Really sorry to see this, my friend. So frustrating and unfortunate with the absence of information on signage and online! It's not like you didn't do your research either - I was really impressed by your early video with the Google overview of the site, route and so on. Lots of prep work, anticipation and buildup and then these obstacles get in your way. I'm guessing we're a lot of paddlers that feel your pain. After 6+ hours of driving that is a really unfair situation. Hope you get your redemption with an amazing paddle in the future. Thanks for sharing this transparently as it might help/inspire other paddlers avoid a similar situation. Wish you the best for the next trip, wherever that is.
Thanks, Patrick for them kind words, yes a hell of a lot of preparation went into this trip But just like we often say in our videos you never know what could happen, and in a way, this goes to show that (sort of) If I wasn't so tied and frustrated I know if I had just kept going I would have found a spot somewhere. However, I didn't feel like driving for maybe hours just in case things didn't work out. Next time I will be booking a campsite just so I have somewhere to leave the car, but the only issue with that is they are very expensive up there because I did look into that a few months ago but it would have cost around £100 a night and as the plan was for a week or more on the water, so no way. As it happens today I looked at a different way around, by leaving the car in Glasgow in a safe place and getting a Taxi to the loch for £80 something else to think about. I'm going out for a paddle tomorrow even though the forecast is rain because I'm so annoyed about this and thought if I don't get back on the way straight away it will build up and could even put me off paddling for a while. As they say, if you fall off your bike get straight back on it lol
@@THE-RIVER-RAT Yes, getting back on the bike is probably a good idea! From a safety standpoint it would seem you made a wise choice as getting out on the loch water after lack of sleep and all that stress could have ended badly as well. Unfortunate that it turned out to be this difficult. Hope next time works out well and that you also get some great closer-to-home paddles as partial compensation soon.
All that way! could hear the disappointment George.. I think the tiredness got the better of you! Good kip, and you'd have found something somewhere !. Never mind mate.
Gutted for you George ! reminded me of when I planned to do the 3 lake challenge ( won’t go into details) but it didn’t go as planned you have to love the kayak gods 🤣
Aaagh, what am I going to watch on TH-cam! That is utterly maddening, but hopefully you will get away soon. I have just booked a campsite to take the x500 to West Donegal later this summer, hope that comes off.
I usually park at Aldochlay (meters from the water) though you need to be there early to park as limited spaces, people do leave vehicles there overnight but unsure if its an offence. Close to most islands from there. Luss car park too (have to pay) and summer during the day be very hard to find a space (has 750,000 visitors a year). Firkin Point also which plenty of people camp and park overnight. Ardvorlich you can park, there is an island close with old castle ruins on. Milarrochy Bay has a launch pad and can park meters from the water. As nice as Loch Lomond is, it is still hard to get somewhere on the water where you cannot still heard the main road traffic! Also in the summer evenings you have the jet ski young team blaring out music as they speed along! Early mornings best, enjoy the wildlife, deers in the water and diving ospreys!
Cheers buddy, however I still love Scotland and I'm already planning another trip, but this time I'm going to make bloody sure I have a place to park for a few days. In fact I have already checked out one place but they wanted to charge me £60 a night just for parking, so that's out But I will find somewhere.
@@THE-RIVER-RAT I'm sure parking at Milarrochy bay car park is free. There are toilets there too. Also I'm sure you can park over night. Check out that one. Is on the east side of the Loch and the islands are more accessible from that launch point.
Sorry to hear about the trip not working out! I always consider the first time to a new area as research trip, so even crap outs are considered a success. Chin up, better luck next time! 🛶🤠 You'll still be able to put the gear to use now that you have it, more adventures to come. 😀
Cheers mate, and yes nothing will waste, in fact I had one of my camping ready meals for my dinner tonight lol. Yes next time I'm going to book a camp spot then at least I know I will have a car parking spot. 👍👍
Could have launched from blamaha i know a lot of kayakers who launch from there almost every monday with no hastle or you could have drove up the a82 to tarbert and parked there and also easy launch , or if your stuck just nip up to lochearn pay for fishing permit and it covers you for camping wheather you fish or not basically the same at loch chon or loch ard , hopefully you manage to return george all the best ... colin. 🏴👍🏻🛶
I could have launched from the moon if I knew about it before hand. Information beforehand is a wonderful thing but absolutely bloody useless when you don't know about those places. However now I will know for next time
@@ccwweeman3385 lol yes you did.. But as it happens it wouldn't have been any good I did some checking yesterday because I thought I would go there next time. However, you're not allowed to park overnight and you have to pay for parking and if you're not back by 1600 you get a £100 fine So that spot is not good for me as I was planning to camp on the loch for a few days. But the other spot you mentioned (tarbert) looks like it could be ok, just have to find out how much it would cost to leave the car there for a week. One way or another I will find something for next time. Cheers matey.👍
Really sorry to see this, my friend. So frustrating and unfortunate with the absence of information on signage and online! It's not like you didn't do your research either - I was really impressed by your early video with the Google overview of the site, route and so on. Lots of prep work, anticipation and buildup and then these obstacles get in your way. I'm guessing we're a lot of paddlers that feel your pain. After 6+ hours of driving that is a really unfair situation. Hope you get your redemption with an amazing paddle in the future. Thanks for sharing this transparently as it might help/inspire other paddlers avoid a similar situation. Wish you the best for the next trip, wherever that is.
Thanks, Patrick for them kind words, yes a hell of a lot of preparation went into this trip But just like we often say in our videos you never know what could happen, and in a way, this goes to show that (sort of) If I wasn't so tied and frustrated I know if I had just kept going I would have found a spot somewhere. However, I didn't feel like driving for maybe hours just in case things didn't work out. Next time I will be booking a campsite just so I have somewhere to leave the car, but the only issue with that is they are very expensive up there because I did look into that a few months ago but it would have cost around £100 a night and as the plan was for a week or more on the water, so no way.
As it happens today I looked at a different way around, by leaving the car in Glasgow in a safe place and getting a Taxi to the loch for £80 something else to think about.
I'm going out for a paddle tomorrow even though the forecast is rain because I'm so annoyed about this and thought if I don't get back on the way straight away it will build up and could even put me off paddling for a while. As they say, if you fall off your bike get straight back on it lol
@@THE-RIVER-RAT Yes, getting back on the bike is probably a good idea! From a safety standpoint it would seem you made a wise choice as getting out on the loch water after lack of sleep and all that stress could have ended badly as well. Unfortunate that it turned out to be this difficult. Hope next time works out well and that you also get some great closer-to-home paddles as partial compensation soon.
@@AirOnTheWater Thanks mate.
Oh man.. 6.5 hours drive and the gates are closed 😢😢 it kinda reminded me of a movie scene where zombies start running out of nowhere 😂
I took a 1400m/2200km trip from Boston to the Florida Keys, to be met with hurricane force winds when I got there. I still haven't paddled the Keys!😁
Bloody weather hates Paddlers. I went to the Keys about 40 years ago on a holiday and the one thing I remember is it rained a lot (small world)
All that way!
could hear the disappointment George..
I think the tiredness got the better of you!
Good kip, and you'd have found something somewhere !.
Never mind mate.
Still annoyed but shit happens. Maybe better luck next time 🤞
Gutted for you George ! reminded me of when I planned to do the 3 lake challenge ( won’t go into details) but it didn’t go as planned you have to love the kayak gods 🤣
Thanks buddy, and sorry your plan's fell apart too. Yes them bloody kayak gods like to have their jokes lol
There's a kayak club in there, they must have some arrangements in place. Get in touch!
I will look in to it thanks 👍
Aaagh, what am I going to watch on TH-cam! That is utterly maddening, but hopefully you will get away soon. I have just booked a campsite to take the x500 to West Donegal later this summer, hope that comes off.
You should be fine as you did it the right way. Yes, next time I will book a site.
I usually park at Aldochlay (meters from the water) though you need to be there early to park as limited spaces, people do leave vehicles there overnight but unsure if its an offence. Close to most islands from there.
Luss car park too (have to pay) and summer during the day be very hard to find a space (has 750,000 visitors a year).
Firkin Point also which plenty of people camp and park overnight.
Ardvorlich you can park, there is an island close with old castle ruins on.
Milarrochy Bay has a launch pad and can park meters from the water.
As nice as Loch Lomond is, it is still hard to get somewhere on the water where you cannot still heard the main road traffic! Also in the summer evenings you have the jet ski young team blaring out music as they speed along! Early mornings best, enjoy the wildlife, deers in the water and diving ospreys!
Thanks for the info very much appreciated. I am planning on going back again next year and this time hopeful get on the bloody water lol
Oh no. Not good at all. Gutted you never got on the water... more gutted that the Scottish facility couldn't provide the info for paddlers.
Cheers buddy, however I still love Scotland and I'm already planning another trip, but this time I'm going to make bloody sure I have a place to park for a few days. In fact I have already checked out one place but they wanted to charge me £60 a night just for parking, so that's out But I will find somewhere.
@@THE-RIVER-RAT I'm sure parking at Milarrochy bay car park is free. There are toilets there too. Also I'm sure you can park over night. Check out that one. Is on the east side of the Loch and the islands are more accessible from that launch point.
@@JamesFleming888 Thanks James, I will check it out. Cheers buddy.. Yum yum
Sorry to hear about the trip not working out! I always consider the first time to a new area as research trip, so even crap outs are considered a success. Chin up, better luck next time! 🛶🤠 You'll still be able to put the gear to use now that you have it, more adventures to come. 😀
Cheers mate, and yes nothing will waste, in fact I had one of my camping ready meals for my dinner tonight lol. Yes next time I'm going to book a camp spot then at least I know I will have a car parking spot. 👍👍
Could have launched from blamaha i know a lot of kayakers who launch from there almost every monday with no hastle or you could have drove up the a82 to tarbert and parked there and also easy launch , or if your stuck just nip up to lochearn pay for fishing permit and it covers you for camping wheather you fish or not basically the same at loch chon or loch ard , hopefully you manage to return george all the best ... colin. 🏴👍🏻🛶
I could have launched from the moon if I knew about it before hand. Information beforehand is a wonderful thing but absolutely bloody useless when you don't know about those places.
However now I will know for next time
@@THE-RIVER-RAT true but i did mention to you about a month ago to try Balmaha 🤷♂️🤔🤣
@@ccwweeman3385 lol yes you did.. But as it happens it wouldn't have been any good I did some checking yesterday because I thought I would go there next time. However, you're not allowed to park overnight and you have to pay for parking and if you're not back by 1600 you get a £100 fine
So that spot is not good for me as I was planning to camp on the loch for a few days. But the other spot you mentioned (tarbert) looks like it could be ok, just have to find out how much it would cost to leave the car there for a week. One way or another I will find something for next time. Cheers matey.👍