Explore Highland - Canoeing, Kayaking & Sea Kayaking Courses & Activities in Highland Scotland

Canoeing

Explore Highland run a wide range of canoe activities throughout the year. A taste of some of the activities on offer is shown in the tables below. To ensure both your safety and the quality of personal feedback throughout, we limit the group size for each instructor to a maximum of six paddlers (eight paddlers when paddling in tandem).

Canoe Courses, Training & Assessment

The versatility of the canoe and its associated skills can take years to master. From developing paddle techniques to learning the more traditional skills of poling, sailing and lining & tracking, a Highland setting is the perfect classroom for your next canoe course.

> View forthcoming canoe activities

Some of our most popular canoe courses:

Course	Duration	Description
Introduction Solo Canoeing	1 day	A perfect introduction to the art of canoeing. Your day starts off learning about the canoe and working through some basic strokes on flat water. Once mastered in the afternoon you will progress to a very gentle river trip where you will apply those basic skills and start your life's canoe journey.
Intermediate Solo Canoeing	2 days	For those of you who have learnt the basic skills and techniques. This course will help consolidate and apply your knowledge to allow you to run rivers effortlessly. Working on Grade 2 rivers this course will make you skills sharper and your river reading ability much clearer.
Advanced Solo Canoeing	2 days	Those of you used to running Grade 2/3 rivers in a canoe, this course is for you! Helping you use brain over brawn, we will plan every stroke in advance. The art of river running will be yours.
Flat Water Solo Skills	1 day	Mastering the art of moving the canoe efficiently takes time and dedication. This course will help you on this journey by improving your technique and knowledge. To assist your learning curve the location will be a tranquil Scottish loch. Where appropriate video may be used to assist your learning.
Tandem River Skills	1 or 2 day	Many canoeists wish to share their journey with a friend or loved one. Communication and team work is extremely important. This course will help develop that team work and tandem skills required to move the canoe as one.
Intermediate Tandem Skills	1 or 2 day	Developing on from our Tandem River Skills course, a large number of canoeists wish to further develop their team work to be confident in running bigger, more technical rivers.
Introduction Canoe Poling	3 hrs	Another traditional skill that is greatly under used or practiced. Develop your balance, learn a variety of techniques and uses of a canoe pole whilst giving your paddle a well deserved rest.
Improver Canoe Poling	1 day	Building on our Intro to Poling course, you will journey down a river by pole power! Learn snubbing, poling upstream and other useful techniques and advice. Just another way to be at one with nature.
Introduction Canoe Sailing	3 hrs	This half day workshop gives you knowledge of rigging up various canoe sails and systems that are available off the shelf as well as some bespoke designs. Ideal skill to learn and use when covering large distances over open water.
Introduction Lining & Tracking	3 hrs	One of the lesser used traditional skills. This half day workshop shows you how to rigging up various lining and tracking systems travelling both up and down a local river. Great for expanding your expedition skills tool box.
Canoe Safety Workshop	3 hrs	Ensuring you know what to do and how to do it in an emergency is a must! This wet session will including self rescues, groups rescues and various other scenarios to make you prepared should the worst happen.
BCU 3* Open Canoe Training/Assessment	2 days	This is a discipline specific award. The three star paddler will be a competent performer in sheltered to moderate water environments and have the ability to paddle unsupervised, with similar standard paddlers on sheltered water (does not include BCU certificate fee).
Other BCU Open Canoe performance training and assessments awards can be arranged on request.

NB. All prices are per person and do not include BCU certificate fees. Activities will run with minimum of 3 people registered. A maximum of 6 people per instructor is set for quality and safety, or a maximum of 8 people for canoe journeys when tandem paddling. Bespoke group bookings welcome.

Canoe Journeys

The traditional open canoe from North America, paddled well can look and feel effortless. With the canoes ability to carry heavy loads and travel up and down stream, be paddled, poled, sailed, lined or when the going gets really tough portaged, a traditional open canoe is the perfect choice to explore a similar natural environment in Scotland.

> View forthcoming canoe activities

Some of our most popular canoe journeys:

Journey	Duration	Description
River Explorer	3 hours	A half day or evening guided paddle descending the River Ness. Coaching where appropriate.
Loch Explorer	3 hours	A half day or evening guided paddle exploring a one of our local lochs. Scenic landscapes, wildlife and coaching where appropriate. Loch options include Lochs Ness, Dochfour, Duntelchaig & Achilty.
River Day Trips	6-7 hours	A full day guided paddle descending a local grade 1/2 river. Exploring the landscape and wildlife including coaching where appropriate. Full Day options include Rivers Ness, Beauly, Conon, Oich & Moriston
Loch Day Trips	6-7 hours	A full day guided paddle into a scenic Highland loch. Exploring the landscape and wildlife with flat water coaching where appropriate. Full Day options include Lochs Ness, Oich & Garry.

Canoe Trails

Some of our most popular trails:

Trail	Duration	Description
Great Glen Canoe Trail	2-5 days	65 miles of waterway are connected together by Loch Lochy, Oich, Ness and Dochfour and the Caledonian Canal. The starting point for this official trail is Neptune Staircase in Ft William finishing off in Inverness. For groups who are experienced canoeists rivers including River Oich and Ness can be included. Wild Camping or B&B options available.
Spey Decent	2-5 days	Starting off on Loch Inch, this decent follows the River Spey to Spey Bay. Wild Camping or B&B options available. For those who wish to start higher up, a longer trip could include launching above Newtonmore.
Tay Decent	3 days	TBC
Rannoch Moor	3 days	TBC
Loch Quioch Trail	3 days	The start point for this adventure is on the north bank of Loch Quioch. Travelling east across Loch Garry and portaging onto the river Garry (Grade 3) descending into Loch Oich. Following the River Oich (Grade 2), this adventure is complete when you paddle to the bank of Loch Ness at Ft Augustus. Please note: This trail is for intermediate/advanced canoeists only.
Loch Arkaig Trail	4 days	Crossing Loch Arkaig leading to the 2km of the River Arkaig (requires 1 portage) to get to Loch Lochy. Crossing Loch Lochy following part of the Great Glen Canoe Trail across Loch Oich. Depending on the group, the River Oich or Caledonian Canal leads to the Ft Augustus finish line.
Loch Chroisg Trail	3 days	Starting on Loch Chroisg (by Achnasheen) this trail follows the River Braan (Grade 1) east ward. With two portages complete the River Conan (Grade 1/2) takes you to Conan Bridge and the Cromarty Firth.
Loch Maree & Loch Ewe	3 days	Starting on Loch Maree heading towards the north west corner of the Loch. A short portage to Poolewe links the trail to Loch Ewe. Here the paddling adventure begins again with plenty to explore.

NB. Activities will run with minimum of 3 people registered. A maximum of 6 people per instructor is set for quality and safety, or a maximum of 8 people for canoe journeys when tandem paddling. Bespoke group bookings welcome.

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