RIVER SPEY
CANOE EXPEDITION

Day One Adventure Solos' events are solo-friendly adventures; where people book onto trips by themselves and come away with a great set of new friends. On day one, arrive at Loch Insh (near Aviemore) and after sorting our gear, we'll enjoy lunch together overlooking the loch. This is a great informal way to start the weekend and meet the other guests.

After lunch we launch the canoes on the Loch Insh, giving you a bit of time to familiarise yourself with the canoe again and before we join the river ahead. The afternoon is spent tackling some fun easy rapids, stopping at some lovely spots along the way until we reach our first camp. Throughout the day we have the stunning Cairngorm Mountains as our scenic backdrop, including the outline of Ben Macdui, Britain's second highest mountain. Day Two We kick start the day with a series of small rapids, and pass the first of the red banks that are sand martin colonies. Around lunchtime we tackle some Grade 1 rapids and a pass a bridge built in the 1800s that replaced the ferry that gave Boat of Garten village its name. In the afternoon we arrive arrive at our rustic riverside campsite for the evening, with the flowing river and stars for company.

Day Three The river is starting to pick up speed now, and this is reflected in the day's rapids; Grade 1 and Grade 1+. We pass through some woods teeming with wildlife, as well as a fishing hut that was regularly used by King Edward VII.

Day Four Today is an exciting day as we pass the point where the River Avon, a tributary of the River Spey, joins the flow. This is one of the reasons that the Spey gets faster as it makes it's way to the sea. After the Avon joins, we test our new skills on the first Grade 2 rapids. One of these, the Blacksboat rapid, is affectionately called 'the Washing Machine' - we stop after this to bail the boats out before continuing our journey! The video below shows our instructor tackling the Washing Machine, followed by a guest (the guest is 'solo-ing'; typically we go tandem - i.e. two people per canoe).

Day Five The final leg to the ocean is a stunning setting as we pass beautiful lawns and huts of fishing estates. There are some more rapids for us to paddle though, interspersed with impressive red cliffs and crags on the right hand side of the river. We have an opportunity to enjoy some cake at a cafe and watch ospreys soaring overhead as they fish. The air turns salty as we continue our final descent to the sea. If the conditions are right, we may get the chance to paddle out to the ocean, where seals and dolphins are common, and sometimes whales make an appearance too.

Day Six

One the final day we provide a shuttle service from Spey Bay back to Loch Insh for your travel home, with the event ending at midday.

We meet at Loch Insh Outdoor Centre near Aviemore (PH21 1NU) and finish at Spey Bay next to the Scottish Dolphin Centre (IV32 7PJ). We offer guests free transport from Spey Bay (end) to Loch INsh (start) after the event.

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Driving – If you are driving, the postcode to follow is PH21 1NU. You can usually park at Loch Insh but it can be expensive, so you may wish to find a place to park nearby and walk back to the centre.

Public Transport - Trains and a good coach service connect Aviemore with Glasgow and Edinburgh and take around 3 hours.

Glasgow (West Coast Line) and Edinburgh (East Coast Line) have trains to most major cities in England including London (4.5 hours), Birmingham (4 hours), Manchester (3.25 hours) and Leeds (3 hours).

You will be able to buy food and drink along the way but you will need to bring some food supplies with you. We will send more details and suggestions to you prior to the event.

Our events are designed for people in their 30s, 40s and 50s that wish to book onto an event by themselves. The events are a great way to make new friends, and an Adventure Solos host will meet you when you arrive, introduce you to other guests and ensure that everyone is enjoying themselves throughout the event.

Canoes and all canoe-related gear are provided. You will need camping equipment for this trip, most people will bring their own but you can also email us if you would like to hire or buy camping gear. You will need to bring sensible outdoor clothing - we will give you more information on this before the event but broadly it includes waterproofs, wellies and some warm clothing.

We ask that you ensure you have suitable prior paddling experience before booking. The Canoe Scotland Expedition and/or the West Coast Canoe Expedition events are a great way to do this. If you are unsure, please get in touch by email, phone or WhatsApp.

Some experience of camping is recommended - check out our Camping for Beginners events.

It is recommended that you build up to a good level of fitness before the event - walking is a great way to do this, or other forms of exercise such as cycling.

You should be comfortable with the fact that you may / are likely to capsize at some point on this particular river expedition. If that's not for you, the Canoe Scotland Expedition mentioned above is perhaps a better place to start.

Don't let the weather put you off; the average July rainfall is 53mm in Inverness, only slightly more than 50mm in London [Source: Met Office]. Maximum temperatures are around 19 degrees Celsius, and the summer days are longer than they are further south.