NAME OF RIVER: Dochart..

WHERE IS IT?: Killin, on the A 827 at the West end of Loch Tay.

PUT-INS/ TAKE-OUTS: Put in about 200 metres above the falls. Take out by a Car Park in the town, about 200 metres below the falls.

APPROX LENGTH: Work it out.

TIME NEEDED: 30 minutes.

ACCESS SITUATION: Unknown. The get out has signs saying "Private", but we had no problems.

WATER LEVEL INDICATORS: The main part of the falls become very bony in low water, and then not a lot of people will want to do it. We paddled it in moderate water, with water just covering the rocks under the bridge.

GRADING: Mostly 3, with a 4.

MAJOR HAZARDS/ FALLS: It can all be inspected from the road, or by climbing over the bridge parapet. The nastiest bit is the stopper under the bridge.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: This is a quick paddle to do when you are in the area, with a little time to spare. My information is that the river above the falls makes a nice grade 2 paddle, but get more info before you take my word for it. The main body of the falls make for an enjoyable technical grade 3 paddle, with plenty of small stoppers and rocks to avoid/play on. The drop under the bridge is more horrible. There is a pile of rocks blocking half the river on the left. This produces a diagonal stopper running river right into an undercut rock. The plan is to hit the stopper as near to the rocks as possible, pointing left, with a bit of speed, to avoid being flung into the undercut. Even with this precaution, expect to end up with a bruised elbow or grazed knuckles.

Some people egress immediately after this, but they then miss out on a couple of fun approx. 1m drops into deep pools, which will back loop most smaller boats. Get out immediately after the second drop.

OTHER NOTES: Jim Wallis adds...'My father paddled the Dochart from Crianlarich to Loch Tay in an open boat a couple of years ago (portaging the falls and continuing on to Perth!), so I would imagine it is fairly straightforward (dad is a bit shaky!). Neil Farmer reports having got a kicking in one of the holes downstream of the bridge on the falls a few years ago, suggesting that it might actually be worse than the falls. He ran it all the other day OK.'

See also Paul Cromey's article on paddling the Dochart and Tay.

CONTRIBUTED BY: Dave Bradshaw, Manchester CC and Jim Wallis.

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