Adventures
Mountain Valley Coast-to-Coast Howl X Wilderness Folk School
Mountain Valley Coast-to-Coast Howl X Wilderness Folk School
Join us for a week of hiking and canoeing in one of Scotland's most breath-taking Valleys as we travel coast to coast.
This exciting collaboration sees us team up with our friends at Wilderness Folk School to offer a chance to travel across Scotland by canoe and foot, learning a wealth of bushcraft skills from instructors with over 30 years of combined canoeing and bushcraft experience.
Soak in the Scottish Landscape of Glen Affric as we hike into remote mountains populated with Munros and wild Red Deer. Paddle the open canoes along Loch and down river, making waterside camps as we go. You’ll be accompanied by a team of experienced guides from Howl and Wilderness Folk School whose knowledge you’ll be able to draw upon to make this trip both exciting and engaging.
During the trip you’ll get to apply bushcraft skills alongside classic mountain skills as we make camps, travel by water, a navigate to a high peak to look down on the Loch. Ideal for anyone wanting to experience nature, and make a journey like no other.
Book with just a 25% deposit: at checkout type DEPOSIT into the offer code box. (Full payment required 10 weeks prior to the trip)
DATES:
17th - 23rd May 2025
Please enquire for an update on 2026 dates
A Valley of Caledonian Forest - Glen Affric
Wilderness, Mountains, and the Canoe
Our journey starts on the coastal shores of Loch Duich, surrounded by mountains and the smell of the sea. We have an informal night here on a campsite where we can get to know one another, do final kit checks as a group and discuss our plans for the next few days. From here the next morning we hike out towards the Gates of Affric and into the bandit country of old. There are several remote Munroes in the area, and we hope to bag one or two on route. We’ll spend the first couple of days in the hills, working on navigation and mountain skills. We’ll camp high when the weather allows, bedding down with views stretching out in all directions.
As we make our way East we descend into the Glen and visit the last remnants of the ancient Caledonian Forest that once covered Scotland to form part of the Boreal Taiga Biome. Grandfather pines, rich mosses and heather, and an abundance of wildlife fill the Valley. At the waters of Loch Benn a’Mheadhoin we launch the canoes and travel now with paddle in hand to an island camp on the Loch.
The journey continues as we travel by river to spend a couple of days on moving water, completing our passage across Scotland in a stunning Gorge, with Osprey and otters sharing the landscape with us.
The whole area is a wildlife haven and the canoe is the perfect way to get close to some of Scotland's most iconic species; Otters, Pine Marten, Scottish Wild Cats, Red Deer, Osprey and Beaver all live here as well as hundreds of other bird species.. Certified 'Track & Sign Specialist' Steven Hanton will be your guide to the plethora of tracks and signs that we find along the way which adds a richness to the experience and allows you to really understand the place.
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Day zero- We meet in Beauly on the East Coast mid-afternoon on the 18th May and leave the majority of our vehicles here, shuttling everyone and kit to Morvich in the West. Here we’ll spend the night at our accommodations (included in the trip) as we have a kit shake down, crack out the maps, and spend an informal evening discussing the upcoming adventure.
Day One- We set out early after breakfast to make the most of the ascending day, working to develop navigation skills along the way, we hike into Munro populated mountains with epic ridges, escarpments and valleys. The West coast will slowly vanish from sight as we make our way to a mountain wild camp.
Day Two- Waking up in the mountains brings all kinds of joy and experience, and we’ll get everything we could imagine during the second day as we travel in some of Scotlands remote backcountry. The weather will play a role on day two more than any other, mountain travel at its most authentic! We may summit a munro, or explore a lower valley, as we travel East beyond the Gates of Affric.
Day Three- Now deep in the middle of the Highlands we start to descend from our high places and arrive at the shores of Loch Benn a’Mheadhoin to start the canoeing phase of the trip. We spend the afternoon on open water paddling to an island for our camp.
Day Four- As one of the instructors tows the canoes to the river for us, we’ll hike along the Kintail way to rejoin the canoes and push off down stream along a river system teeming with Beaver and Osprey.
Day Five- The river journey continues as we explore a side river and learn some upstream travel skills. Poling, tracking, lining and snubbing our way up and down a little used river.
Day Six- We enter a steep sided gorge and nature reserve to close out our adventure, finishing close to Beauly and our cars for late morning
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Mountain
Map reading
Uses a compass
Contour interpretation
Natural navigation
Stove cooking
How to camp in the hills, campsite selection and other nuances
Canoe
Loading a canoe & gear shakedown
Flat water paddling skills; strokes and trim
Moving water skills; strokes, route choice, ferry gliding & breaking in/out of the current.
Expedition canoe skills; poling, snubbing, lining, tracking & portaging
Bushcraft
Firelighting masterclass
Tree and plant ID & edible, medicinal and utilitarian uses.
Campfire cooking
Stove cooking
Wildlife tracking; identify animal tracks and signs.
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Food- This expedition is fully catered. Food will be typical camping fayre. We take our catering seriously and we aim to make the food one of the highlights of the trip. We can cater to vegetarians and some medical intolerances but vegans and more unusual food requirements can be tricky when group cooking. We are always happy to chat about this before booking.
Mountain: During the first few days of the trip we’ll be carrying all our food, and cooking it on backpacking stoves. As such we’ll be looking at dehydrated meals, and other weight saving options for laden travel. We’ll make this an education in what’s possible, and explore how we can use our stoves, but everything we bring we’ll need to carry as a group.
Canoe: Once we reach the boats we can afford to carry more weight, so we’ll pick up a food cache with the canoes and cook over the open fire for the remainder of the trip. Fresh food, wood smoke, and some renowned campfire cooks on the team will make these meals something special.
DETAILS:
Travel and arrival - Detailed joining instructions will be sent out to you well in advance of the expedition.
We will meet at Beauly and shuttle across in a few cars to Morvich on the first afternoon. If you’re arriving by public transport there is a train station in Beauly.
Accommodation - All wild camping, a couple of nights on the hills and the rest waterside. Included is the first night at a campsite in Morvich with showers, toilets etc.
Weather/conditions - Scotland in May can be changeable, please make sure you read the kit list thoroughly.
Age requirements - 18+.
Fitness/ability - You need a basic level of fitness to attend this expedition. No previous canoeing experience is necessary, although you may get more from the course if you have completed a taster session which we can facilitate for you of you’d like to enquire. We suggest that being able to walk 15km each day for the mountain days at a relaxed pace is a good minimum bench mark with a rucksack of camping gear. Some days we will be paddling 10km or so, which while not particularly strenuous, can make some muscles ache a bit if not conditioned. We want you to enjoy the expedition so please contact us with any questions on this.
Payment - To book we will take a 25% non returnable deposit with the balance due 10 weeks before the expedition start date. See our full Terms and Conditions.
Insurance - We have comprehensive liability insurance and risk assessments, but we suggest that you have your own insurance policy that covers your kit and yourself.
First Aid/Medical - The leaders are experienced in remote first aid and are trained to First Response Emergency Care level 4 (Ambulance ECA). We will carry a comprehensive expedition first aid kit and Garmin Inreach device for emergencies. Please bring with you plenty of any required personal medication.
Toilets - On expedition, toilets will consist of a trowel and a walk a good distance from camp.
KIT OverView
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(If you have your own of any of the following and would like to bring it please feel free)
Personal floatation device
2 Paddles per person
Helmet
Canoes
Campfire cooking equipment
Water filters
Group shelter
Maps
Compasses
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This is a trip of two halves, and as such you’ll need a flexible outfit of gear.
In short, you’ll need to carry your camping kit on your back, so lightweight mountain kit may work better than heavier forest or canoe gear. Once we get to the canoes, your rucksack can be easily carried in the boat. Having a waterproof liner, such as an Ortlieb bag, to keep your kit dry would be highly advised.
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A comprehensive kit list will be issued on booking, with advise and details from your guides, however a bullet point list may looking something like this:
Brew kit- mug, spoon, tea/coffee/hot chocolate etc (a small camping stove is a useful extra)
Waterproofs: jacket and trousers
Head-torch and spare batteries
Water bottle
Wooly Hat
Flask for hot water/ hot drink
Small First aid kit- plasters, painkillers, steri-wipes etc (should fit in a trouser pocket).
Toilet kit- tissues, hand sanitizer, lighter, wet-wipes
Sun-cream and insect repellent - Smidge or something with deet in it works.
Sunglasses
Midge head net - The ones by Smidge are good - most others have mesh sizes too large.
Warm Sleeping bag-in its own dry bag
Sleeping mat
Tent
A full set of warm, dry clothes for the end of the day.
Waterproof socks/ warm socks
Wash kit: toothbrush/paste, soap, small towel as minimum
Spectacles/contact lenses/spares
Plate/bowl and eating utensils
One luxury item-a book, MP3 player, etc
Knee Protection - canoe kneeling pad or soft, comfortable knee pads.
Waterproof whistle to be carried on your person.
A small knife, such as a folding pocket knife or fixed blade more.
Canoeing footwear that will get wet - old trainers are fine, some folks like neoprene booties.
meet the team
Steven is an experienced expedition leader and has guided trips to some of the worlds most remote environments. Equally at home in the frozen subarctic, steamy jungle or sweltering desert, he has been fortunate to work with and learn from some of the world's last hunter gatherers for whom wilderness skills are still a way of life.
As a passionate educator, Steven completed a degree in Outdoor Education at Edinburgh University and stresses the importance not only of what you teach, but how you teach. His enthusiasm for the subject and his delivery make for informative yet fun and engaging programs.
Steven is never more at home, however, than when exploring the wilds of his native Scotland with his wife and two boys in his handmade wood and canvas canoes.
JD has been delivering canoe expeditions in Scotland since 2017 when he launched the Long Water trip with Robin Heath. Since then he’s led several trips every year and shared his joy of journeying with customers from all walks of life.
Combining bushcraft with canoe trips is one of JD’s favourite outdoor endeavours, and helping to up-skill clients in their own pursuit of adventure have become a firm drive for all the tours at Howl.
Reviews
Loch Affric was an amazing place with fantastic surrounding views. Perfect weather conditions to allow us to enjoy it to the fullest. The food was spot on. JD and the team can only do so much with regards to keeping the food chilled, but this didn’t prevent them cooking great food. They kept the food choices varied and suited everyone on our course and their dietary requirements. All of them were excellent in their own rights. Given us enough information to learn any particular skill and would happily teach us more in-depth if we were interested. They are very patient and gave us the choice to what we wanted to do day to day. One to one tuition with Robin in the canoes was exceptional. He allowed us to to try other things that other people in the group didn’t fancy as long as we was up for a challenge. Providing great knowledge and experience to makes us more efficient and capable in the canoes. You’ll a have a great time and Howl Bushcraft with make sure of it no matter the weather. They suit the trip to your needs and provide plenty of knowledge to make it interesting. Fantastic group of lads to give you the best experience. Highly recommend. Would happily book again or recommend other people. - Dan 2022
Incredible, remote and unique. A long slog in a car, but worth it. All meals were cooked from scratch, including breakfast. Perfect camp food after a day of hiking or canoeing. All instructors were great, a few members of the group could have benefitted from some more canoe time and a little more instruction but it was their choice not to and we had shortened the trip to suit ourselves. Highlights for me were Paddling on a pan flat misty lake, and paddling out into loch affric- with mountains reflected in it. But generally there wasn't a bad moment.
I think everyone on the trip now feels more confident camping outdoors in wilder places, and In terms of something unexpected, I think I saw that most members of the group enjoyed talking with the instructors about their varied and winding routes to being expedition leaders- and i think it helped everyone to realise that you don't have to be superhuman to go to interesting places and interesting things. Miss something else, but don't miss this. You'll get to places that you might never go to, and do things you might never do and there plenty of time to relax and have chill out in between. If you're worried about value it's worth every penny, if you're worried about your capability the trip could be adapted to suit most levels. -Rob 2022
I came home feeling very full up from my experience. Loved how you incorporated canoeing with a chunky Munro and camping. A seamless blend of stuff I love to do. Food was fabulous, varied, wholesome and healthy and plenty of it ..a real highlight. I've been enjoying seeing my friends looking shocked to hear you made a pineapple upside down cake on an open fire! And of course the island garlic bread. Highlights were many...canoeing and the peacefulness of it combines with the fun and social element it brings on the water. Loved the river paddle too, a fabulous idea. Climbing the Munro and realising I'm fitter than I thought, always good to know. And those views...wow. You saw them and felt them at the same time. I also enjoyed the expedition feel...plans were in place and they were flexible according to the group, weather. - Karen 2020
Absolutely awesome weekend with amazing people! Many brews consumed and a nice drop or 3 of whisky! Lots of laughs and learned a lot! Food tremendous and thank you again for looking after us. I will deffo see you again on another Howl course! Sleeping at the top of the Munro with a view to die for was a very special moment and something I’ll never forget. All were there to answer any questions at any time. I didn’t feel the trip was too ‘instructory’ which was perfect for me. I did feel though that JD, Max and Robin would have helped me with anything and it felt like we were all just having one adventure together rather than a ‘instructor and participant’. A friendly team and they will put you at ease. It’ll be a fantastic experience and you’ll want to book more! - Paul 2020
You’re all inspiring in your own ways and helped me achieve a few “firsts” that would have been more than challenging without you. Great memories and hopefully our paths will cross again soon Love to you all. - Rhona 2020