Loth Burn, Sutherland 4th September 2009

Images produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.

After reaching the bridge at the confluence, we pulled over and ate some lunch before venturing on down the Loth Burn. This is an incredible wee river that plunges down 3.5kms to the North Sea. Takeout is on the beach just east of the river mouth, with a short walk NE to the minor road.

Our venture up into Sletdale had allowed the Loth to drop about 6 inches. The two tributaries come together and the Loth doubles in flow, compared to the Sletdale Burn. There were no rocks showing on virtually the whole run!! The river was like milk chocolate.

Callum enjoying the ride on the upper Loth Burn. Fast grade 3 and 4 water eats up the first kilometre and a half. At one point a series of big fluffy holes raise the adrenalin factor, as we screamed round bend after bend.

Very soon the river begins to drop into a narrow sided ravine.

We portaged this incredible 5/6 cascade, now known as "Quadrophobia", because at this level the first and last of four linked drops had humungous holes in them which were simply unavoidable. The prospect of flipping in the top hole and flushing down through those below upside down was too horrible to contemplate, especially as we did not know what lay downstream.

The river gorged up and some fast rapids led through a box canyon section with a couple of exciting corners. "Stenophobia", grade 4 and this harmless blind corner.



By now in a fully fledged gorge with granite walls and bedrock, an intimidating narrows appeared ahead. A scout determined that this screaming narrows led to a recirculating drop into a safe pool with a good safety position on river right. We both ran the class 5 drop, "Anginophobia" successfully, although Callum's run saw him get pushed onto the left hand wall of the narrows.

Followed quickly by Chris, keen to stay off that left wall!!

Just look at the foam build up in this eddy below Anginophobia.................. :-)

Chris was ahead from here and some fast rapids led to an ominous narrowing. High walls loomed and escape left was impossible. Chris made the last eddy on the lip on river right and signalled Callum to join him. We hauled the boats up onto a small ledge. Clinging to the steep slope, we could hang onto a tree and see into an awesome drop, at least 30 feet high and maybe 40. We hauled our boats directly up and onto easier ground some hundred feet above the canyon. A thrash through deep bracken allowed us to follow a deer fence back down towards the river. Eventually we lowered in again and ferried across, so we could walk up the other bank to look at the falls. An amazing place.

The spectacular falls that come half way through the run on the Loth Burn. Useful to know exactly where these are before committing to this run, and be aware that the portage to get around them on river right is extremely strenuous and a little precarious at first.

Named the falls, "Hydrophobia Falls".

Once below the falls we felt more relaxed, sensing that the biggest and meanest was now behind us. Great white water leads down to the old bridge and then soon after the A9 bridge. We had already taken a bike to the coast so that we would be able to paddle on down the final kilometre into the sea.

This last kilometre has many rapids, most of which have been shored up with gabion to create steeper shoots and pools for fishing. From the A9 down the river becomes grade 3.

A change in bedrock to sandstone, with a strange cave on river right at one point, leads to a beautiful long class 3 that passes under the railway bridge and ends with the river widening as it emptied into small surf waves and the sea.

A short paddle north, allowed us to carry up through the caravan park and walk over the low hill to the railway, where an arch undreneath the line gives access to the caravan park road.

A classic trip. Presumably a first descent. A local man stopped by and asked incredulously if we had been kayaking on the river, as he has seen my car with registration k4yak, up at the put in in Glen Loth. He had never heard of anyone paddling the river and was astonished that we had managed to bypass the big falls.