Scotland: Winter Kayak Camping on Loch Awe

I returned to western Scotland in February to meet up with my friend Donny, with a rough plan in mind to go on an overnighter somewhere close by. Loch Awe was a great location as it’s a little more sheltered from most wind directions, an important consideration at any time for kayaking, but particularly in the winter when the weather can be significantly worse.

We got lucky with a small weather window over a weekend. Although there were some relatively high gusts in the forecast, the orientation of the loch meant that it wouldn’t cause too many issues on the water due to the lack of fetch.

Having driven past the loch numerous times, this was a trip I’d really been looking forward to, as it’s a very attractive body of water with numerous small islands and a spectacular castle ruin at the top. Plenty of interest for a day on the water!

We launched on a brisk winter morning and enjoyed a fantastic bit of sightseeing around the islands at the northern end of the loch before going to see Kilchurn Castle. The weather was quite nasty at times, with a particularly bad squall passing over whilst we were stopped on a small island just south of the castle ruin.

Having explored the northern shoreline we then headed down to the island of Inishail, a beautiful island with some fascinating history. We pitched our tents and then went up the hill and through the woods to a very old cemetery overlooking the water. It was an incredibly serene place, the old stones nestled amongst the trees with the ruins of the old parish church nearby.

We settled in for a cold night and an even colder morning, serenaded by the local geese. We were treated to a spectacular cloud inversion in the morning too! As Loch Awe is an especially long loch, we’d only really explored the very upper section, and as we returned to our launch spot, I already felt the need to return at some point to explore more of it.