Hi everyone, I will most likely be attending the University of St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland and am wondering about kayaking in my free time. I may take a gap year and then move there in 2012, and I think sea kayaking in the area would be great. Has anyone been out to the Isle of May or the Bass rock? They look pretty cool from the map. Also, are there any good outfitters in southern Scotland? I'm not sure if anyone here is from Scotland. Thanks.

The East Coast of Scotland doesnt have any full time outfitters but there are quite a few sea kayak clubs. The biggest outfitter by far in Scotland is Sea Kayak Oban ( www.seakayakoban.com ) which is about 3 hrs drive from St. Andrews and has access to numerous local paddling areas regardless of the weather and also access to much of the Hebrides via the ferry links from Oban. You can easily rent a kayak and trolley and walk 500yds to the ferry and just walk on with your kayak. NB kayaks are free you just pay the foot passenger fare.

Alright, thanks a lot for the information. I will try to join a club in St. Andrews and will try to get over to Oban some time, that looks like an awesome place.