kayaking on Scottish water

[katriona_s]

One of the purposes of my trip to UK was Kayaking on Firth of Forth near Edinburg, or nearby sea. This is the area where the Scottish author R.L.Stevenson might have enjoyed yachting or boating in his youth. Since when I started kayaking in 2021, as a fan of Stevenson, I have wanted to paddle on these water someday. On my 2nd and 3rd day in Scotland, the weather was wonderfully sunny and sea was calm, I enjoyed paddling with the very nice local guide. I have stayed in a beautiful small town North Berwick on the shore, it was our starting point.



We started the nearby Seacliff beach. In the morning it's a bit cloudy but soon became sunny.

First we paddled to the Bass Rock, the large colony of the gannets. As we approached the island, I saw countless small white feather on the water. And around the island ... there were countless gannets, on the rocks or flying around, it's really amazing, magical sight! We paddled around the Bass and back to the shore.





Can you see the tiny white spots above the island? They are all gannets!





In Stevenson's novel "Catriona", the hero David was kidnapped and imprisoned on Bass. Now I can imagine the scene very vividly :)

On the next day, we visited another smaller islands nearer to the shore. We started North Berwick harbor then first paddled to Craigleith island, then Lamb and Fidra island.



Near Craigleith I saw 2 or 3 seals in the water!





They were all rocky, uninhabited islands though we could land on Fidra, and there were many small, beautiful wild flowers on it. Very impressive!



A view from Fidra.

On both day we returned to the shore around 2 or 3pm. To my beginner's skill these were not easy trips, still, thanks for the good guide and calm weather I made them, enjoyed very much.

Comments

[coffeetime]

Oh my goodness, how beautiful!

In general I do not like paddling at all, but your photos make me think I should try to do it anyway...

[katriona_s]

Haha, yes it's a bit tough job, I might have never thought of doing this 10 years ago.
I have once joined the boat trip visiting Bass Rock. From the boat I could have looked up the rocky island and countless birds also, but there were many other tourists on the boat, exciting and talking loudly all the while, and we were with noisy sound of boat engine. So my private visit by kayak is very different from it, far better.

[vera_j]

Oh dear, this is fantastic! I really admire your skills - it is not easy to master kayaking at all, let alone in the sea!!! Lovely places you visited there - and also closely connected with R.L.Stevenson, what a treat for you! Thank you for sharing!

[katriona_s]

My great pleasure!
Kayaking is not very difficult, dear. But I don't have enough physical stamina, it's the problem. I won't do it again, and never by myself. Paddling with a good guide is very important.

[vilakins]

I'm so glad it all worked out and you got your kayak trip. Beautiful photos, especially the first one with the kayak on the beach with the pebbles and patterns in the sand.

[katriona_s]

Thank you very much. I was really fortunate to find the good kayak guide, and to have such good weather. And first of all, about having good friends who have tried to find the guide for me just in a few days.
The beach in the first photo, Seacliff beach, is a beautiful and tranquil spot. I saw many local people enjoying swimming or BBQ on te beach :)

[hokuton_punch]

What a beautiful beach and islands! And so many birds! ♥ It's very cool that you got to see seals, too. What a fun trip!

[katriona_s]

Yes, it was a wonderful experience! I was so excited when I saw the seals in water.