Glasgow will always be a special place for me. Having lived there for many years it was the source and starting place of many of our Scottish adventures. One of the best things about living in and travelling around Scotland is that you are never far from water. This is also very true of Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city. While it might not be very obvious at first glance some of the best paddle board locations are right on hand in Glasgow.
Discover the Best Places to Paddle Board in and Around Glasgow with our video!
While the River Clyde, rich in it’s maritime history is the most obvious option for a paddle boarding session, the canal is somewhat more hidden. From some of the very odd looks and funny comments we got I think we may well have been some of the first people to paddle board along the Forth and Clyde Canal in Glasgow. Only as short a time ago as 2018, Glaswegians out for a walk along the canal path would start up conversations with us as we kept pace alongside on our paddle boards. Once they heard our accents a look of understanding usually dawned on their faces. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was accompanied by the thought ‘crazy foreigners – it figures!’
The Best Paddle Board locations in Glasgow are hidden in plain sight!
Very quickly over the space of a couple of years the Forth and Clyde canal has become a popular place to paddle board in and around the city. There are many options to launch from which you can read about here or if you prefer you can watch our video below. The Forth and Clyde canal, as the name suggests, connect the Firth of Clyde in the west with the Firth of Forth in the east. It also joins up with the Union Canal at the Falkirk Wheel which you can follow into Edinburgh.
The Forth and Clyde canal is teeming with wildlife. Some of the creatures we have encountered are a plethora of birdlife including swans, ducks and other water birds. We saw millions of tadpoles and a cute wee fox. The plant life in the canal itself is quite interesting too. We found it kept the water really clear especially towards Bowling in the west. There are many advantages to paddle boarding on the canals in Glasgow. One of these is that it can be quite sheltered from the wind. This means the water itself is calm and really great for new paddlers.
While not strictly in Glasgow, Loch Lomond is pretty close! And after all the title of this post is “Best Places to Paddle Board in and ‘Around’ Glasgow!” so I have included it here. Loch Lomond is one of Scotland’s most beautiful lochs and it’s second biggest. Because of it’s proximity to Glasgow it is very popular with locals and visitors alike. Paddle boarders can choose from either the quieter eastern shore or the more protected and more popular western shore. The more adventurous paddlers may enjoy an island hopping adventure amongst some of Loch Lomond 23 islands.
Best Places to Paddle Board on Loch Lomond
Last but not least and a short drive from Glasgow is the Trossachs which form part of the Loch Lomonda and Trossachs National Park. The Trossachs is to the east of Loch Lomond and is well known for it’s beauty. The Trossachs has a great range of freshwater lochs to explore by paddle board each with their own vibe and atmosphere and all of them beautiful in their own unique way. See our video below for the Best Places to paddle board in the Trossachs.
Best Places to Paddle Board in The Trossachs
So if you are new to paddle boarding and live in Glasgow or are just passing through there are plenty of places to go paddling. While some of Glasgows best places to paddle board may be not so obvious, when you know where to look you’ll be spoiled for choice!
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City paddling isn’t always the first to spring to mind, but it looks very interesting!
Yes it surprised us too!! In some areas the water was so clear. And of course it’s a good spot when the travel restrictions were on 😊