Newtonmoor – Loch Insh – Kin Craig – Blacksboat – Mains of Cairn – Spey Bay

The challenge was to paddle 82 miles in open canoes down one of Scotland’s premier rivers, the magnificent River Spey in the highlands of Scotland, starting inland at Newtonmoor and finishing on the sea at Spey Bay. The objectives we set ourselves included self-sufficiency, learning wilderness living skills and developing open canoe paddling techniques on moving water. All the participants finished the expedition with a huge sense of achievement and a desire to continue paddling open canoes, perhaps one day leading our own expedition such as this.

Facing the challenges

The expedition team was made up of cadets and adult volunteers from Sea Cadet units across the UK, so the first experience was getting to know our fellow paddlers. We all gathered in what was to become the communal meeting place, the ‘lavvu’, and introduced ourselves. After scaling down what we all believed to be the ‘bare essentials’ we packed our boats, put on our foulies and were ready for action.

A particular challenge included the top secret task assigned to Matt and Graham of carrying the fragile ‘navigation equipment’. This inconspicuous package bore the surprise birthday cake for Dan who was to turn 14 half way through the trip. Through rapids, rain, and flood the cake miraculously arrived in one piece… we were all amazed!

The character of the river varied dramatically from almost a millpond to a slalom course of rocks and eddies. The technical skills that Jed and Bonita, our Expedition Leaders, taught us were essential for moving smoothly downstream; ‘cut’, ‘draw’ ‘back-set’ all became regular commands. We all realised both from the rough and smooth how crucial teamwork is to keep each other safe and successful on this venture. In particular, the ‘washing machine’, a grade three fast descending rapid will stand out for us all. The smiles on everyone’s face at its end said it all.

Reaping the benefits

One of the daily highlights was finding out what Bonita, our wilderness chef, had prepared for dinner. We sampled many highlights, including ‘haggis, neeps and tatties’ cooked on an open fire. Our two Royal Marines Cadets were very keen to learn wilderness living skills from Jed Yarnold. During the evening we practiced knife skills, lighting a camp fire, creating shelter and carving our very own expedition spoon!

The landscape was breath taking; from rolling hills to vast peaks, there was so much for the eye to see. Many of us were astounded by the wealth of wildlife including oyster catchers, goosander, herons, grey wagtails, lapwings, and obviously the resident salmon making its way upstream to spawn. Throughout the week all eyes were keen to spy a rare osprey and amazingly just as the group were set for the mouth of Spey Bay one hovered silently above us. It was a glorious sight.

On our ‘day off’ midway through the expedition we welcomed the warm sunshine to dry kit and wander into the local village, Craggenmore, where we had a tour of their famous whiskey distillery. The sample tasting was certainly a highlight for some of the older members of the group, whilst for others it was a chance to use a real toilet and purchase an ice-cream! After our day of rest we came to our biggest challenge, the Knockando Rapids; a series of fast flowing, fast descending rapids and whirlpools. Assuming the brace position with increasing confidence, each boat wove its way through the rough waters with our newly learned skills being put to good practice.

On the last day of paddling we were greeted with glorious sunshine. Birds singing, fishermen nodding good morning, we quietly made our way to the sea in Spey Bay. Everyone felt a sense of happiness that we had all made it to the end, some with a few bumps along the way, but also with great regret that it was all over. It really was a great end to such a fantastic trip.

We would all like to thank the Ulysses Trust for helping to fund this incredible venture and to Sub Lieutenant (SCC) Monty Smedley RNR for making all the logistics happen.

Written by the Spey Descent Team 2013.

The Expedition Team were: Lt (SCC) Kevin Anderson RNR (Abingdon Unit), PO (SCC) Steph Fisher (Cowes Unit), PO (SCC) Rob Walker (Cowes Unit), PO (SCC) Jodie Giffard (Cowes Unit), CI Graham Francis (Guildford Unit), LC Matt Reader (Abingdon Unit), MC2 Dan Rothery and MC2 Ashley Brown (Walton-on-the-Naze Unit), led by Jed Yarnold and CI Bonita Best (Abingdon Unit)