Book Review - Paddle Scotland by Alasdair Findlay

I was privileged to receive a preview copy of Paddle Scotland by Alasdair Findlay recently. It is the first part in a new series of books on Adlard Coles/Bloomsbury, with forthcoming books to cover England and Wales as well.

Paddle Scotland aims to showcase ‘The best places to go with a paddleboard, kayak or canoe’ and is a full colour book packed with maps and pictures throughout.

It is written by Alasdair Findlay, who runs Glasgow Paddleboarders Co, a familiar face to many people in the Scottish scene. He puts his experience to good use in this book, with a huge variety of spots for all levels. I met Ally many, many years ago when he has fairly new to SUP, renting him equipment and leading him down his first experience of moving water, when he joined one of our River Tay trips. It is fair to say that Ally has definitely caught the Paddleboarding bug since.

Covering the length and breadth of the country, Paddleboarders will find something that tickles their fancy, from gentle paddles to some pretty extreme, exposed coastline all featured. As it mentions on some of the location write ups, tidal or river knowledge is a must for some of these, don’t let the gorgeous photos fool, some of these are very committing places. A Difficulty scale is a great touch on each location, but if in doubt, don’t go out or contact one of  the many operators he mentions in the book. Bear in mind that this book is aimed at all craft, so, some venues, especially some of the more exposed coastal ones may be in some conditions more ideal for sea kayaks, rather than always ideal for Paddleboards.

There are plenty of Ally’s anecdotes to help personalize the book and help take you there in spirit to some of Scotland’s special paddle locations. Add in local history and off the water information and this book will be used as the perfect excuse to get out and explore our magnificent country by plenty of paddle