Female Larch (Larix) flowers only last a couple of weeks before they turn to an immature cone after fertilisation.

The larch trees of the Dunkeld crags were planted by cannon by the 4th Duke of Atholl.

Butterburr (Petasites hybridus) - a member of the Daisy family and so named because during the middle ages it was used to wrap butter, has the largest leaves of all the uk natives. The male flower seen here bottom left is tiny, but will produce leaves upto 3 feet across! The rarer female flowers are blue.

Corylus avelanna (Hazel) catkins with buds ready to pop. There is a great old saying which goes.. when the Hazel buds are as as big as a squirrels toe, the birch sap is good to go.. Each catkin produces around 4 million pollen grains. The catkins are all male and pollenate the female part of the tree - often on the same branch.

Yew shaft canoe paddle

We came across a group of recently felled several ancient Yew trees at a local woodland in the Borrowdale valley. Although struggling to see exactly why they were felled, we are trying to make the best of a bad thing by utilising the timber..

It's not much to look at just now, but the pictures show the contrast of the heartwood against the sapwood. Note that the branch is pretty darn straight in one plane. Green wood seasons at about 1 year per inch thickness..
1 1/4'' SHAFT = See you in 15 months!

The quest for the perfect open canoe

In our continuing search for the perfect canoe, this is a stitch and tape amalgamation prototype we are currently building at the 'lab'

We took a few days out this winter.. this was a classic view we had to endure.. After a -4 freeze that got the better of the camera battery, the topmost layer of the lake had frozen into the most impressive crystalline forms..

Winter paddling on Derwentwater, Lake District

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Paul Weller on indoor paddling

Paul keeps his hand in on Lisa Suttles state of the art C1 SIMULATOR.. Lisa is currently our biggest hope for gold at the London Olympics. Read more about Lisa's paddling career at www.lisasuttle.com

Future canoe craftsman

Craig and Matthew Fearon are currently training to be a part of the Orca canoe build team.. Remember, always start on something you can actually finish - like a 'spatuloon'.. and keep those fingers out of the way..!

Easter paddle making

Our handmade paddle selection is growing after a busy winter working on some new designs. The process is fairly straightforward with a basic knowledge of woodworking tools. These paddles are 'bent - shaft' and are made from locally sourced timber - predominantly ash and yew and take a couple of days to complete.