Early start on Loch Rannoch

This is another tale from my recent trip to Scotland.

After an overnight drive I arrived in Kinloch Rannoch at around 3 am and knowing the forecast for the day was good decided to snatch an hour or so sleep before setting off on my trip. A short time later I awoke as the sun broke through, and I was greeted with the stunning early morning view of Loch Rannoch.

Not wanting to miss the opportunity of a day of solitude and paddling on my own, I quickly unloaded my boat, kitted up and was on the water leaving the sheltered beach behind me by 6 am.

The area around Rannoch Moor and Loch Rannoch has to be one of my favourites, so much so that I named my dog Rannoch!

Loch Rannoch its self lies to the East of Rannoch Moor and North of Sterling in the North of Scotland. It is easily accessed from Pitlochry on the A9, which is one of the major road routes through Scotland. It is part of a classic and very committing cross Scotland trip, which starts at Kin Loch Leven south of Fort William and ends over in Perth on the East coast. The Loch it’s self is around 15 km long with lots of opportunities for stopping and wild camps. Due to the mountainous terrain, and the surrounding wooded areas it almost has that Canadian feel about it.

My aim had been to complete a short section of this route, by paddling  the length/around Loch Rannoch, portage into Dunalastair Water then down the River Tummel through Loch Tummel and finish up somewhere around Pitlochry.

In keeping with the ways of the Voyageurs I had opted for a “Hudsons Bay Start.” This was basically a practice run for the Voyageurs to make sure that they had the right equipment and that things worked as they should before heading off into the wilderness. It involved a short first day, setting up camp early and not too far from home incase there were any issues that needed them to return home to be dealt with.

However as they say “All good plans fail at their first contact with the enemy!” and mine certainly did, as the water in the River Tummel was very low. I decided this probably wouldn’t make for enjoyable trip, and so opted to circumnavigate the loch, portage into Dunalastair Water and spend some time exploring it.

So shortly after 6 am with my trusted steed loaded and ready, I set off. I chose my Mad River Legend, not the best choice for an open water trip as it is more suited to moving water. However as I only had the room for one boat on this trip, and as my plans for later that week included paddling some rivers then it made sense to take it.

As those who know me will tell you, I am some what of a self confessed Bushcraft geek and love foraging around for things I can use during trips. This little adventure was to be no different. In this instance during a stop it was an acompliment of Bilberries to add to my planed breakfast of porridge and some Birch bark to help light my fire and Kelly Kettle. Bilberries are basically a smaller and tastier European variety of the Blueberry, and in Scotland are known as Blaeberries. I will talk more about Kelly Kettles in a future blog with tips on using them.

Fed and watered I continued on my way and by late afternoon I had completed a full circuit of the Loch. The weather was great and the scenery stunning. After another of many short stops I portaged into Dunalastair Water and found a bivy spot for the night.

Next morning I was again up early and explored the area before finally heading back to my original start point. I can thoroughly recommend the area and the trip. The opportunities for wild camping are plenty and there are numerous options to either extend the trip or to include it as part of longer trip.

I hope you have found this interesting and may be it will inspire some of you to have some canoe ventures of your own.

See you on the water…

Jules

www.voyageur-coaching.co.uk