Eigg time at a Kildonnan camp

This image, taken on our ascent of An Sgurr, shows most of the way down - across the moor then down through farmland and woods to Galmisdale which is to the right of the pier.  We went down quickly even though we were sweating profusely in the afternoon heat. We passed a couple of other parties on the way down, who must have wondered what all the rush was about......

.....until they arrived back at the Galmisdale Cafe and Bar and found us resting in the shade with containers of chilled sports recovery drink!  We felt that the level of dehydration merited two such containers apiece, after which we headed over to our boats, unpacked and pitched our tents.

Camp established, we wandered back to Galmisdale.  As well as a cafe and bar, there's a shop, a craft shop and information hub plus toilet and shower facilities and an outside tap to fill water containers. There's free wi-fi in the immediate vicinity of the building which is very useful for obtaining up to date weather forecasts as mobile phone coverage is somewhat patchy here. The toilets and showers are accessible 24 hours, there's an honesty box with a suggested donation for use of the showers which we were very happy to pay.

We collected a couple more sports recovery containers prior to the shop closing and walked back around to our camp.

The old part of the harbour has some craft moored up which have definitely seen better days.  Remarkably, the old passenger launch still floats, rising on each tide before settling back at low water.  The lines of this launch looked familiar, it was only after returning home and reviewing my images that I realised she is (or was) an Admiralty Harbour Launch Diesel (HLD), similar to this one.  A design which remained unchanged for decades, the HLD's were timber built, 52 foot launches powered by a Foden FD diesel engine and were used for transporting personnel around dockyard ports - I must have travelled on several of them over a period of time.

Mike and I spent a most pleasant evening at our camp.  Dinner was cooked and eaten, accompanied with the previously obtained sports recovery drink with a view across the Sound of Arisaig to the hills and sea lochs from Mallaig to Ardnamurchan.  A north easterly breeze picked up again during the early evening, keeping the midges away nicely.  We voted to postpone a decision on the following day's activity until the morning weather forecast and simply took our ease, enjoying the situation and the view.....we were operating on "Eigg time"!

Out of the blue - Bay of Laig to Galmisdale

We woke to a sparkling morning, the view of Rum from our camp at Bay of Laig was very fine.  Mike and I had landed the previous evening at just about high water and so didn't have far to move the boats.  Over breakfast we watched the morning high water come and go - handily it wasn't far to move the boats back into the water.

Where the evening view of Rum was a silhouette backed by the sunset, the morning view is flooded with light, showing the features of the island.  We picked out each of the grand, Norse-named hills - from left to right are Sgurr na Gillean, Ainshival, Trollaval, Askival, the highest of Rum's Cuillin, and Hallival.  We were able to clearly pick out Glen Dibidil, enclosed by rugged ridges and at the left of the view the cliffs of Sron na h-Iolaire.

Sat around our fire  the previous evening we'd discussed various options for the rest of our trip.  We had another two nights available before both of us had commitments, and this helped us in deciding that a circumnavigation of Rum would be too long a route.  Even if we took the ferry from Kinloch to Mallaig we'd still have a further day's paddling back to our cars at Glenuig.  We also considered an out-and-back to Harris Bay on Rum's west coast but to both of us this seemed like making the crossing simply for the sake of it.  I've yet to paddle the west coast of Rum, but it'll wait until the time is right.

Some trips require detailed planning due to tidal constraints or weather conditions - but on this one we could be much more flexible.  We'd deliberately set out with no fixed itinerary other than a crossing to Eigg.  If the weather forecast changed dramatically we could simply use the ferry back to Mallaig and work back to Glenuig, otherwise we'd go with what seemed best at the time.  The settled conditions in the early morning looked good for a crossing to Muck, so that was what we decided on.

Heading out from Laig opened up the view to the north where the Black Cuillin of Skye floated above a sea mist.  We picked out individual peaks, re-living great days and hard battles on that amazing ridge.

From Bay of Laig there are no tenable landing places for 12 kilometres along the west and south coasts of Eigg; cliffs fall to jumbled boulder shores or straight into the sea.  Conditions were absolutely perfect to get close in and exploring this dramatic section of the island.

Buttresses, caves and crags are the predominant scenery here and we were treated to great views.  The warm sunshine, clear visibility and flat sea was quite a contrast to my previous journey along this part of Eigg, when Douglas and I were entranced by shifting mist and tantalising glimpses of great walls of rock on a winter journey in the Small Isles.

The low outline of Muck became visible as we headed around the coast, conditions were still good and we were looking forward to crossing with  a bit of sail assistance from a north easterly breeze which had started up.  Taking a bearing to keep us on track, we agreed the target as Gallanach Bay and hoisted our sails to begin the crossing.

We were soon spanking along as the breeze freshened a little, our boats surging forward under sail.  The breeze continued to freshen though, a smooth acceleration in wind speed up through Force 2 to 3, then to 4.  Mike and I made sure we were in close formation whilst enjoying this exhilarating ride down wind and sea, spray bursting from the bows of our boats - there are no photographs from this period as both hands were definitely needed on the paddle!

As the wind had reached Force 4 I'd been doing some thinking about the conditions.  A north easterly wind would quickly build a swell running onto Muck, and I knew from previous experience that Muck has reefs all around which amplify any swell.  Furthermore, a north easterly would be blowing directly from Eigg and would make returning from Muck a real slog.  We hadn't been able to get a forecast either from the Maritime Safety Information broadcasts on VHF or from Radio Scotland as there was no reception at Laig Bay - so we were working on a forecast from almost 36 hours previously.

Gradually, my internal alarm bells started ringing.  I've developed a healthy respect for winds from an easterly component which blow from clear blue sky in high pressure conditions - they have led to some of my toughest battles on the water.  The wind, now touching Force 5, was continuing to strengthen and both Mike and I dropped our sails as the power going through them was terrific with our boats laden with camping gear.  At that moment the VHF forecast was announced and we listened to it with full attention.  Winds of Force 5 or 6 from the northeast, then east were forecast - which settled the matter.  We turned about and battled back towards Eigg.  We had got just about half way to Muck and could already see the line of surf right along its coastline - a landing would have been quite sporting and getting off difficult if the wind continued as forecast.  It was a mighty struggle to get back to Eigg's south coast, the wind was pouring off the island as a steady, insistent force.

Eventually we won back close under the shore and in the wind shadow of the An Sgurr ridge - it was like a different world with just a light breeze.  Out to sea, the glittering surface was full of whitecaps - we felt we'd made the right decision.

Above us, the great ridge of An Sgurr was picked out in sharp detail by the morning sun, a dramatic sight....and we began to form an alternative plan for the day.........

......which first called for us to head for Galmisdale, Eigg's main settlement (but don't expect a busy town!).  Pulling our boats up on the sand opposite the pier, we got by a friendly reception from a dog who clearly felt that sea kayakers arrived here simply for him to play with.  Having carried the boats well up the sand, we noticed that we weren't the only paddlers in town.

Two boats sat at the top of the beach, meaning two paddlers with almost certainly  the same intention we had.....

Mike and I strolled over to the Galmisdale Cafe where we ordered lunch - and we can report that the home-made burgers with salad and hand cut chips are simply superb!  Over lunch, we finalised our revised plan for the day which would involve very little sea kayaking, but quite a lot of walking.

A dance of the veils on the west coast of Eigg

 We took second luncheon on the beach at Camas Sgiotaig - home-made butternut squash, coconut and chilli soup with home-made wholemeal bread accompained (to celebrate our arrival on Eigg) with a small measure of "The Singleton".

Behind the beach, the rocky peak of Beinn Bhuidhe (yellow hill) occasionally emerged from the swirling mist into bright sunshine.  This hill is the northern end of a pitchstone ridge running down the length of Eigg and culminating in An Sgurr in the south.

 We now had a small dilemma.  Our accommodation for the night lay at Cleadale, not far from the beach where we'd landed.  We decided that our plan would be to paddle to Galmisdale, the ferry terminal at the south of the island, leave our boats there and walk the 5 kilometres back over the spine of the island to our B & B.  This may seem a complicated plan, but there were a couple of factors which swung it for us.

 Firstly, Camas Sgiotaig and the nearby Laig Beach are prone to surf.  We'd had to time our landing carefully and a haze of suspended spray told of the peridic sets of big dumping surf here.  If the swell increased overnight due to weather systems far from land, we'd have a difficult launch in the morning.  Secondly, we intended to paddle down to Galmisdale anyway before crossing to Muck, so this would, in paddling terms, get us ahead of the game.

And thirdly, the coast of Eigg is simply fantastic to paddle!  All we now needed to decide was which side of Eigg to paddle; which is a great problem to have to deal with!  Really, the decision was very easy.  The west and south coasts are by far the most exposed to the prevailing weather and swell.  To be in position, with very light winds and a fairly benign swell was too good to miss - the west coast it would be.

At first it seemed that the mist would be burned off by the afternoon sunshine as we crossed the Bay of Laig

 But it soon rolled back in, shrouding the cliffs above us.  You might think that the mist would have detracted from paddling this wild coast, but in fact it added tremendously to the experience.

The cliff tops would sometimes be visible, sometimnes hidden.  All the time there was constant noise and energy from the low swell washing the bases of the rocks.

It is 12 kilomteres from the Bay of Laig to Galmisdale and there are absolutely no viable landing places.  This is a wild and utterly majestic stretch of coast and we were entranced by the sense of place and the shifting quality of light........

....as the mist created a "Dance of the Veils" effect along the cliffs.

Turning the corner to paddle along the south coast, we expected to feel some tidal movement against us but in fact felt almost nothing though we could see the tide moving further out.  We knew that Eigg's most prominent landmark, the mountain spur of An Sgurr was above us, but the mist kept it hidden for the time being.

Too soon, we paddled through the narrow channel between Eilean Chatasteil and Eigg to arrive at the old ferry slip at Galmisdale (no longer used for the ferry itself).  It had been one of the most remarkable and rewarding 12 kilometres either of us have ever paddled.  When added to the tour of Kinloch Castle in the morning and then the crossing from Rum to Eigg it all added up to a cracker of a day!

We were sorting out our boats at the top of the slip when a young lady came out and asked where we "the kayakers who are staying at Sue's"?  Word of our arrival had been passed, though there was uncertainty whether we'd arrive given the thick mist.  It turned out that Sue, the owner of the B & B, was working nearby in the community shop and would wait on to give us a lift up to Cleadale.  This was a kind gesture, and typical of the welcome we received on all the islands, and of the genuine interest in our journey.

We walked up to meet Sue and were soon driving over the hill to Cleadale.