Category: Canoeing The Great Glen

The Great Glen Canoe Trail has become more and more popular over the recent years and is a fantastic adventure that can be carried out as a self guided multi day canoe or kayak trip by competent groups of paddlers with a basic level of experience. Many people also take the option of hiring a guide or booking onto a guided trip offered by various operators in the glen. There are obviously some advantages and disadvantages to both options, but this is a tale of a group of slightly less experienced paddlers that bit off a bit more than they could chew. The Great Glen Canoe Trail is made up of 4 sections of the Caledonian Canal that link up 3 large bodies of water, Loch Lochy, Loch Oich and Loch Ness. The trail connects the west coast at Fort William where the canal spills its waters into the sea at Loch Lhinnie and enters the North Sea at the Moray Firth in Inverness. Most people choose to paddle this stretch of water in open canoes or sea kayaks, but there is also another option. Instead of using the sections of canal to link up Loch Oich and Loch Ness and Loch Ness with the sea (if paddling west to east), a more adventurous route is to take on the moving water sections of the River Oich and River Ness. Or if paddling from east to west, some decide to paddle the last 10 miles of their journey to the sea by navigating the River Lochy. To carry out this journey using the rivers as an alternative, some experience of white water paddling is definitely required and recommended along side a good understanding of white water safety and rescue and boat recover techniques. As a general policy, Active Highs do not