Last wednesday Stuart and I, in a major break with convention, headed for the far east for a day out.
We found a very good put-in at Port Edgar Yacht Club where the office advised us we could launch FOC from their ramp, BUT, the lady told us (not unkindly) “Don’t call us if you get into difficulties. Call the Coastguard”.
Perhaps we looked like a couple of doddery old guys; nevertheless we dropped the boats near the water and went to park and change.
The ramp put us on-water right between the old & new road bridges. We headed west under the towering new bridge – what an experience – so we could turn and see all 3 bridges at once.
We were joined by a very large seal which at one point accidently popped up right beside me and decided to pretend it was a dolphin and leap from the water, landing with an almighty splash about 5 feet away.
We headed through all the bridges and doddered around Inchgarvie and the massive footings of the rail bridge as trains thundered overhead and big Liquid Petroleum Gas ships headed out to sea in the deep channel which is closer to the Fife shore.
Using the trip as a scouting mission for future paddles, we discovered loads of beautiful sandy beaches and it was one of them at which we stopped for lunch.
It was a watery sun that tried manfully to break through all day. Refreshed, we headed off for Cramond Island. A little way off it, we decided, with the sun already sitting rather low, to ‘cut the corner’ and head direct for Inchkeith.
Inchkeith, when approaching from the bridges, bears a striking resemblance to a WWII battleship. We began to wonder if the buildings had actually been deliberately built to give just that appearance. The closer we got the stronger that resemblance became.
We may be old, Stuart & I, but thankfully our brain cells are still functioning, as we decided there was no way we had enough light to continue tp Inchkeith and cut across to the Fife shore for the return journey.
We decided to retrace our ‘steps’ and what a good decision it was as the sky grew darker and darker.
We landed back at Port Edgar while the daylight was still in our favour, but it certainly wouldn’t have been if we had tried to push on regardless. Hey, we didn’t get to be this venerable by being daft!!!!
A great day out that could only be bettered, after we scouted some parking & put-ins more central to South Queensferry, by sharing a big polystyrene container of chips.
Let’s make that a peer paddle soon and get a decent start so we can explore further afield.
