This was a somewhat dry trip to Scotland, requiring large amounts of driving (over 1100 miles, including an Oxford-Scotland return trip) to find any rivers with much water in. The Etive featured heavily in the trip as the falls are runnable in all sorts of water levels, as was one of its tributaries the Allt a' Chaorainn (Roughly, Alt Na Who-Rin) which was without doubt better than any roller coaster I've ever been on. The Awe provided reliable water, running it once and playing in the Dam outflow another day where my surfing improved considerably. The Findhorn (beyond Inverness) was a good run, if a long way away. The Spean and the Roy both provided good paddles and classic gorge paddles, although again they were a bit dry, with the constriction in the Spean being too low to fit a boat through. Thankfully we found that the Garry was releasing one day (but we narrowly avoided bailiffs at the put in) which provided nice big water and stoppers to get stuck in. On the way back home we paid a visit to the Tees from High Force to Low Force, which again was low, but worth the visit.

There are some photos below, with appropriate captions. They mostly feature me, more will appear once developed and scanned.

Pictures what I took:

Somewhere on the etive, not at the top, and not at the bottom. Quite possibly the great waterslide, but don't quote me on that one.


At the bottom of triple falls, note the terrible line, although this time round it didn't cause any wetness.


Somewhere else on the etive, I've no idea where.


Right Angle Falls. Twenty feet of sweet, sweet air.


Triple step on the Spean, the time I didn't fall in. The first time I tried this bit I did, hence the look of concentration on my face.


Hannah leans back on the bottom of triple falls.


Hannah goes down the top chute of the Allt a' Choarainn (I've no pictures of me on this one.. and I like the way she's pointing skywards)


Another time down Right Angle falls, this time with less fear


Hannah on Right Angle Falls


The final chute on the Allt a' Choarainn -- I'm in a spud here


Alan forgets that he needs a boat at the top of the Awe


Me on triple falls, on the Etive


Andy at the top of the first shute on the Allt a' Choarainn


Me while going down triple falls, in the fall

Pictures by Richard Scott-Smith:

Wading over the Etive to get to the Allt a' Chaorainn. Note in particular the hazardous positioning of the three pairs of shoes not tied around people's necks. Something I quickly disocovered the wet way when I stumbled.


Me in the bottom of the top falls of Triple Falls on the Etive, about to fall over, if memory serves me correctly.


Yup, over I went, don't be fooled by the blue sky, the water was still cold.


A different day on the Etive, and a bit further down. All those rocks causing much scraping of boats.


This wasn't on a river, as indicated by the carpet. Here you see me picking a tiny bit of paper from the floor with my teeth and without my hands. Long dark nights.