I had a couple of days over easter where I had no reason not to go out and play. I'd been pouring over the maps again and stumbled across a canyon in the Cairngorms that looked very intruiging. After I'd seen it became the only thing to fill the time with. The internet also revealed that that the canyon was formed by huge flows glacial outbreak waters that had created a scar in the landscape 7km long and 300ft deep. The river was easily large enough to paddle in terms of catchment (over 30 square km) and the gradient was significant, but hopefully manageable.

We arrived to find low water levels and hopes of getting it done dimmed somewhat. When we arrived, our quick inspection of the lower section showed that we may actually be thankful of those low levels! Losing the light we only scouted the lower 2 or 3 km and this revealed a beautiful canyon unlike anything we'd seen in the UK before. Most of the water looked straightforward, but the gorge was walled out in a few sections and there were glimpses of some ugly slots and potential siphons.

As we headed back to the car we made the decision to go. We would walk in from the bottom, on the river right bank which would give the best views of the canyon. This would mean a 7km hack, uphill, through heather to reach the entry to the canyon named 'The Castle'. The pictures can cover the details...

( final pic by Dave B)

11 hours, 1 big portage, 1 big decision and 5000 calories later, we were done. We didnt find a single 'nice rapid' all day, but kayaking is about so much more than that. It's also about fixing goals, overcoming barriers, beautiful landscapes, testing yourself and forging friendships. This day had all of these in abundance, so it really was a truly great days boating - with no good rapids.

A big shout is due to Ando and Dave. If anyone wants the beta just drop us a mail (ned 'at rainchasers.com) - we think it would go at at least slightly higher levels.

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