| 52 |
www.visitscotland.com/adventure
River-bugging
If you're stuck for ideas on how to entertain your older off-spring while on holiday then river-
bugging could prove to be the ideal solution. While the children get to try something truly
adventurous and high-adrenaline, which they can tell their friends about, parents can let
their hair down and act like kids again. Seems like the perfect match doesn't it?
visitscotland.com/adventure
Adventure Advice...
What you need
to know...
Where can I do it?
Three operators in Scotland
offer river-bugging. They are
Splash Whitewater Rafting at
Aberfeldy in Perthshire, Nae
Limits at Ballinluig, near
Pitlochry and Ace Adventure in
Aviemore in the Highlands.
Nae Limits offer combined
adventure tubing/cliff jumping
sessions and also offer
whitewater mambos. A
number of operators offer
duckies and fun yaks. Each
operator will have its favourite
rivers for river-bugging. See
visitscotland.com/adventure
for further details. Most trips
take place from April to
October.
Why should I?
Because you can. If there's
one water-based activity
that's a must-do it's river-
bugging. It's different, it's
highly entertaining and it
makes great use of Scotland's
fabulous whitewater rivers.
The activity also offers great
entertainment for a group of
relatives or friends.
How much?
A half-day river-bugging
outing costs around �50 per
person. Included in the price is
the use of a wetsuit, helmet,
buoyancy aid, the inflatable
river bug and instruction and
guidance on the water. Groups
of up to eight people can go
out in one trip. Ask individual
operators for group discounts
or special deals � and don't
forget to book in advance.
visitscotland.com/adventure
L
ike bobbing ducks sitting in
inflatable armchairs, eight wetsuit-
clad river-bugging participants pop
up, one by one, over the top of a
whitewater rapid. Spinning round and
round and bouncing off rocks in the
single-person `bugs' � or boats � they
descend facing backwards, forwards and
sideways in a fast-moving line.
The noise of the rushing water in the
appropriately named Zig Zag rapid on
the River Tummel in Perthshire is loud
but even so the
whoops of delight from
the participants are
clear and enthusiastic.
The fun of the thrill-
seeking pursuit called
river-bugging doesn't
stop once these
adventurers have
passed the main thrust
of the rapids. Following
the instructor they are
shown how to catch a washing machine-
style ride on a mini eddy, surf small
waves and do a pirouette-style leap out
of the water.
During a half-day adventure, the river-
bugging participants also encounter
slower-moving sections of the river. Here
they are required to power the bugs
backwards using swimming flippers and
steer with the aid of webbed gloves.
Then at the sight of another rapid they
turn to face forwards � and let the rush of
the water do the work.
Taking its roots from the grand-daddy
of water-based activities � whitewater
rafting � bugging joins an ever-
expanding stable of sports ideally suited
to Scotland's wide, deep and fast-flowing
rivers.
Only a few Scottish operators, two in
Perthshire and one in the Highlands,
operate river-bugging trips during the
months of April to October so you'll need
to ensure that you book ahead for this
popular activity.
For many people, river-bugging offers
a novel alternative to whitewater rafting
having first tried the big boat version.
But for others, it is an
attractive outing in a vessel
that they are able to control
for themselves. Anyone
over the age of 16, and who
can swim, is welcome to
have a go at river-bugging.
Under-18's must be
accompanied by a parent or
guardian. (Restrictions may
apply, check when booking).
And once you've caught
the bug for whitewater style adventures,
there are other novel activities that might
also appeal. Why not try adventure
tubing? This offers a fun-filled outing on
a large inner-tube style inflatable. The
adventurer simply sits in the tube and
surfs the river downstream. You can also
try the sit-on-top kayak activity called
Whitewater Mambos and Duckies,
which are two-man inflatable kayaks
perfectly made for negotiating fast-
moving water.
If you're looking for fun on the water
then Scotland has the ideal landscape
and the forward-thinking companies to
offer you something completely different.
Pic:www.naelimits.co.uk
Adventure tubing
Sponsored by
0845 293 7373
www.hostellingscotland.com
ADRENALINE RATING HHHH

Page 1Page 2Page 3Page 4Page 5Page 6Page 7Page 8Page 9Page 10Page 11Page 12Page 13Page 14Page 15Page 16Page 17Page 18Page 19Page 20Page 21Page 22Page 23Page 24Page 25Page 26Page 27Page 28Page 29Page 30Page 31Page 32Page 33Page 34Page 35Page 36Page 37Page 38Page 39Page 40Page 41Page 42Page 43Page 44Page 45Page 46Page 47Page 48Page 49Page 50Page 51Page 52Page 53Page 54Page 55Page 56Page 57Page 58Page 59Page 60Page 61Page 62Page 63Page 64Page 65Page 66Page 67Page 68Page 69Page 70Page 71Page 72Page 73Page 74Page 75Page 76Page 77Page 78Page 79Page 80Page 81Page 82Page 83Page 84Page 85Page 86Page 87Page 88Page 89Page 90Page 91Page 92Page 93Page 94Page 95Page 96Page 97Page 98Page 99Page 100 Produced by PageSuite