An early start at about 10am at the the shed saw us loading up for a nail biting run down a notorious river in the wilds of Fife. Piling kit into cars and boats onto roofs we headed for Cupar. The 20 minute drive was long and harrowing, dodging potholes and crazy local drivers.
At the river one look was enough to strike fear into even the most hardened of adventurers. There we met the rest of the group and got changed into our hardcore wellies and cagoules. Once kitted we sneaked down to the put in under the harsh gaze of an old lady who glared at us through her curtains.
Sliding into the river we were quickly into the first rapid. Thankfully, the gnarly waves and rocks let us pass without incident.
Our first rescue situation came not far downstream at a scary weir. Everyone bumped down the rocks fine except the 3 person canoe who got themselves stuck and had to climb out and push! Unfortunately the canoe slipped away quicker than expected and left Jean stranded in the middle of roaring whitewater. Sarah and Jakub came to the rescue though and soon everyone was reunited.
We pushed on downstream and soon we were taking these scary rapids in our stride.
For lunch we stopped on a shingle beach opposite the mouth of the burn that runs over Kemback falls. These "Topolino" slides were run a few years ago but nobody has been feeling silly enough recently that I know of!
After lunch we paddled on downstream, dodging trees and running down gnarly weirs and rapids.
About midafternoon we came to the tidal section and unfortunately the tide was out, so some pushing with paddles and wading alongside the boats ensued. We kept a close watch on the waters though, in case of sharks or crocodiles. You never can tell.
Finally we reached the takeout at Guardbridge. Exhilarated at our epic adventures, we packed up and trundled along the ten minute drive home for tea and medals.
