London and Scotland, Loch Craignish

What if Go Ocean on poject visit wants to go to Scotland, but in a sustainable way?

That was our challenge!

The craziest ideas were conjured up, different scenarios were considered, but of course the logistics had to be right as well.

With a sailboat we would be on the road for several days, time that the participants (entrepreneurs and supporters of the first hour) unfortunately could not spare.

The result?

Up the Eurostar toward London.
Luggage in the lockers, and go.

Our first activity; a kayaking trip on the Thames.

Full speed ahead, but just too late: ebb turned into flood, and the end became a struggle to reach our destination against the direction.

Kuddos to the guys at the London Kayak Company.

Afterwards, warm up with an aperitif at The Standard and a top-notch dinner with vegetable-focused chef Ottolenghi.
The overnight was planned on the Caledonian Sleeper, an overnight train that would take us to Glasgow,

Side note; storm Amy would give us quite a hard time, but we were still able to leave as 1 of the few overnight trains to Scotland. Whew.

After moving back and forth a bit more than usual, we arrived in Glasgow at a reasonable hour.
George, our driver, would smoothly navigate us - despite some fallen trees - toward Loch Craignish, our final destination.

The crew from Seawilding, who plant eelgrass and native oysters to restore devastated marine habitats, welcomed us with open arms.

An engaging talk, more insights, and for a few, a dip in the cold waters of the Atlantic. Mission accomplished.

Onward to a charming Scottish hotel, and here too past storm Amy asserted her power: no electricity, then dinner by candlelight.

On Sunday, we immersed ourselves in the habitat of beavers at the Argyll Beaver Centre, followed by a walk through their natural habitat.
The return trip to Glasgow was interrupted for a charming pub visit and dinner in Inveraray.

’At night, we slipped over the tracks toward London again, obviously with a Scotch whisky behind our teeth.

Arriving in London, we took breakfast on solid ground, then pedaled sleep away on our bikes. Yep, London CAN be sunny in October.
A healthy and sunny lunch later, we were able to check in for the Eurostar to Brussels.

Not the typical incentive, but a project where Contour Travel's logistics expertise was put to full use.

Thanks to GoOcean for the vote of confidence.