ACTIVE OUTDOORS: Getting a real taste of sea kayaking on Shetland adventure

Shetland was the perfect place to slow down, escape the rush of everyday life and unwind on a holiday with a difference.

It also gave me the opportunity to introduce the rest of my family to the joys of sea kayaking – with a little help from some professional guides and their tandem craft.

With a bit of a breeze, Angus – a native Shetlander who has years of experience on the water – selected the sheltered bay of Gulber Wick, a little south of Lerwick, for a gentle paddle.

Meg teamed up with Jennifer in a tandem kayak and I took our youngest, Matthew, with me. That left Clara to have her first experience paddling her own boat – previously she had enjoyed a few trips with me but only in a tandem.

We were joined by another couple who were on holiday from Devon as well as Angus’s daughter Rosalind, who like her father is also a BCU 5 star leader and sea kayak coach.

There was no advanced paddling required on this trip, though. We would just be getting used to being out on the water and exploring some of the fascinating coastline here.

Meg and Jennifer admitted to having a bit of a nervous start, bashing into a rock early on before learning to work together in the tandem. Clara got stuck on a sand bank briefly while Matthew just got stuck in with his oversized paddle!

Soon we were all used to being on the water and we meandered up the coast a little to a small inlet, where we practised controlling the boats in a more confined space.

But there was a reason Angus had led us here. On the rocks above us were some rusty old mechanisms, and he wondered if you could work out what they were for.

From down on the water, it’s not so obvious, but above the low cliff here is a graveyard, and this is the route the coffins would have taken when the sea was the main means of transport. After that, I noticed there are many graveyards in similar spots all across the archipelago.

While we were talking, Rosalind found a small starfish, just a few centimetres across, and passed it around for everyone to see before returning it safely to the water.

We emerged from the inlet and paddled further up the north side of the bay, but with the wind now blowing in, we opted to make a crossing to the opposite side in search of shelter.

It was nice to get out into the open and Matthew helped with the paddling, turning it into a bit of a race! He seemed a bit of a natural and looked comfortable on the water.

On the far side some curious seals poked their heads above the water as we regrouped in the sheltered water. Angus shared more fascinating facts, including alluding to the cliffs which were quarried to build Lerwick.

There were also tales of shipwrecks and tragedies. Clearly living on an island gives you a very healthy respect for the sea and its power.

Heading further south along the shore now, we got in amongst the rocks, finding our way through narrow gaps and tight turns, finding hidden corners and intriguing inlets. This is my favourite kind of paddling, just enjoying controlling your craft while watching the geology and the wildlife so close at hand.

We’d dreamed of spotting orcas or other cetaceans but sadly it wasn’t to be. Angus did say that the orcas had been here recently, though, and a spot further along the shore at Lyoonigeo Skerry that is often full of seals was more or less empty now due to the presence of the killer whales.

We continued our exploration and when Angus told us of some edible “spaghetti-like” seaweed, Matthew was keen to try it! We dipped our hands in and snapped some off. It had an unsurprisingly salty taste, and the memory has definitely stuck with Matthew.

On our way back to shore, we explored more of this side of the bay and, feeling back in the swing of things now, I was poking the boat into gaps I wasn’t sure I could get out of – other than by reversing – and aiming for tighter and tighter gaps between the rocks.

Matthew was clearly loving this kind of exploring too, particularly at one point when the front of our boat got stuck on a low rock. While I wiggled the boat to free it, Matthew decided this was enough of an emergency for him to blow his whistle – something he’d been wanting to do all day.

All that was left was a gentle paddle back to the beach after a tantalising taste of the sea – in more ways than one!

Route details

Shetland sea kayaking

Distance 2.5 miles / 4 km

Terrain Sheltered sea loch

Start/finish Gulber Wick, Shetland

Map OS Landranger 4; OS Explorer 466

A family kayak experience with Sea Kayak Shetland

• For information on trips and hire options with Sea Kayak Shetland, visit www.seakayakshetland.co.uk

• John and his family enjoyed this experience as part of their summer holiday to Shetland. The feature is not sponsored and the trip was not subsidised.