There’s nothing that says summertime quite like messing about on the water. We’ve handpicked some brilliant ways for you to do just that, with the absolute minimum of travel from your Stirling base.
Paddling beneath Stirling’s city centre bridges with Unicorn Paddle
A novel way to see Scotland’s most beautiful waterways
Fishing: If your idea of being on the water is sitting in a boat watching for a bite, then Swanswater Fishery may just be for you. It’s just 15 minutes from the centre of Stirling. This fishery boasts three ponds, of which the biggest is a full ten-acre expanse. You can fly fish from one of the three well-maintained fishing platforms, or hire one of the fishery’s three boats. Rainbow, Brown, Blue, Tiger and Golden trout are all stocked daily, to supplement the natural population of brown trout. For more information, see: http://www.swanswater-fishery.co.uk/
Stand Up Paddling: It seems that one of the best ways to see Scotland’s waters is by ‘stand up paddling’. And you don’t even know how to do it to have a crack. Unicorn Paddling offer lessons and nature expeditions throughout Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, the Fife Coast and many more locations throughout Scotland. And what makes their offer even more attractive is that they will pick you up free of charge from several locations throughout Stirling and the Stirling area, in order to get to your location of choice. Unicorn Paddling provide wetsuits, gloves, and literally everything you will need to keep cosy as you explore Scotland’s waters in this brilliant new way. Trips depend on wind speeds of less than 8 miles per hour. Check out their website here to create your own SUP adventure! www.unicornpaddle.co.uk
The Helix watersports: Home to the now world-famous Kelpies, The Helix in Falkirk offers water sports for all the family. It’s just 17 minutes’ drive from Stirling too. You will find everything from pedalos to canoeing and kayaking on the Helix plaza’s man-made ‘lagoon’. It’s a very safe environment for those less experienced on the water, with life guards on the shore at all times. During school holidays, explore the instructor-led water-sports events. For younger family members, there’s also the splash zone, with random water jets and waterfalls to play in on warmer summer days. For full information on these and more activities at the Helix, see: http://www.thehelix.co.uk/
Linlithgow Canal Centre: If you like spending time on the water purely for its own sake, then Linlithgow Canal Centre is for you. The Canal Centre (just 22 miles or 29 mins from Stirling) is operated entirely by volunteers and their love of the boats and the water brings a little magic to your trip. The Centre runs three core trips – a half-hour town cruise, a three-hour Avon Aqueduct Cruise, and a Falkirk Wheel Cruise. The Aqueduct cruises take place at weekends, The Falkirk Wheel cruises on the last Sunday of June, July and August, while the town cruises run daily from 4 July to 12 August. Tickets are very good value, staff have a wealth of local knowledge, and you can enjoy some gorgeous home baking before or after in the Canal Centre Tearoom (with a wood fire in winter). The Canal centre is a hidden gem in the heart of Linlithgow, and worthwhile supporting too. Don’t miss their Canal Fun Day on 14 August and bring a picnic. For detail on ticket prices, cruises, special events and facilities, see: http://www.lucs.org.uk/
Plenty of water fun at the Helix
Messing about on the water at Linlithgow Canal Basin
Photo credits:
- Linlithgow Canal Centre: Thomas Nugent [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
- Stand up Paddling Photos: Images kindly supplied by Unicorn Paddling, http://unicornpaddle.co.uk/, Copyright Unicorn Paddling.
- Kelpies Photo: Kindly supplied by the Kelpies Team, Copyright the Helix 2016.