looked at the weather forecast for the preceding weeks we felt sure it was going to be awful and were ready for a damp couple of days but Scotland (once again) did not disappoint.
The loch was like a mirror as we set off from Luss on Friday to explore. Having walked to the high point on Inchtavannach to admire the views, and paddled around Inchmoan, watching the deer come down to the water’s edge, we agreed to spend the night on Inchconnachan for no other reason than it appeared absolutely idyllic as the sun began to sink and the evening light bathed the lake in a silvery light.
For the first time I took with me a hammock, with the intention of “testing” out this kind of kit. I used the Kammok Mantis hammock system which I was recently sent for review. I won’t go into too much detail here, except to say that there is much to recommend a hammock as against other sleeping arrangements, although it is probably something I will reserve for fair weather. You can read my review here or watch the video at the end of this post.
Three people in a 16 foot canoe is about the maximum and although we didn’t have a huge amount of gear, we were sitting pretty low in the water but we were also safe in the knowledge that the morning after most fo the food and liquid we carried with us would have been consumed by the morning.
With weight in mind we took packets of food. I have said before how dehydrated food is not my first choice but in this case we agreed it was practical to eat in the bag. We took a selection which did the job perfectly but, perhaps with two canoes, I would love to take along a grill and cooking equipment. Nobody would have thanked me if I turned up with a set of cast-iron pans.
We strode along the beach and then into the woods and up the slopes of Inchconnachan, thick with ferns turning from their lush summer green to the orange of autumn. As we moved towards a high point we spotted a pair of ears above the ferns, and assuming them to belong to a young deer, crept upwards to get a better view.
Brought here by the eccentricity of Lady Colquhoun
At this point some of you reading this may be nodding in a knowing fashion, having perhaps visited or read something of the bizarre history of this little island but to us what happened next came as a great surprise. As we gained a vantage point, the ears revealed themselves to belong to a wallaby. That’s right wallabies live and breed in Scotland. In 1940s they were brought here by the eccentricity of Lady Colquhoun and since then they have been the only full-time residents of Inchconnachan.
As we sat by a small fire on the beach a fine rain began to fall but was largely filtered out by the canopy of a large oak tree. Darkness is something I rarely see these days and as always in the wild it is was welcome as our sleeping bags.
We rose about 8:30 the next day after ample rest and set about clearing up any sign of our stay. I don’t mean to get on my high horse here because none of us is perfect, but there were signs that others had cared considerably less about leaving no trace.
The idea was to paddle up and around Inchlonaig, stopping off to explore the island. The wind was picking up and a grey blanket of cloud filled the sky as launched the canoe northwards and were escorted off the island by a swan and cygnet - "thanks for visiting, humans, time to go back now and leave us in peace”.
The waves had white peaks & every time we got side-on the canoe risked capsizing.
As we rounded the north east shore of Inchlonaig the wind began to punish us. We pulled up on a tiny pebble beach and climbed to a high point for some magnificent views up the Loch with the backdrop of the rust-coloured undulations of the Trossach mountains. But we didn’t spend long and were soon back in the canoe, only to land again a few minutes later on another pebble beach. The waves now had white peaks and every time we got side-on the canoe risked capsizing. Luss was in a westerly direction and side on to the wind was where we had to go.
We waited a few minutes, called ashore in the hope of some local weather prediction but soon came to the decision that it was best to go as soon as we saw a slight drop in the wind. Within minutes we were back in the water, paddling north-west into the waves as much as we could, with the idea of tacking when we felt we had reached far enough and riding slowly the waves back home. The cold loch water occasionally sloshed over the sides when our line strayed but we just kept pushing on. Our cheery chat of yesterday seemed to have dried up.
I think we were all a bit out of our comfort zone in the hour it took to make this lengthier trip back from the island to the shore, but that's what makes for an adventure. By the time we landed at The Lodge at Loch Lomond, looking forward to a hot shower and a few pints, the waters were somewhat calmer, the adrenaline had died along with the breeze and our bodies allowed us to feel the satisfying aches of the occasional paddler.
The sky was once again blue. We shall return.