About

About the club and a short history of kayaking in the UK.

If you look back at the history of kayaks, you will find their use goes back for thousands of years. Indigenous peoples used them to travel and hunt, they were built from wood and bone and animal skin. In 1937 a geologist from Edinburgh, called Harald Drever, visited Greenland. He learnt to use the kayaks they used, developed over tens of hundreds of years, and was taught to roll and hunt. He brought this skin-on-frame kayak back to Scotland and in 1955 met Kenneth Taylor who used and promoted the designs of the west Greenlander kayaks. Years later a copy of that kayak was made in modern materials, in glass fibre, it was modified to suit our UK sized paddlers and made into the first production sea kayak by a then new British company called VCP, Valley Canoe Products, the boat was called the Anas Acuta (Pintail) which is still made today. The development of that boat started what became known as the "British form sea kayak" which is what we use today and has become a standard of sea worthy kayaks the world over. 16 to 18 feet long, skeg, very sea worthy, kayakers then had a craft that worked well in the sea.

There have been kayak clubs on Arran since the 1970's and probably before that, they have come and gone over the years. Sea kayaking, as a whole, has grown hugely since the early days, it has become much more accessible with a lot of very good gear available, there is a well developed educational system that promotes personal development and safety. Back in its infancy, in the UK, sea kayaking was for the brave! The gear was not easy to use and only tended to suit the hardy adventurer, learning was hard won, often dangerous, and very real, but not for everyone. 

In the 1970's the canoe club on Arran introduced school children to the outdoors and the sea. Stories still get told of those that ran the clubs back then, stories of regular journeys crossing from Arran to Ireland and from there on up the west coast of Scotland, stories of very capable people who lived and breathed the outdoors. Some of these, and others from around the country, went on to start and run the emerging outdoor centres that became so popular, they set the scene for the growth of outdoor pursuits, the growth of the outdoor industry and the growth of paddlesport, some of them are still doing that. They also carried on the development of an education system geared towards the needs of those in the outdoor environment. 

Scotland has over 40,000 species of marine wildlife, its coastline is both beautiful and savage, it has inspired many and hopefully always will, as sea kayakers we get to explore into an unbelievably diverse and interesting environment. Its a place we can never tire of and always learn more about, it can teach us a lot about ourselves and its a place to enjoy with others. Its easy to see why people like to kayak, the clubs that run in all parts of the country show how popular watersport has become.

The Arran Kayak Club as it is now is a development of what has proceeded, it has evolved and is an amalgamation of two separate kayak clubs, one started in 2007, the other in 2013(?). Both had an educational ideal, both ran journeys and skills sessions, both offered participation in paddlesport, both based on Arran and now one club. 

We are a members club, our main aims are to offer participation in paddlesport, to enable personal and skills development via an educational framework and encompass that within the ethos of a community based club. Members pay a fee to join both the kayak club and the yacht club, this allows for the use of the facilities, the club house and pier, parking, showers and changing rooms, storage, etc.

The Arran Kayak Club is affiliated to the Scottish Canoe Association, the SCA, all our coaches, instructors and leaders are qualified through their training programs. We will endeavour to provide training and support to suit the specific needs of individuals, we can tailor skills sessions to help with your goals. The club has a selection of kayaks, paddles and other equipment for members to use.

We run club nights from Lamlash pier on Thursday nights from spring to autumn, these evenings will normally allow a choice of either a short social journey or a skills based coaching session. Depending on numbers these may be combined in one session. We run pool sessions through the winter, keep an eye on our email shots and Facebook posts for details. Occasional trips will be planned, sometimes river trips, sometimes sea journeys. We try to organise a round Holy Isle challenge each year. We try to organise some social events each year as well, film and curry nights, BBQ, and others.

The Arran Kayak Club welcomes visitors from other UK clubs, if you are visiting Arran and would like to know more about the coast or local conditions, places to camp or would feel more comfortable paddling with a group then we would be happy to hear from you.

If you have any questions or would like to know more, please contact us.

How it all started: Ken Taylor and his skin-on-frame kayak 1960.

More modern times: a group go for a paddle from Kildonan 2021.