Picture of the Month - June 2013

Loch Ailort

......27 years on

We've always been blessed with fine weather in 

Arisaig and Moidart, long may it continue.

Revisiting old memories - and the tidal flow - near Roshven

Our first time on this stretch of water was 1986

Isle of Lismore

Rubha Fiart - Eilean Musdile

Saturday 1st August

'lumpy water'

It was exhilarating....

We are heading down the west side of Lismore,

toward Eilean Musdile in the Firth of Lorne

at the entrance to Loch Linnhe. 

This is separated from Lismore  by a sound ¼ miles wide,

a place with tidal interest, and a superb camping area, 

from where to watch the ebb and flow.

An overnight trip - Andy and Bill

Picture of the Month - January 2013

Firth of Clyde

Maidens Sunset

Sunset at 5.30pm on a cold Winters day

click below for the trip

Maidens to Dunure

Dunure to Maidens

Picture of the Month - August 2012

 MacLeod's Maidens 

Loch Bracadale

Isle of Skye

A two day trip on the north west coast of Skye.

Caves, natural arches and dramatic sea stacks,

'As good as it gets'

MacLeod's Maidens just before Idrigill Point 

Trip by Andy & Bill

Dunure to Maidens

Blinded by the light 

Saturday January 12th

After our lunch in the bar of the Dunure Inn 

it was time to paddle back to Maidens.

You can see from the picture that Dunure harbour has a 

distinctive old beacon at it's entrance. 

(that isn't a reference to Andy)(or Elizabeth)

Mr & Mrs Lomo at Dunure Harbour 

It was now around two hours after high water and many reefs and submerged rocks were negotiated as we passed under the ruins of the old Kennedy stronghold of Dunure Castle.

Bill can confirm that the rocks were just awash as he left gelcoat on quite a few of them!

Sadly skies were no longer blue - high cloud had filled in and it was noticeably cooler

Dunure Castle remains - 15th or 16th century

Once clear of Dunure Point things cheered up, as a 'hole' sat on the horizon, directly in the path of the setting sun.

crossing Culzean Bay

The further south we travelled and the lower the sun, 
the more dramatic the lighting.

It felt like kayaking to Tir na Og
(although we were heading south, not west.)

Turnberry Lighthouse in the distance

Ailsa Craig was bathed in dusky colours, 

this was turning out to be a very special evening.

distinctive profile of Ailsa Craig

As the sun slipped toward the horizon and moved under the cloud 

the lighting changed in an instant. 

It was both blinding and irresistible-and we loved every minute of it.

passing wooded Barwhin Point

Although difficult to see detail in front of you, we knew if we aimed for Turnberry Lighthouse it was roughly the right direction!

'blinded by the light'

Entering Maidens bay with the sun sinking lower

 the ever changing colours were quite beautiful.

It is not often that you experience such a sunset whilst paddling.

crossing Maidenhead Bay

Reluctantly we headed for Maidens shore - the beach dries out quite a distance at low tide, so there was a bit of a carry back to our vehicles.

perfect west coast sunset

What a tonic this short day proved to be.

The forecast for the following day was good-

so lets go hillwalking tomorrow!

Maidens to Dunure

discovering the Ayrshire coast

Saturday January 12th

Leaving Maidens beach on a cold January morning Andy, Elizabeth and Bill, headed north under the headland of Barwhin Hill. An easterly breeze made warm winter gear essential. 

This was a leisurely 'recce' day; future exploration is imminent.....

Our morning journey from Glasgow had been under dark, dull grey skies; it was something of a relief to find the forecast sunshine.

During the holiday period in Decemebr 2012, the Scottish west coast and western/central Highlands have had very little in the way of blue sky and sunshine. We craved a fix!

Amazing the positive mood an 'open' sky brings.

Barwhin point

Culzean Castle commands a fine position on the cliffs.

We went right under the battlements - giving a few visitors something to photograph - titled 'Mad Kayakers' no doubt!

Interestingly, at the base of the cliffs, cave and castle passageway openings all had yetts.

Heading toward Croy - under Culzean Castle

Crossing Culzean bay was entertaining - It was only 3km - but felt longer. The east wind was funneled off the land, from Maybole direction, and although one kilometer offshore, we could smell the freshly manured fields - 'a fine country smell', said Andy.

'what a smell...was that you Andy?'

We reached Dunure at high tide.  It's a gem, especially as it has a kayaker friendly pub just yards from the harbour wall.

The layout of the village around the harbour makes it feel as if it should be sited on the Aberdeenshire coast.

Dunure Harbour

High water gave an easy landing on the small shingle beach.

A perfect landing spot

As Elizabeth had forgotten her lunch it seemed a great idea to grab a sandwich in the bar.....Bill and Andy did offer some of their lunch, but the warmth of the bar won!

As every man of the Moray fraternity knows, 

Elizabeth has trouble with zips.

'Pull woman, pull.....'

On warm days, drysuits are called 'boil in the bags' - 

for obvious reasons. Just as well we don't have 'smellyvision'

a highly recommended bar

Time, and tide wait for no man (or woman)

better drink up.....

Picture of the Month - July 2012

St Cyrus to Stonehaven

Sea kayaking paradise

A combination of hidden fishing villages, inaccessible cliffs, inlets, caves and skerries, accompanied by 

hundreds of thousands of seabirds.

One of the great sea kayaking trips in Scotland

We are lucky to have such a diverse landscape/seascape 

to work and play in.

The Garran - leaving the hidden bay through a wide arch

Trip by Andy and Bill

Picture of the Month - April 2012

Loch Leven - Glencoe

Passing through the narrows of Caolas nan Con.

Am Bodach and Na Gruagaichean in the Mamores 

form the dramatic backdrop

 A day spent exploring the 
islands and channels of Loch Leven by sea kayak.

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The Cumbraes - December 2011

Pick of the Month 

Sea Kayaking around The Cumbraes

Firth of Clyde

A day of perfection in a month of storms

toward Little Cumbrae Lighthouse

Circumnavigation of both Great and Little Cumbrae.

Lots of birdlife, a warm sun, lazy paddling, companionship.

A real tonic, after one of the wettest and windiest spells for a long time.

Elizabeth, Bill and Andy

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Caol Rona to Sconser

Homeward bound down the east coast of Raasay

April 24th

It had been a windy night - strong gusts rattled the tents, no-one slept soundly. Peeking out of the doorway at 7.45am the Caol Rona had lots of white capped waves - not an inviting  prospect.

We now planned to journey back down the east coast of Raasay, abandoning earlier ideas of exploring the west coast - that could wait for another day. The forecast was proving very accurate, lets hope it would continue to be, calmer conditions predicted for early afternoon.

On cue the wind did die down, the seas moderated and we had a high tide, which meant no long and tricky carry down seaweed rocks with heavy kayaks. It was 11.30am when we left.

Good to see Elizabeth had fully recovered from her bug. Interesting to watch clothes adjustment on the water, always the chance of a capsize, keep the camera ready!

It had proved to be an ideal camp spot from which to explore the surrounding area.

The water was crystal clear. We could see the seaweed covered rocks on the seabed below us.
Alan's yellow Scorpio was an intense colour compared to muted greens and browns in our bay.

It was a day of grey, flat lighting...
apart from Alan's luminous kayak.
Andy and Elizabeth appeared to be enjoying each others company.

The sheer scale of the rocks is difficult to grasp, Ian is dwarfed by the rugged coastline.

Andy had spied a bright patch of colour among the huge boulders of a fallen cliff, and after a difficult landing, clambered up to investigate.

We thought it would be a barrel or buoy tossed up by a winter storm.

Well, well, well.......as the saying goes, if he fell in the Clyde he'd come up with a salmon in his pocket.

The locals kept an eye on us.

So now you know why we carry tow ropes. We had a started out as five now we were six!

At Brochel a very late lunch was taken, what a change in sea conditions. Passing a few days previously this had been a difficult beach to land on due to small surf.

The sun came out and everyone cheered up, it was turning out to be a cracking day.

Hallaig waterfall was again visited, it's an impressive sight.

Ian dodged around the main flow........you'd never guess he's also a white water man.

Elizabeth decided to have her first shower in days.....
The water came in pulses, look carefully and you'll see one at the top of the picture.

Reluctantly we headed back past North and South Fearns - the weather again changing, the threat of rain never far away. Approaching Eyre Point was choppy, probably tide, wind and the headland combining to test us at the end of a long paddle.

Rounding the point, everything calmed down in the Caol Mor and we made our last stop on Rassay at the old Suisnish ferry ramp, and yes the weed really is bright 'GREEN'
It's also very, very slippy on the slipway.......! 

The paddle across to mainland Skye, back to Sconser, was lovely. The wind had dropped and the tide was at its weakest flow, just as well - we were bushed. 

Alan and Ian packed up and headed home - arriving back in the wee small hours. Andy, Elizabeth and Bill returned to Ashaig campsite. 

Tomorrow would involve a visit to the Broadford Police to report finding and recovering a kayak - but that's another story!

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Oronsay - Loch Sunart - August 2011

Pick of the Month

Loch Sunart

Oronsay

mind the gap!

Andy and Bill explored the area around Loch Sunart - Loch Teacus one weekend. The conditions ranged from force 5 wind right on the nose - to flat calm and horrendous midges; warm sunshine to heavy downpours....just about sums up Scotland's summer of 2011.

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Rona's East Coast

An evening paddle around the

southeast corner of Rona

Saturday 23rd April

After our earlier escapade on the south west corner of Rona, when retreat was sensible, we turned our attentions to exploring the more sheltered eastern side.

Conditions could not have been better, shame it hadn't been like this in the morning.

We launched from our little beach on a falling tide aware we would have a bit of a carry across seaweed covered boulders on our return.

There are several small islands in the Caol Rona channel and we played in eddies and gaps on Eilean Seamraig.

As we rounded the coast fantastic views open up toward the giant hills of Torridon , a magical sight.

Rona is a rocky place with few easy landing spots.

You can clearly see the high water level, like the tide mark around Andrew's bath tub.

Every nook and cranny was being explored, the colours in the rocks were superb.

Andy posed beneath a large overhang; difficult to capture the scale.

The sun was warm in the shelter of the channels.

The evening calm was such a contrast to the morning we couldn't stop smiling!

Wonder how long to paddle across from Applecross?

We made our way back 'home' content with our short excursion.

The ebbing tide giving us sport through narrow gaps.

As expected, we had a long, very slippy, carry up the boulders.

Probably the most dangerous part of the entire trip, which is why we cleared a walkway through the weed, don't want any broken limbs, it's a long way from help!

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