Packrafter/Hillwalker/Kayak/Canoe Radio Equipment for Emergency Assistance (Mobile, PLB, Tracker, VHF)

17/03/2018 0

Usual Disclaimer: I gathered this information off the Internet and assembled it into this article. I make no guarantees as to its accuracy or suitability to your situation! Introduction I have visited a number of locations in my Packraft where I have launched  into tidal or coastal waters. These include the Ardnamurchan, Uists, Harris Jura, and the waters off Argyll. I love visiting the Scottish islands, and there is limited scope for Packrafting without sticking your boat in the sea, Read More

Tenerife – Walking and (Attempted) Packrafting!

28/02/2018 0

I got the chance of a short break in Tenerife for a few days at the end of Feb. My old man and not-so-wicked stepmother had a spare bed in their holiday abode where they had been hauled up for the past 5 weeks. I had been to the Canaries several times previously, Tenerife aged 12 and 17, and Gran Canaria aged about 27. It would be interesting to see how much the place had changed. ScroteRail+Tram+Easyjet+Bus got me there Read More

New Year On Mull

04/01/2018 0

Come new year, we usually try to escape somewhere for a few days. Previous trips have in included Skye, Oban, Mallaig, Fort William, the Cairngorms, and, 8 years previously, Mull. We decided that a return visit to the latter was in order. We set off from home after a lazy start on the 29th December enjoying a snowy drive via Tyndrum, and onwards to the Corran Ferry. Strangely, the low-level snow was confined to the south side of Rannoch Mor. Read More

Dometic 9-Series Fridge Burning (12V)

03/01/2018 0

Update: I have since found out that Dometic have a recall out on these fridges for this very issue. Contact your dealer! My van has a Dometic RML9335 fridge in it. About 4 weeks ago, the van started smelling when the fridge was running on 12V – an electrical  burning smell. I have since not been able to use the fridge on 12V which is a pain because the freezer keeps defrosting while you are on the move! Between Xmas and Read More

Christmas

03/01/2018 0

Some folks reckon Christmas is a special time of year, I am usually just glad when its over! Too much over-commercialised nonsense.  That said, I do enjoy the drink and food, and am partial to some cheap gadget purchasing in the inevitable sales that follow! This year we were headed up to Lucy’s parents in Dingwall, travelling day before via Tiso in Perth and Aviemore where we spent the night at Loch Morlich. The following morning the weather was completely Read More

Scottish Skiing!

19/12/2017 0

We enjoyed negative temperatures for most of last week, and significant snowfall in the hills. It was time to go Skiing! Glenshee, my usual choice had little to offer ditto Nevis Range, the Lecht looked good, but is bloody miles away, and I would rather not hand the assholes at Cairngorm any money! Glencoe is is then! I arrived Friday eve to an already busy (with camper-vans) car park, I knew it was going to be busy tomorrow, so a Read More

Cairngorms Indecision (Corbetts | knackered fridge | buggered website)

29/11/2017 0

A weekend at home had been the plan, but then I saw the forecast which was pretty decent especially the Cairngorms – and I have Corbetts to bag. Now where I live, you can’t afford to ignore a half-decent forecast as it won’t last very long – and you’ll be kicking yourself for not having made good use of it! Given the significant snowfall during the week, I threw the ski’s in ‘just in case’, defrosted the van and headed Read More

Cairngorm Capers

12/11/2017 0

Somehow I have managed to avoid the A9 for the past 5 months; my last trip up that way being to a mates leaving do who headed off to Canada. Early this year I had 4 weekends away on the trot up in the north west – maybe I was just sick of the A9!? This weekend the local mountaineering club headed up to Mill Cottage near Kincraig. The location is handy for Glen Feshie, and another club member Colin Read More

Escape to the Borders

06/11/2017 0

Having not been south for eons, a trip to the borders (Megget Reservoir) was the plan for the weekend – bagging a Corbett and doing a bit of pack-rafting. My long suffering other half – (Loopy) Lucy seemed up for it as well – although she was not enamored with the cold having spent the previous 3 months cycling across the USA in the sunshine ! Saturday started off fine, got the boat in the water and set off for a Read More

Budget Motorhome Satellite Internet

02/11/2017 6

Welcome to part 2 of my motorhome internet guide. This section covers Motorhome Satellite Internet! Before you proceed, take a look at Part 1 – Internet Access Via MiFi (Mobile) and WiFi Repeater Most folks will get all the Internet access they desire from Part 1 – cheaper, faster, more data and less hassle! Satellite Internet is for those folks who visit locations with no mobile coverage and no opportunity to ‘borrow’ WiFi (eg from a campsite, pub or nearby house). My Read More

The Ultimate Guide To Motorhome Internet Access

29/10/2017 6

Welcome to my guide to Motorhome Internet Access! I use my motor home to head for the mountains to walk/ski/cycle and I am a bit of a geek. Now, this is 2017, and a geek without an internet connection is just a wannabe geek, and the mountains can be a challenging place to obtain that internet connection. This article details the three methods I use for motorhome internet access  presented in order of use: 3G/4G MiFi with external antenna WiFi Read More

Loch Shiel and Loch Sunart

16/10/2017 0

This weekend I was at Strontian on the Ardnamurchan peninsula with the Ochils Mountaineering Club staying at Sunart Camping. The weather forecast was pretty naff, but I did manage a bike ride, and a couple of trips in the packraft on Lochs Shiel and Sunart. Not as ambitious as my original plans, but pack rafts and howling gales ain’t a marriage made in heaven! Saturday Saturday dawned OK, I even saw (fleetingly) a patch of blue sky! The rain started Read More

Corbett Bagging and Paddle on Loch Tay

18/09/2017 0

After 3 weekends on the trot staying local, we finally had a weekend where both Saturday and Sunday looked half decent. Time to head off for the weekend in the van. I had a lone Corbett to bag from Glen Lyon (Cam Chreag) and fancied a paddle on the River Lyon – I had been late setting off, so it was dark when I arrived. I stopped at the same spot that I had done with my mother 6 weeks Read More

River Teith – Van, Bus and Boat

09/09/2017 4

With a decent forecast, a reasonable amount of water (SEPA: 0.85M) in the River Teith , and my buggered shoulder feeling slightly more mobile, it was time for another go at the River Teith. I had done a recce a couple of weeks previous, but had headed to a local loch for a paddle instead due to said shoulder. Original plan was to get the 10:19 bus from Deanston to Callander, but by the time I got my arse into gear, Read More

Loch Lomond Islands With Chums

03/09/2017 0

Loch Lomond, just 30 miles from home is the largest body of fresh water in Scotland by surface area. Loch Ness holds more water by volume while Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland is the largest in the UK at over 5 times the size. Loch Lomond’s main attraction for paddlers is the plethora of islands located at the wider southern end of the loch, which offer many camping and exploration opportunities. The largest island is Inchmurrin, also the largest freshwater Read More

Loch Ard

27/08/2017 2

This was my 1st weekend at home in Stirling for 7 weeks. The weather was a bit naff on Saturday so I spent it writing an article about my previous trips for the motorhome magazine ‘MMM’ – we shall see if they accept it. Then it was full-on website geeking migrating my personal photos gallery from the now defunct ‘Menalto Gallery’, which I have used since 1999 to Piwigo. The new gallery is here. The original plan for Sunday was Read More

River Balvaig

20/08/2017 0

I had been in Crianlarich for the weekend for a mates final Munro (A Scottish Mountain over 3000ft, there are 282 of them!). The hill was Beinn na Lap which we did in some terrible weather. We had booze at the top and then finished in a cafe/bar for more booze, before getting the train back to the Ochils Mountaineering Club Hut in Crianlarich where we had yet more booze! Grand day out despite the weather, and well done Colin Read More

Eaval, The Highest Hillock On North Uist, by Packraft

08/08/2017 0

It has to be said that the Hebridean islands off Scotland’s west coast are a superb location for a paddle. This was my 4th day paddling on Uist, and sadly my final day before getting the big boat north to Harris. I had been out in the boat in the morning, bagging a wee hill on Benbecula, it was from the top of this that I spotted Eaval (347M). Walkhighlands commented about the ‘boggy path’, but the map made it Read More

Packrafting – Loch Bi To Loch Sgiopoirt (South Uist)

07/08/2017 0

During a recent trip to South Uist, I had a few outings by Packraft and bike combo. Generally I have abandoned the bike at the end (complete with panniers and dry clothes), and then driven to the start. Its a great way of making linear boat trips with the wind/tide when you are on your own. This trip was one I saw on the map, and then went and googled to find that it had been previously blogged and was Read More

Eriskay Linear Paddle

05/08/2017 0

I had been cycling on Barra earlier, arriving back on Eriskay, at about 16:30. The weather remained fine, and the wind/tides were about right so a linear paddle in the packraft was the plan. I locked the bike up at the Calmac pier on Eriskay complete with panniers and cycling kit and set off around the coast to Orasaigh in the van. This took eons as I ended up following an extra slow Dutch van whose driver did not appear Read More

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