Blown out

Day 3: Fort Augustus to Invermoriston. 7 miles.

What a day!

We started with the longest single portage of the trip, getting the kayaks from the top of the locks at Augustus down to the shore of Loch Ness.

Looking out onto the loch was a bit sobering, white horses, a big swell and the high winds coming straight at us. After a bit of deliberation we decided to set off. The first 10 minutes or so were a bit terrifying but once into a rythm it was possible to relax a bit. The wave pattern on the loch is very different from the sea as the waves were only about 5 metres apart. This makes for a very choppy ride.

After a couple of hours of pretty slow progress we had a stop in a very sheltered bay. The blazing sun and calm water near the shore made it hard to believe just how different the conditions were just a few hundred metres away.

We set off again and sailed serenely out of the bay only to find when we were exposed to the full force of the wind that conditions had become even worse. About half an hour later on our way across a very wide bay we realised that we were getting out of our depth. We decided to head for the shore. Easier said than done as it proved difficult to angle across the biggest waves that we had yet encountered, it probably took us 40 minutes to get into shore.

The spot where we landed was next to the mouth of the river Moriston and we found a great sheltered spot (pictured) to set up camp. What the picture doesn't show is the speed of the waves.

A 40 minutes stroll saw us have a relaxing couple of pints in the Glenmoriston Arms Hotel.