Sailing and not sailing on Loch Sunart

A forecast with enough of a break in a run of poor weather set me looking at options for an overnight sea kayak journey. One of the places I had in mind was outer Loch Sunart and Loch Teacuis; on my previous visit to this area I'd paddled through but not really explored to any degree.

 I launched at Salen, which has a commercial yacht jetty, though sea kayaks can launch from the shingle slipway without charge. I managed to negotiate a place to park nearby, and offered a small donation to do so - parking has long been a significant issue right along the shore of Loch Sunart and suitable places are few.

Once on the water I crossed to the southern side of Loch Sunart near the dog-leg angle around Gearr Creag.  The weather was pretty much as forecast, a northerly breeze which would increase during the afternoon, initially cloudy but brightening up.  In this image Salen can just be seen above the bow of the boat.

A little further south west is the former settlement of Camas Salach (which seems to mean "foul bay" in Gaelic, perhaps referring to the rocky seabed).  Although there are now just two small holiday cottages here, there has been a settlement on this spot since at least 1560; remains of eleven buildings and a section of field wall have been identified in archaeological surveys, with a collection of charcoal burning platforms on the hillside above.  The tall cairn on the shore includes granite plaques with family names, perhaps of the current owners and their family.

As I continued south west along the shoreline a rather unusual jetty came into view.  Incorporated into and forming most of the structure is an old barge.

Which, it's safe to say, will not be sailing again anytime soon!  The barge was placed as a temporary jetty to facilitate the loading of timber extracted from the Glencripesdale estate, which is a long way from even a minor road.

In recent years the owner of the estate, a Mr Hugh Whittle, has been involved in a long-running planning application to build a large and very grand estate owner's house and an almost as grand "estate worker's dwelling" on the estate.  Initially refused, the second planning application was successful subject to a number of conditions - such as not subsequently subdividing the estate (to safeguard against their subsequent sale on a "parcel" of land), both buildings had to be occupied only by the persons referred to in the planning application (to prevent their use as sporting lodges/hotels) and a new jetty was to be built, removing the current temporary one - this condition was because all building materials were to be taken in by sea as a further condition of the planning consent.  Mr Whittle had claimed in the press to be the only estate owner in Scotland not to have a house on his estate.... however, he also owns Glenfeochan estate which has a pretty nice bijou home sited on it as well as a rental "cottage" sleeping eight - perhaps an indication of Mr Whittle's real intention for Glencripesdale.

As the barge remains in place, filled with rocks and with a road surface (and trees) on top, it would appear that this condition hasn't yet been met.  It would be quite a considerable task to remove this "temporary structure"!

The northerly breeze was picking up as I left Glencripesdale, so I hoisted sail and fairly birled along past the fish farm at Camas Glas (green bay) where the freighter "Harvest Caroline II" was unloading part of her cargo of fish food to the service spar module.  If you drive on highland roads, you may well have noticed Ferguson's timber lorries, part of a very successful independent business based in Spean Bridge dealing mainly in timber and aquaculture haulage.  Perhaps less well known is that the company is a maritime business too, with its own fleet of ships as well as port services.

As "Harvest Caroline II" completed her cargo discharge and prepared to sail (you can check out her current voyage here) I continued my own sailing, turning into the narrow Caol Charna.........

.....with a last look back up Loch Sunart to cloud-capped Ben Resipole.

I had now left the open water of the loch and was approaching the real interest of this trip, the narrow waters around Carna, Oronsay and Loch Teacuis.  On almost the only flat ground on the island of Cara lie a couple of neat traditional houses now used as holiday cottages, but on a much less intrusive and very different model to that envisaged at Glencripesdale!

Days like these - Loch Shiel and Moidart

We landed on the white sand at Shoe Bay and climbed to a grassy terrace above the beach for a luncheon stop.  The view across Loch Moidart and away to the Ardnamurchan peninsula is reason enough to spend time here, as was the warm sunshine.  We lay back and relaxed, just savouring being in this special place.

You won't find the name "Shoe Bay" on a map.  A tiny beach in an enclosed bay which has three entrances, it gets its unofficial name from the extremely fine and soft white sand...........

.....which as this image from a previous visit shows, must have claimed many a shoe!

From our vantage point we had spotted a strange shape in the water outside the bay.  Was it a shark, a huge salmon maybe?  Sadly not; as the shape drifted closer it proved to be nothing more than a semi-submerged log, but it gave us a reason to linger a little longer in this lovely spot.

But we still had some way to go on our day's paddle and so strolled back down to the waiting boats.  Each time I visit Shoe Bay it seems to exert this relaxing effect - it's not a place in which to rush.

Heading up the rugged seaward coast of Eilean Shona we picked up a bit of afternoon onshore breeze and hoisted our sails to take advantage of the wind assistance.

By the time we passed the entrance to the North Channel separating Eilean Shona from Moidart the slight breeze had died again.  Inland we could see a haze in the air from the warmth of the day, unusual for March but welcome all the same.

It was now about eight hours since we'd left our campsite on Loch Shiel, with some 30km of paddling and a portage behind us.  We didn't need too much persuasion to take in one more stop on one more beautiful white sand beach.........

....and really, paddling past these beaches just wouldn't seem right!

Our already modest pace had begun to slow further, but as we turned the headland at Smirisary and entered the Sound of Arisaig we had the familiar sight of Roshven to draw us onwards.  The sun was now low in the sky astern of us but there was no need for us to hurry......

.......as our landing at our accommodation for the night, the Glenuig Inn, was perfectly timed to coincide with high water.  This meant that we had just a short carry of our boats to park them outside the hotel - and importantly, from where we stepped from the boats we were less than 50 paces from the bar and a round of frothing sports recovery drinks!

What a day we'd had - starting from our campsite on Loch Shiel in the freezing pre-dawn air, we'd experienced a glorious hour of early morning light, explored the history of a holy island, travelled from fresh water to the sea down the River Shiel and visited the white sand beaches of Moidart.  It had been a long day in time and a fair day in distance, 38 kilometres in total, but it was a day to cherish.  This, for me, is what sea kayaking is really about - a small group of like-minded friends making a journey among wild places with spectacular scenery and resonating interest. 

Days like these, they stay with you forever.

In the bleak midwinter - getting there

"In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
 Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago....."


Weeks of gales, one frontal system after another piling in bringing stormy and cold conditions and giving no opportunities for sea kayaking. Walking days had been restricted to the lower hills whilst the high tops were swept by 100mph winds on an almost daily basis; all very frustrating. But then, a forecast of a lull for a few days, not perfect weather but suitable for a winter kayaking trip. The residual Atlantic swell would make any trip on an exposed coast uncomfortable, so we looked for sheltered options. A couple of emails and phone calls later, Douglas, Mike and I were heading west...

But first we had to get there. Often in winter getting to the put-in is one of the trickiest parts of the venture....

...and it proved to be the case on this occasion.  Snow and then a deep frost gave very tricky road conditions as I crossed the spine of Scotland on my way west.

Many found the going more than tricky, cars stuck at various places on the infamous Lecht road, a regular feature on traffic bulletins throughout every winter.  With care I got through safely.

A brief stop at the Lecht ski area drew some puzzled glances - had I maybe packed the wrong choice of toys?!  I met up with Douglas and Mike at the very comfortable Ballachulish Hotel which was to be our base for the trip - it's not always necessary to "rough it" on a paddling venture!

We had arranged to meet early afternoon so that we could do a short hillwalk before dark, and it was to be a hill of some considerable significance

We chose to climb Ardsheal Hill, a "Marilyn" situated on the shore of Loch Linnhe.  At 263 metres/863 feet it gives a short climb with a view out of all proportion to height.  But the significance of this hill to us was neither the height nor the view.  After a series of major operations on both knees and on a shoulder, any one of which would have finished the outdoor adventures of someone with less determination, this was the first hill walk  Douglas has managed in a few years.  His smile was as wide as the view at achieving a return to the hills - he's most definitely "getting there"! Mike and I were absolutely delighted in being able share his successful ascent.

The view west from the summit of the hill along Loch Linnhe was superb, the forecast for the following day was great and we had a fine dinner ahead of us at the hotel - we were definitely getting there :o)

You will be able to follow our trip in "sea kayaking stereovision" (and with much better photographs than mine!) by reading Douglas' blog, starting here

Big beds, big views and a big meal on Eigg

We soon arrived at "Lageorna", the former croft house which Sue and Alastair have converted to provide Bed and Breakfast accommodation, plus a restaurant.  The conversion is of a really high standard, and the whole place both luxurious and comfortable.

Alastair is a native of Eigg with roots which go deep into the soil of the place.  There's a photograph of one of his forebears in the dining room, sat outside the croft.  In front of the croft house is a tiny Sycamore sapling; the same tree which shelters Lageorna today.  It's a lovely connection, and illustrates why land ownership and the security which that brings matters so much.  Eigg is now owned by the community which live here, indeed this was the first successful community purchase of land in Scotland under the Land Reform Act.  It has led to a blossoming of community enterprise, such as a completely renewable powered electricity grid and the development of the successful "Hebnet" wireless broadband data service.

We each had a room which featured one of Sandy Fraser's beautifully made beds from Rum....

.....and a superb view from the bedroom window of the Sgurr of Eigg.  Douglas' room had a similarly jaw-dropping view to the Rum Cuillin.  Seriously, what bland chain hotel could match this?!

We took a walk up the road to a viewpoint before dinner.  Below Cleadale, the Bay of Laig was calm and the banks of mist seemed to be retreating out to sea.  We would almost certainly have been able to launch from Camas Sgiotaig in the morning without difficulty, but there were no regrets about having pushed on to paddle the superb west coast of the island that afternoon.

The evening light was fading as we returned to Lageorna for dinner.  And what a dinner....  When Alastair claimed that Sue is a good cook, he'd understated things by a considerable amount!  We had a three course dinner featuring local produce cooked superbly.  Our main course of Beef stew and dumplings left us in serious peril of not being able to tackle dessert; but somehow we battled through to a home made fruit pudding.....

We sat into the evening, browsing a selection of the books in the dining room and reflecting on the trip so far and the days to come.  If this post reads like a bit of an advert for Lageorna - it is meant to be!  If you visit Eigg, you could do no better than staying here, or at least to enjoy a meal - Douglas and I can guarantee you'll not be disappointed.