Frank

Frank

Learning. (You never know where it will lead!)

Living close to the shore after I first moved to the Highlands it seemed natural to get out on the water by whatever means possible. So I bought a kayak, spraydeck and paddle for £50 and I was afloat! Over the next couple of years I explored the immediate coastline tentatively, quickly realising that you get what you pay for and my kayak was not the safest means of transport.

Ignorance was bliss but it also came with considerable risk. Eventually I was persuaded by a friend to join the local kayak club to learn how to kayak properly. This was the start of a learning journey that opened up a whole new world. Initially it was very much a case of learning by my mistakes: capsizing many times in different situations, not pacing myself on longer trips and trying to fight against wind and tide rather than to work with them.

However gradually I began to develop confidence through learning the basics and there followed opportunities to learn more by attending courses which opened up new horizons through lectures, books, dvd’s and symposiums in different parts of the country and this led to wanting to explore more of the coastline of Scotland as well as the Islands. I began to explore more in the company of two friends and with the help of numerous guidebooks, maps and charts. Now this really was where the outdoor classroom called Scotland kicked in!

Initially we planned our trips physically using maps and charts which improved our understanding of geography and at the same time we learnt about weather prediction as well as tidal planning. As we spent more time discovering remote coastlines we began to alter our perception of what had come before us. Whilst we saw the Highlands as a network of towns and villages all connected by roads to each other as well as the major cities. However we soon began to realise that we were paddling along what used to be the major communication routes used by the first settlers and later the Viking longships prior to any road networks.

As we explored we noticed more and more evidence of early settlements along the coastlines and this translated into a desire to find out more about the early history of Scotland and consequently what had previously appeared to be a rugged and inhospitable coastline started to feel like living landscape albeit deserted now.

This naturally led to an interest in learning about the basics of archaeology and how primitive settlers survived in what was a potentially hostile environment. The next branch of the learning tree led then to understand about the geology of the different areas through which we passed and how this would influence how the settlers would have constructed their shelters and found suitable ground to grow crops to sustain life.

Logically once we thought about early man could exist on a rocky coastline this progressed to wanting to learn more about the natural environment and how the sea and the land could provide the wherewithal to survive. Learning to identify molluscs, seaweeds, seabirds, cestaceans and the fish below you is all good fun but not always easy as you bob around in your trusty kayak.

In conclusion I found that learning a relatively simple skill led onto another and gradually became an attitude rather than a finite subject. Everything is connected.

Be careful though – learning can be addictive!

Retaining what you have learnt – now that’s another subject entirely….