Where's the beach?

Arisaig is a busy place to kayak in summer, and for good reason. Clear, sheltered waters combine with great scenery, wildlife and white sand beaches (of which more soon) and make for an alluring mix. Quite often the limiting factor on paddling here can be the availability of a parking space near a launch site! When the opportunity came up to paddle with Duncan and Joan we allocated the days and then the question was - where?. A desire for white sand beaches was expressed so that settled matters and we arranged to meet up at Arisaig village for an afternoon paddle with a longer trip the following day.

We found a launch spot, though at the low state of tide it involved a bit of a carry to the water, and were soon heading out amongst the skerries.  White sand beneath the boats and great clarity in the water gave us engaging views of the sea bed, and perhaps a hint of a beach.....

The bright colours of Joan's P&H Scorpio LV....

....and Duncan's Valley Etain 17.5 looked very fine in the pleasant sunshine.  We paddled across into the maze of skerries and ephemeral beaches of white shell sand which form the outer part of Loch nan Ceall, seeing an Otter, then lots and lots of seals.  There sere several other parties of kayakers enjoying the afternoon sunshine though most were already heading back to the beach as we headed out.

Moving out beyond the skerries brings a great view of Eigg and Rum.  We were on the water for three hours or so before heading back to change and enjoy a tasty dinner at the Old Library restaurant - which is highly recommended.

We'd had a really pleasant paddle and over dinner discussed plans for a day journey - to include white sand beaches of course! The weather forecast was very promising; a settled sunny day prior to the arrival of an Atlantic low pressure system which would bring wind and rain.  Meantime there was time to enjoy the evening sights and sounds of Arisaig, and a sunset......

......which was "nae bad" !