Bridging the gap from river to sea

Shortly after leaving Acharacle we approached the first of two bridges on the River Shiel.  This is the "new" bridge, built in 1935 and formed of a fine triple arch.  This is one of two "Shiel Bridges" and not to be confused with the "Shiel Bridge" in Kintail.

The second bridge is a graceful single arch built by Thomas Telford in 1804 over a point where the river is force through a narrow gap.  The "old" bridge was too narrow to carry road vehicles and was replaced by the "new" bridge in the 1930's.  There's actually a channel to the left of the bridge in this image, but in today's low water level it was completely dry.  We've had a little excitement in much higher conditions here but today we drifted serenely through into a quiet zone of deep, slow moving pools.

After a quiet stretch the river changes again to a broad, shallow flow over banks of shingle which required a bit of careful route choice to avoid.

A steep bank on the right hand side is a good reference point to start looking for options to get off the river prior to the drop into the Sea Pool.  This part of Scotland is still rising after the weight of the ice sheet was released at the end of the last Ice Age and is up to 5 metres above sea level.  In simple terms, Loch Shiel and it's river used to be connected to the sea, but are now up to 5 metres above sea level....which means that the water has a bit of a drop into the sea right at the end of the river.

We chose a spot we've used previously to get off the water; at a river gauging station.  There was just enough space for our five kayaks next to the minor road.  The road may be tiny but it's quite busy as it leads down to the popular Castle Tioram.

We got our boats onto the trolleys and one by one set off down the road. 

After 150 metres or so we could leave the road and take an estate track beside the river, so we weren't holding up the traffic!

Each time we've been on this trip we've taken the time to  take a look at the river's final plunge into the sea.  There was a lot less water here than on previous trips - one autumn visit had particularly impressive volumes of water sluicing down.

A common thread on each visit is that we've not had the slightest inclination to run this rapid in fully laden sea kayaks!  Even in this lower flow there are hazards; there's a couple of big rocks submerged in the line of descent.  That said. if you arrive in low river flow and at high water springs, it's said that the descent is straightforward.  Being of the disposition which plans for envisaged conditions....we bring trolleys!

We'd come from freshwater loch to river, under two bridges and then a short portage which had bridged the gap from fresh water to salt water.  Ahead of us lay the charms of Loch Moidart and the open sea.

Grace and Flavour at Acharachle

After leaving St Finans Isle we had a pleasant run down the narrow "tail" of Loch Shiel.  Indeed, it's hard to know where the loch ends and the River Shiel begins. 

Approaching Acharacle we saw a group of five Whooper Swans on the water - winter visitors to Scotland and quite late in leaving this year it seems - though a few pairs do breed in Scotland some years.  Although we tried to give them a wide berth, the wary birds all put their heads up and turned as one to face into the breeze.

A few of the distinctive "whooping" calls and the birds accelerated into the wind.......

....to power up into the air; a graceful and beautiful sight.  we could clearly hear the thrumming noise from their wings as the flight primaries rowed the air.

We cut around the side of the pier at Acharacle to land on a muddy strip next to a small slipway...it was time for second breakfast!

A short walk up the road to Acharacle village was enlivened with the sound of Willow Warblers and our first sighting of a Swallow this year - it seemed that the summer migrants were arriving in this part of Scotland before some of the winter visitors had left.

Second breakfast was purchased at David's Bakery and Cafe - hot roast beef rolls, beefburgers or home baking - it was all delicious and freshly prepared.  We've used this cafe before and can thoroughly recommend it - there is fish and chips available in the evenings too.  Nearby, a small shop offers the opportunity to re-stock with vital supplies and there is also a public toilet in the village - Acharacle is well worth the short diversion off the water on this trip!

Back on the water after fuelling up, it was immediately obvious from the insistent pull of the current that we'd now left Loch Shiel and were in the River Shiel.

Going with the flow

We left Eilean Fhianain with a brisk easterly breeze at our backs - one of the reasons we'd chosen this particular trip was the predominantly easterly wind which was forecast - it would either be at our backs or we'd be sheltered on the west coast.

A last look back towards the mountains of Loch Shiel.......

...and then steadily onwards along the stretch of water which isn't quite Loch Shiel and isn't yet ruly the River Shiel.  Shallow water lined with salt marsh, this is a great place for waterfowl and waders to feed and to rest.

Talking of feeding and resting.....

....we landed near the jetty at Acharacle in order to check out the options for first luncheon.  Acharacle (Torquil's ford) is named for a Norse leader who was killed here along with all his men in a battle with Somerled, Lord of the Isles in 1120.  Torquil's men found the water too deep to cross and they were killed making a last stand near this spot.

We walked up the small road which leads from the wooden jetty to the village shops......where we had a choice of eating in at the Acharacle Tearoom or purchasing lunch to eat outside the Bakery. 

As we were in our paddling clothes - and it was anyway such a nice morning - we chose to eat outside the Bakery.  The coffee and Foccaccia bread are particularly recommended by your reviewers!

Acharacle is a handy stop in this area, it has a couple of options for food, a shop, and public toilets with a tap outside for topping up water.

Fuelled up and rested, we got back on the water, our boats being drawn along by the now noticeable current towards the fine triple arched road bridge over the River Shiel, built in 1935.  The footings of the bridge supports were clear of the water which certainly hadn't been the case on our winter trip, and the river flow was markedly less too.

Shortly after the road bridge the river narrows quickly and swings into a rocky gorge.  At the end, the old bridge crosses the river at the point of a ninety degree left bend.  Built by Thomas Telford in 1804, it was too narrow to carry motor vehicles and was replaced as a road bridge by the 1935 version.  You can walk from the road to this bridge and cross it, but the south side is private property.

Beneath the bridge is a small rapid where the water runs over a rocky shelf - with more water in the river it can prove exciting, but as the level was quite low it was little more than a quickening of the flow.

The rapid marks the end of the narrow section, the water slows and the river becomes wide and shallow.  A wooded hill makes a lovely backdrop to a very relaxing section of the trip where we were able to just go with the flow in the literal sense.

If making this journey when the water level is relatively high, it's good to know that there are a couple of potential egress points to allow a portage around the tidal fall where the river empties into the sea.  The first is at a gauging station marked by wires crossing above the water - we used this during our winter trip when the river was quite full.

The second point is a small patch of flat grass jutting out into the river, which Douglas, Lorna and I used to land and carry our boats up to the track alongside the water; Mike found a spot further down again, but after that there's just one option immediately above the falls - miss it and you're committed....

We put the boats on the trolleys we carried specifically for this section and portaged along the estate track through woods of beech and pine - despite pulling the boats this was a very pleasant section.  Once again the trolleys (three KCS Expedition models and one Lomo model) proved their worth and performed faultlessly.

A short detour to view the tidal fall is well worth the effort - if only to assess whether you feel it could have been paddled.  The drop from river to sea is the result of isostatic rebound, the continued rising of the land in this part of Scotland following the release of ice from the last ice age.  The fall itself is affected by two things; the amount of water in the river and the height of tide - in simple terms, when the tide is low the river has further to drop.  On neither occasion we've been here have we felt the slightest inclination to run the fall in fully laden sea kayaks......

This is the fall in comparatively low river levels but also a low tide.......

.....and this is the fall on our winter trip with more water in the river but a higher tide. 

Immediately beyond the point where the river ends, we arrived at the shore of Loch Moidart.  We carried our boats down over a patch of saltmarsh to place them, for the first time on this journey, into salt water.