Here at Bluefin SUPs we’re pleased to bring you a new blog series of paddleboarding adventures with the self-titled Rubbish Paddlers – also known as Charlotte and Neil! The pair pride themselves on attempting to turn the tide on water pollution while enjoying the best that paddleboarding has to offer.
This time last summer, they were preparing for their first big expedition on one of our Cruise 10’8 boards – with some nervous excitement about how they would perform on Scottish lochs, rivers, and canals. They spent over a month traveling by paddleboard and public transport.
The pair racked up some interesting stats for the Rubbish Paddlers Scotland Expedition which covered 352.71 km (219.16 miles) of paddling. They managed:
- 31 days in total
- 11 trains
- Five buses
- 10 rides from awesome peeps
- 63 bags of rubbish, three bikes, one shopping trolley, one dart board, one skateboard, one kitchen sink, one carpet, and plenty of other random stuff collected from waterways
- Countless wildlife sightings and breathtaking scenery
- Enough couscous for a lifetime
Charlotte and Neil share more about how they got on, below:
“The Bluefin Cruise paddleboards proved to be brilliant expedition boards. Not the lightest for carrying onto trains and buses but more importantly, very robust and stable on different river environments with lots of attachment points to help with securing expedition gear and rubbish! Plus the option of a twin kayak-bladed paddle helped while paddling against the wind on some of the lochs and the still waters of the canals.
“This was a hugely successful expedition as we managed to raise awareness of some of the environmental issues around rubbish in our waterways, the big problem around irresponsible access to the countryside, and the mess left by not so ‘wild’ camping. It also showed how amazing some of Scotland’s landscapes and scenery are – from the beautiful pristine North West Highland and Loch Maree to the fast and mighty Tay river system.”
- If you’re interested in the Rubbish Paddlers’ journey on last summer’s expedition and their ‘rubbish adventure’, check out their Facebook page at: Rubbish Paddlers
- Look out for part two of the Rubbish Paddlers’ blog posts coming soon, as they tackle this year’s epic Arctic Expedition.