All the way to Scotland, twice, to Germany and back again...

February turns out has been a busy month for me, I started the month with a trip to Scotland to go boating on the 1st, with the intention of boating with YUCC on their trip, but never caught up with them...oops! It started by arriving in Glasgow on Thursday night, working Friday morning at Daves, then a jolly out to the Clyde wave (guage at 2m) for an hour between things before an online lecture in evening, fresh out of the river! Turned out the Uni had ventured up to Roybridge for Saturday and with a three hour drive from Glasgow, we decided to make our own plans Saturday which in the end meant a run down the Kelvin (on huge) in the city, a quick run but all we had time for before going off to a ceilidh in the evening with the scottish uni's polo competition happening that weekend. I watched a guy do a yard of Guiness that night...trooper. Or idiot.

Mighty Clyde!

Legend?Eejit? Not sure.

Euan bootie

Murray bootie

Just, well, Glen!

The boat race

Matt bootie

The next day was kind of a big deal for me, not a massive day or anything but we went back to the Leny. I thought I would be more nervous than I was but I was still pretty jumpy. I remembered a few markers here and there but my memory from the run last time was a blur ... this was where I dislocated my shoulder 6 months ago, almost to the day. It was the 3rd February, level was 0.98, and before Dave says it was slightly higher and the 1st July last year. 

I ran the right line on the falls instead of the left as i did before, and have to say i do prefer the left. I know its meant to be harder and stuff but I kinda enjoyed in first time round. Did the right, got through the gorge and stuff and eventually at S-bends I asked Dave where it was it happened, and he pointed it out, and honestly, there is no reason for me to have gone in there! The rocky bit there by the top is totally not how I remember it, but we passed it fine, and I relaxed a bit from there, and I got off the river, still feeling the love for the Leny :) 

So we ended up with a sedate but nice weekend, I did feel a bit gutted we hadn't done more but it was still cool and I got something out of it. 

A week later, my supervisor announces that im going to go to Germany for a few days, so conveniently i chose to fly out of Glasgow, putting me back there for the YCC scotland trip on the 21st, so naturally i made the most of it the weekend before as well before I flew! Currey night with the girls on Friday night and then boating Saturday with YCC, on the Wharfe. It was a wicked little day, did some leading, had a fresher buddy, Batman, who is wicked and I got to run Linton falls for the first time as it was going at a really nice level, I think the guage was at like, 0.7 or something like that. So Shaun, Greg and me ran the falls, twice, and I led me and Greg down the second time - it was nice to go first for once!! 

Then back to Glasgow, where we wanted to get out boating but Dave was feeling really shite and I wasnt feeling the love for bullying him out onto a river, so a beer in the park was order of the day before the Jena trip the following morning. I returned from Jena on Thursday, Dave flew back up from London so once we were both sorted we shifted up to Fort William for the weekend with YCC. I have never seen Scotland so low! Half of the trip didnt take boats but I was determined, playboats and big boats at the ready!

Friday morning, we were all fired up to go somewhere even though it was dry and though that the Sporge was worth a shot, low levels, very technical but i thought it was a good laugh, lots of pin potential and rock smacking, and Dave got a spanking in headbanger I think its called, everyone actually worried for a second there, but then he surfaced with a grin on his face...that was close! Lots of the club arent used to this type of river, there were portages and stuff to be done but it was fine. After that, Dave, Elliot, Rob and I went for a run down the Roy gorge, and having done so well all day, I fell out of my boat almost immediately....lol. Turns out its hard to get under your boat to try to roll in a low water gorge. It was cool, some reallllllllly nasty ciphons to portage and there was one drop which was a no go which took an AGE to portage but other than that a good enough little run, and Elliot managed to snap the end off of his paddles...oops. 

We ended the day watching England beat France in the rugby in the Fort and a few beers, followed the next day by the drive home, having exhausted the realistic dry Scotland options, we did call in at the etive on the way back and...
....nahhhh. Home to bed for more rugby, this time Scotland beating Ireland which was nice. Then, for me, back to sunny York  before NSR next weekend!