EXPLORE HIGHLAND By Canoe by Kayak by Sea Kayak... Join us online NEWSLETTER - January 2015 Happy New Year from Explore Highland. Hopefully Santa s brought you lots of new paddling kit for the year ahead. We ve taken some time out December/January for recovery after a very busy 2014. Explore Highland is going from strength to strength now with new premises beside the Caledonian Canal in Inverness. Within this newsletter we hope to highlight some of our 2014 successes as well as what s new and happening over 2015. Looking forward to further exploring the Scottish Highlands with you in the coming year. Donald New Premises Launch Weekend Our 2014 season opened 5/6 April with the launch of our new premises at Clachnaharry Works Lock, Clachnaharry Road, Inverness. We invited everyone to come down for a cuppa and try out not just our fleet of boats but that of Go Kayaking Scotland s too. It was a great success with over 150 people attending the two days which included getting a lot of kids and adults into boats for the first time. 2014 Support Staff During 2014 we took on two additional support staff to help support the admin side of the business. Martina Barbour joined us for a three month placement over summer as our Marketing & Social Media Intern through the Adopt an Intern scheme. Martina has since taken on a full time position with Best of Highland and we wish her every success. Jessica Leggatt also joined the team in May as our P/T Seasonal Admin Support after completing her first year at University studying Adventure Tourism Management with UHI School of Adventure Studies, Fort William. Some of you may have also met Jess at the SCA Paddle Show in Dewars Sports Centre, Perth in October where she helped run our exhibition and retail stand. 1,000 Prize Draw Results From December 2013 to 6th April 2014 we ran a competition that entered all booked clients for the season into our 1,000 Prize Draw. We are please to announce our 2014 Prize Draw Winners were; 1st Prize, Pyranha Fusion worth 650 Tessa Smart (photo insert right) 2nd Prize, Peak UK kit worth 300 Laura Wilson 3rd Prize, EH Marketing Pack 1 Noreen Schrier 4th Prize, EH Marketing Pack 2 Tom Best 5th Prize, EH Marketing Pack 3 Charlotte Cawthorne Summer Isles Tel: 01463 715929 Email: info@explorehighland.com Web: www.explorehighland.com 1
River Spey Descent 2015 Self Guided Boat Hire Our canoe and kayak hire prices have remained the same again for 2015 which will be great news for all those who are planning to go it alone. Please remember though at peak times during the season, our fleet of boats do get booked out in advance and there are only so many shuttle runs that we can accommodate. Do book early to avoid disappointment. Hire prices are listed online or we can forward out our Hire Sheet pfd. New Books Released Over 2014 three new paddling books were released. Congratulations to Nancy Chambers (River Spey Canoe Guide), Doug Cooper (North & East Coasts of Scotland) and Tim Gents (Canoe Camping) for producing these gems on behalf of Pesda Press. All books are now stock items at our base or can be ordered via Pesda Press website with free UK p&p. Some of the photos in River Spey Canoe Guide feature Rosie & Mel Smith who joined us on a guide trip in 2013 guided by Donald. 12.99 RRP 16.99 RRP 19.99 RRP 2015 Kids Kayaking During 2014 we had more kids out paddling than ever. Working again with Inverness Leisure, we offered seven, four hour introductory sessions through their Highlife Scheme as well as a number of kids kayaking courses run by ourselves. Throughout 2015 we intend to continue the Kids Kayaking sessions by introducing more kids to paddling and offer development session. During the Easter, Summer and October school holidays we will be running half day sessions in open canoeing, kayaking and other various crafts. These half day sessions include three hours of coached paddling for only 20 per child. (Five sessions for 80). 13-17 April, 27-31 July, 10-14 August & 12-16 October Easter sessions bookable online from end January 2015 Adult & Child Canoe Weekends Dates are also set for our two Adult & Child Weekends. Loch Ness 30/31 May 2015 River Spey 12/13 Sept 2015 Explore Highland on Pinterest We now have over 150 pins/12 boards on Pinterest. Please make sure your are following and pinning your future adventures. Glasgow to Edinburgh Canoe Trail Launched on 27 June 2014, this new 54 mile Canoe Trail is ideal for those new to multiday adventures. Taking on both the Forth & Clyde Canal and the Union Canal, linked by the Falkirk Wheel, this is certainly one urban adventure to tick off. www.glasgowtoedinburghcanoetrail.info Tel: 01463 715929 Email: info@explorehighland.com Web: www.explorehighland.com 2
Outer Hebrides 2015 Guided Adventure Holidays Looking for an Scottish adventure paddling holiday. Look no further as we have as usual a great programme of trips planned for the season ahead. Canoe Adventures We have two Great Glen, two River Spey plus a number of great weekend canoeing adventures planned for 2015. Loch Affric Weekend focus is to explore this glen whilst helping improver/intermediate canoeists learn and develop their flat water paddling and expedition skills. River Findhorn Weekend focus is on learning and practising traditional river skills with a loaded canoe, finishing off at Findhorn Bay. Kayaking Adventures Our touring kayaks have proven a great success with successful descents of the Rivers Findhorn and Spey. April sees us run our first commercial three day River Spey Kayak Adventure using our Pyranha Fusion fleet. With only six spaces available, we know this trip will be a hoot, especially when you get to sleep in our DD Hammocks. Sea Kayak Adventures For 2015 we re taking more sea kayaking groups over to the west coast. We always run our Knoydart and Summer Isles (improver) holidays, however by request we ve added a west coast (improver) week/weekend and our first commercial Outer Hebrides (intermediate) week. Our Outer Hebrides Holiday includes taking the CalMac ferry from Uig over to Stornoway. Once on Lewis we ll head south to Harris and head out on a bespoke adventure exploring an area renowned for its beautiful remote beaches. All holidays are wind/weather dependant and may require relocating to a more sheltered location depending on weather forecasts for safety. Bespoke Adventures Our business is all about offering a professional service to paddlers. We know that not everyone can make our planned adventures so do get in touch if you would like a specific adventure holiday on set dates and we ll see what we can do. We can organise any bespoke Scottish paddling adventure. Here are some ideas of areas we love paddling; Loch Maree, Loch Shiel, Sound of Arisaig, Applecross, Scourie, Harris, Lewis, Uist..the list goes on! Woof, Woof Woof! No reason why you can t take your best friend along with you now on your next canoe adventure. We have a variety of dog buoyancy aids which are ideal for suitable dogs. Their carry handle on the back is also ideal for helping lift your best friend back into the boat when required. Please remember: 1/ NEVER leash your dog to your craft 2/ STAY close to shore Improver Paddlers Dates set for our various Training Courses BCU 2* Generic - 21/22 March BCU 3* Inland Kayak - 7/8 February BCU 3* Open Canoe - 21//22 February BCU 3* Sea Kayak - 28/29 February BCU FSRT Course - 28 March Maximum of six places available per course January Offer BCU Star Training - 100pp (Normally 130pp) BCU FSRT - 45pp (Normally 50pp) Quote JAN15 when booking by email only! Tel: 01463 715929 Email: info@explorehighland.com Web: www.explorehighland.com 3
Linn of the Tummel Highland White Water Classics Scotland is undoubtedly one of the best locations for white water canoeing and kayaking in the world. Over the next few years we aim to further develop our Spring & Autumn white water paddling programme to meet the needs of our clients. We ve already planned a number of great weeks that are designed to offer far more individualised coaching/guiding in the appropriate environment you require. And with these weeks being based out of Inverness, there s always a suitable river to paddle. White Water Kayak Highland River Classics (Improver), 5-9 October 2015 Highland River Classics (Intermediate), 2-6 November 2015 Highland River Classics (Advanced), 9-13 November 2015 Open Canoe Highland Lochs & Rivers (Intermediate), 26-30 October 2015 (May include wild camp depending on group wishes) Our Highland White Water Classic weeks include five days coaching/guiding for a maximum of four paddlers, all transport from our base and craft where required. Also included is a meal out on the Thursday night. We can supply a list of local B&B s, hotels and hostels depending on individual accommodation requirements. By Sit On Top by Stand Up Paddleboard by River Duckie... During 2015 we ll see our fleet grow including the variety of crafts available for guiding or hire. From the Easter holidays we ll have received our delivery of new boats and that will include a number of solo and tandem Sit On Top kayaks (SOT s) as well as a couple of Stand Up Paddleboards (SUP s) for use on the canal and other sheltered waters. We ve opted for Feelfree SOT s as the sports version comes with a wheel in the keel to allow paddlers to easily portage around the Muirtown Lock Flight and extend their reach up to Dochgarroch and Loch Dochfour. Our Duckies and SUP s are light enough for paddlers to carry. Paddlers can also hire these recreational crafts (when booked in advance) in other sheltered waters or on grade 1/2 rivers. Buoyancy aids, paddles and helmets included if required. Standard hire terms and conditions apply. Team Building/Family Days Out Looking for a fun day out on the water with your work colleagues, family or a group of friends? We can offer a number of water based options including raft building, open canoe sailing, river paddling and more. Week day discounts available outwith local school holidays. Email for more details! Tel: 01463 715929 Email: info@explorehighland.com Web: www.explorehighland.com 4
New Premises for Explore Highland At the start of 2014 we took a major leap forward and signed up for a lease for premises at Clachnaharry Works Lock, Inverness. With over 200 years of history, the premises have a long and distinguished record of serving the Scottish Canals who own the property. Originally built as the canal construction began to get underway, the premises housed the Blacksmith s Smiddy and supported the works of the neighbouring workshops where the original canal lock gates were made. Unfortunately the two chimney stacks have since been knocked down and slated over, however inside the two forges still remain along with working bellows and a number of other tell tale signs pointing to its former use. Although some of the workshop space is not usable, we spotted great potential with the rest of the building and it is already proving to be a great asset for the business. For those of you who haven t visited our new base yet, our reception/office is great for that meet n greet and a base for running courses. Two walls offer a space to display our paddling retail stock and the other two walls to display evidence of various paddling adventures with our canvas prints. The room has a WiFi hotspot, projector and screen, wall mounted tv, stereo/dvd player, resource area, catering area and seating for eight plus. Currently we stock retail goods from Peak UK, DD Hammocks, Endless River, Pesda Press as well as some of our own branded EH merchandise. All activity clients receive a 10% retail discount on stock items at the start or end of a days activity. The corridor displays a small selection of our river fleet as well as being a useful area for packing or unpacking kit. We also display a notice board featuring local second hand boat/kit sales which is free to advertise on. The workshop is large enough to store all our open canoes, sea kayaks and misc. paddling and camping equipment plus a clear area for boat repairs. Outside we have direct access onto the Muirtown Basin, which is ideal for beginner courses, kids kayaking and boat demo s. North Kessock or Dochgarroch Locks are only 10 minutes drive away for a more challenging paddling environment. Access and parking isn't a problem either for paddlers booked in for courses, multiday adventures or dropping in hire clients. having working from the premises over the last season, we now plans to further improve our facilities. These are to include changing cubicles, outside seating and improved signage to highlight our location and services to the local community and passing trade. Currently we only open for prebooked activities, however we are looking to staff the office every weekend over Easter, Summer and October holidays for clients who wish to drop in for hire, retail or just to grab a free cuppa. In the future as the local hire business develops, we d hope to employ a F/T Seasonal Admin Support which will allow us to be open 5 days a week. Watch this space! Clachnaharry Works Lock We offer retail for the following great brands. 10% retail discount on all stock items to activity clients Tel: 01463 715929 Email: info@explorehighland.com Web: www.explorehighland.com 5