Access to this section of the Tay

Location

This section of the Tay is situated roughly 9km`s north of Perth. Campsie Linn is at NO 124 340, and the usual get-out is at Thistlebrig, at NO 106 320. These are shown on OS sheet 53 in the 1:50,000 series.

Access points

The normal get-in is at Burnmouth, just up from the former Burnmouth Ferry. This is easy access on to the flat water above the Stanley weir. To get to the Linn and the wall, you need to go left, then paddle and portage up river. To go down river to the weir and the get-out, go right.

The get-out is river right at Thistlebrig, where the river narrows considerably ( except at very high levels ), and has a distinct "S" shaped rapid and an eddy which regularily catches out the unwary. There is a steep climb up the river bank, then a public footpath provides a tedious climb up to the public car park on the B9099 Luncarty to Stanley road.

At high levels, it is worth going further down river for about 200 metres, to get to the playwave river right. You then have a not very nice walk back up to get to the normal get-out point. However if the wave is in good condition, it is definitely worth the extra walk back.

How to get there

From Perth, head north up the A9 towards Inverness. Just before the end of the dual carriageway, head off to the left up the slip road for Luncarty and Stanley, bear right across the top of the A9, then bear left into Luncarty. Proceed right through Luncarty, out the other end, round to the right, across the bridge, then there is a long straightish section of road, just before the end of this straightish bit of road at a big clump of trees, there is a public car park on the left. The public footpath down to the get-out is opposite the car park, it`s not very obvious and not marked in anyway, and is between two private gardens.

For the get-in point, proceed further along the road, round a lot of tight bends, and eventually right into the village of Stanley. Just past the school and car park, turn right into Percy Street. At the T-junction at the end of this road, turn left up the hill. Take the second road on the right, called Linn Road. Follow this road out of the village, down the hill, and keep going until you come to the end of the road.

Parking at Burnmouth

There is very limited parking beside the public road. There is a private car park beyond the end of the road, and it is at the discretion of the landowner as to whether public car parking is allowed.

The Scottish Canoe Association website sometimes carries information about this.

It may be advisable to park as many vehicles as possible at the car park beside the get-out.

Disabled access

This section of the river does not lend itself to wheelchair access. If the main gate is not open, the opening for the side gate at the get-in at Burnmouth is fairly narrow, so might not allow some wheelchairs through. In addition, there is no kind of staging or a jetty out onto the river, so moving from wheelchair to boat would be difficult.

The situation at Thistlebrig is much worse - to get from the river to the footpath requires a steep climb up the river bank. In addition, the footpath up to the road is not flat, but climbs considerably up to the road. The path has recently been completely rebuilt by Perth and Kinross Council, and is a great improvement on what it used to be. It now consists of a long flight of steps for much of its length. It is difficult to see how it could be done without steps, due to the height that needs to be climbed, and the steepness of the gradient.

Access issues

This section of the Tay is used by several different types of user, and you are likely to meet on different occasions :-

- open canadians and closed cockpit kayaks
- a wide range of experience and ability levels, from beginners to very experienced
- white water racing
- both private and commercial rafting
- canoe and kayak club outings
- outdoor activity centre events
- formal coaching scheme training events and assessments
- swimmers - particularily at the beach up river from the get-in, at the Linn, and the whole of the Thistlebrig rapid
- fishing - the river Tay is a prime salmon fishing river, and that includes this section - the salmon fishing season on the Tay is from 15 January through to 15 October inclusive, and during this time there is a good chance of meeting people fishing - from the banks, from the islands, from the weir, standing in the river, and from boats; there is no salmon fishing on Sundays; occasionally, there will be coarse fishing, including fishing competitions, and this can occur at any time of the year, including Sundays

Please be aware of these other users, and try to avoid any conflict with them.

Access rights

The Land Reform ( Scotland ) Act 2003, and the associated Scottish Outdoor Access Code, don`t give the automatic right to access, they give the right of responsible access which takes account of other users of the countryside.

A guide about accessing the water in Scotland using canoes and kayaks is available from the Scottish Canoe Association.

The SCA website is at http://www.canoescotland.org/ , but this link will take you away from this website.

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