This summer St Andrews' students and friends circumnavigated Scotland by sea kayak. The plan was hatched a year ago and this May we set off. We paddled down to Edinburgh, along the canal to Glasgow, up the incredible West coast to the treacherous North of Scotland, returing to St Andrews down the idyllic east coast.
Why
After reading Blazing Paddles by Brian Wilson and the Canoe Boys by Alastair Dunnett, we hatched a plan to follow in their footsteps. Most of us had never sat in a sea kayak before this year but the draw of Scotland's incredible coastline inspired us to get in one and learn. The West coast of Scotland has incredible sandy beaches, towering cliffs and even the occasional dolphin.
Who
Jonny kayaked the whole route and was joined by friends for the first half of the journey to Ullapool. From then, Jonny paddled solo across the North coast and down the East to St Andrews.
When
We set off straight after our final university exams in May and paddled the incredible coastline in two chunks separated by a graduation ceromony. The journey took a total of 35 days with distances ranging from 30-70km a day.