Bacon rolls, coffee and cake - the art of suffering on Loch Ailort

I slept well in Peanmeanach - a quiet building in a quiet place.  Stepping outside in the evening, it was immediately obvious that our fire wasn't the only glow around these parts. A herd of Red Deer hinds uses the meadow below the bothy and they generally gather in the evenings.  Our headtorches picked out dozens of pairs of glowing eyes staring back towards us - and the animals seemed very unconcerned if we walked close by.

We felt no inclination for an early start and so didn't rise until it was fully light - about 8.30am.  The weather looked to be similar to the previous day with a grey cloudsheet overhead, but it was dry and not too cold which is as much as you can ask from a January day in Scotland!

A leisurely breakfast including bacon rolls (thanks Donald!) and fresh coffee made for a pleasant start to the day, breakfast made easier by being able to cook inside the bothy.  Once packed up we cleaned through the building and cleared the fire ashes for the next visitors, then got dressed into paddling kit.

Back on the water by mid morning, we decided to paddle to the head of Loch Ailort before returning to Samalaman to end this short trip.  The colours on this third day of the year were very muted and the light levels quite low; our boats seemed to be the only spots of brighter colour anywhere. 

Loch Ailort is a shallow "S" shaped sea loch guarded by islands at its mouth and has more interest than is generally supposed.  There are islands, narrow channels which change with the tide height and even some faster moving water in places.  We explored at a leisurely pace up to the head of the loch where luncheon was taken at the public jetty near Inverailort.

We planned to arrive back at our starting point near Glenuig at or shortly after sunset so didn't linger too long before setting off back down the loch.

On the way we stopped at a spot I've paddled past may times but hadn't previously landed.  A glimpse of flat turf aroused our interest and we got out to investigate.  Aside from Peanmeanach there are few decent spots to wild camp in Loch Ailort, or so we thought.  You'll need to find the place for yourself, but we felt that two or three tents could be pitched here on good, level ground - a useful recce!

We paddled back out of the loch past Eilean nan Gobhar and out onto the Sound of Arisag; An Sgurr of Eigg ahead of us was streaming a cloud banner as moister air streamed past it - quite different to the conditions on the summer day when Mike and I last visited!

The last hour of our paddle passed pleasantly as we upped the pace a little to arrive back at Samalaman Bay in the gathering dusk.  We landed at almost high water so didn't have too far to move our boats, which is always a nice bonus at the end of a day.  Kit packed up and boats loaded, we couldn't resist the lure of coffee and cake at the Glenuig Inn before heading home - an other nice bonus at the end of a paddle!  we'd topped and tailed the day with good food and with fresh coffee....who said sea kayaking  trips mean "roughing it"?!

This first overnight trip of the year had been just 32km of paddling over two short days.  In familiar waters and benign weather we'd enjoyed a pleasant and relaxed introduction to another year of sea kayaking - and shared with our friends Allan and Lorna a return to kayaking after enforced lay-offs.  Here's to lots more trips in 2019!

Eggs for breakfast on the return from Eigg

Mike and I woke after a muggy and warm night to a soft focus morning at our camp on the Sound of Arisaig.  The midges were also up and about so we didn't hang around sorting out our gear, having a cup of tea and repacking the boats.

The tide was quite high meaning that there wasn't far to move our boats for launching.  The previous night's high water mark was obvious on the stones; we'd parked the boats on the flat patch where our blue bags are in this image.  If there had been any swell at all they'd have gone quite a lot higher!  The steep slope of the beach is clear in this image; if the weather is from the south or south south west this place can make a tricky launching and landing place. 

We headed out onto the Sound of Arisaig and into a gorgeous summer morning.  The sun was burning away the early mist and creating some lovely lighting effects.  Being out early like this I often feel as if I'm gaining something, and it's such a good time for scenic effect and for wildlife encounters.

There wasn't a breath of wind and the only sound was the rhythmic dip of our paddles as we made our way steadily across the Sound.  The view to the east was one of silhouettes........

...and to the west, Mike's boat was lit against the palest of blue in the morning sky; the horizon just becoming visible as the last of the mist burned away.

Our crossing to Glenuig was a little over six kilometres and took just over an hour.  Our plan for an early start was rewarded by an arrival at Glenuig just a couple of minutes before high water on a Spring tide. We landed right outside the Glenuig Inn; from where it's just fifty paces to the door......

...and the second element of our plan - breakfast!  We tucked in to cereal and fruit juice, and ordered coffee and - of course - scrambled eggs on our return from Eigg.

This was a very fine end to our trip, during which we'd kayaked from Glenuig out to Eigg, paddled around the island and climbed to the highest point at An Sgurr before paddling back via the Sound of Arisaig.  We took three days and a few hours to do the 92 kilometre journey (including the climb of An Sgurr), a leisurely pace which very much suited the nature of the trip.

A crossing to Eigg

Scotland's weather in Summer 2018 has been some of the best in living memory with long spells of settled, warm and dry weather. In the first part of June, Mike and I decided to take advantage of a settled forecast to make a trip which would involve a couple of long crossings.

We met at Glenuig mid morning on a glorious day with the temperature already in the mid 20's Celsius.  We were disappointed that our good friend Douglas didn't feel up to joining us on this trip whilst he continues his recovery from a shoulder injury and an illness.  Glenuig has been the staging point for many great trips over a number of years, and we hoped that this would be another one.

After a leisurely packing of the boats we got underway at around midday and paddled out into the familiar waters of the Sound of Arisaig.  A small breeze moved the air, keeping things from being really hot and encouraged us to hoist our sails to catch some assistance.

In the distance, beyond Mike in this image, lies the island of Eigg.  Our planning for this trip had been deliberately flexible; we would cross to Eigg, then let conditions and our inclination guide us for the remainder of the trip.  We discussed crossings from Eigg to Muck or Rum as possible options, but that was for the days ahead.  In the meantime there was the not inconsiderable crossing out to Eigg to be tackled.  The straight line distance from Glenuig to the coast of Eigg is 20km, but the crossing can be broken up into two legs by first heading across to the north side of the Sound of Arisaig before heading west to Eigg.  This option adds about 5km overall but breaks the distance into two legs with a break in between......

....and when the break between open crossings looks like this, why wouldn't you choose this option?!  Port nam Murrach is justifiably well known, it must feature on most tourist brochures.  A beach of dazzling white sand enclosed by arms of rock and backed by cropped turf, it's an idyllic spot.  In summer it's also very well visited by from land and from the water and can be busy - as we found it on this day.  At least 25 people were enjoying the sun, sand and sea on the beach, possibly the most folk I've encountered here at one time.

By the time we set off for the crossing to Eigg the breeze had died completely and the heat was considerable.  Fortunately after about half an hour another small breeze started up and moved the air; as a bonus it was from the east and we hoisted our sails to take advantage.  Our speed notched up and we would complete this crossing at an average speed of over 7 km/h.

We slowed our speed to allow the trawler "Fear Not II" to pass ahead of us.  Built in 1986, she's had along life of fishing northern waters.  Now bearing a Campletown (CN) registration, she originally had a Peterhead (PD) registration, as in this image.

We gave plenty of space before crossing astern of Fear Not since she was trawling at a steady slow speed.  She continued north towards the Sound of Sleat off Skye, her engines were audible for many miles in the calm conditions.

As we drew nearer to Eigg the detail of the east coast began to open up.  This was the only part of Eigg which Douglas and I didn't paddle on our 2013 winter trip to the Small Isles, and I hoped to explore this piece of the coast on our present trip.

Our landing point was the sandy beach at Poll nam Partan below Kildonnan.  It felt really good to arrive on Eigg - and we'd chosen Kildonnan for a reason....

Squeezing out the last drop

 We weren't sure if the the weather would be conducive to paddling on the last day of our short trip based at Glenuig, but the morning turned out fine if windy.  Rain was forecast for midday, so we felt we could squeeze in a short paddle before heading home.  We headed straight out of Glenuig and turned south down the coast.  Our plan was simply to paddle towards the north channel of Moidart before turning around and heading back to Glenuig.

 It's always an interesting stretch of coast and despite the overcast conditions there was plenty of colour to enjoy.

 It was a strenuous push against a freshening F4-5 wind to reach a beach where we could stop for a short break......

 ....on a beach of pale sand......

 ...backed with tide-formed strips of shells - the stuff which would eventually become sand.

 I wandered down the beach and looked back to see the others enjoying the view out to the Small Isles, in a pose very reminiscent of a well known sculpture!

We decided to paddle just a little further to round the skerries in the North Channel of Loch Moidart, where the tide was absolutely pouring out - along with the wind.  Three of us just managed to get over the shallow sand bar.....

 ...but Allan, who was just a couple of minutes behind us found that the last drop of water had run out; he had to wade into deeper water to get back afloat.

Our run back with the wind behind us was pretty quick and we were soon back at Glenuig Bay.  The low tide made for a bit of a carry with the boats, and as we finished securing them onto the cars, a few fat drops of rain were followed by a deluge - we'd squeezed the very last drop from the weather window.

"Dolphin days" like these....

Just as we were leaving the beach we got a call on the VHF working channel  from our fiends Allan and Lorna.  They'd arrived at Glenuig at lunchtime and paddled across to explore the north side of the Sound of Arisaig.  We established where each group was and met up near a prominent island to paddle back across the Sound together

 The weather had been superb all day and it continued calm and warm as we made a leisurely crossing southwards with Rois-Bheinn as a backdrop.

 Our landing point was on a small beach just around the corner from the Glenuig Inn, conveniently close to high water which made for easy movement of boats over to the inn.

What a day it had been!

 A morning of stillness and pastel light quality.......

...and one of the most thrilling of wildlife encounters.....

...with a pod of dolphins who actively sought our company on several occasions.

 An afternoon spent paddling in crystal clear water over white sand......

...in stunning primary light......

...rounded off with an evening of good food and the company of good friends.

"Dolphin days" like these, they stay with you forever.

The Pied Piper of Arisaig

A spell of high pressure at the end of March saw us converging on the Sound of Arisaig to take advantage of a great weather forecast.  There would be eight sea kayakers and on F-RIB boat in the party, a flexible get-together spread across four days with some arriving later and some departing earlier.

We were based at the Glenuig Inn - an early start from home got me over to Glenuig before the others had finished breakfast and we were soon on the water and paddling out past the village hall.

It was a pretty much perfect morning and was forecast to remain calm and sunny all day - a bonus for March in Scotland!  The others had paddled the day before and were still on a high from an encounter with a pod of dolphins which had stayed with them for some time.  I was only a little bit envious!

We headed straight across the Sound of Arisaig with a view ahead of the Rum Cuillin soaring into a pale morning sky beyond the ridge of Eigg.......

...it really was a rather special morning to be out on the water.  Douglas and I hung back a little to get some images of the wider scene - our friends became small coloured dots in a huge sweep of sky, reflected onto a satin sea.

Donald had gone on ahead in his F-RIB to visit some of the beaches on the north shore of the Sound, planning to meet up with us later.  As we were headed towards the shore, there was a call on our VHF working channel....."they're here again, I'll bring them over to you!".  You can read Donald's account of our trip on the F-RIB forum here.

The dolphins had sought out Donald and were waiting for him off the beach he'd landed on; we saw him heading out towards us......

......like the Pied Piper of Arisaig!

Donald kept the speed of his boat down as the dolphins surged and spun around him, if he turned away they simply followed and if he stopped they surrounded the boat, jumping clear of the water.

As they approached and became aware of us waiting in our kayaks, some of the dolphins arrowed across to us - what followed was one of the best wildlife encounters any of us has been lucky enough to enjoy.....

A pleasure shared on the Sound of Arisaig

This is the first of a few "catch-up" posts from earlier in the summer when I was assessing a team undertaking a Duke of Edinburgh's Award sea kayak expedition from Ardtoe on the north side of Ardnamurchan to Glenelg opposite Skye.

On the evening before the venture I travelled across from home and stayed at the Glenuig Inn.  Whilst enjoying a pint after dinner I got talking to Andy, who was travelling in a classic VW camper van and kayaking at various locations.  We agreed to paddle together the following day after I'd seen the team away from their starting point at Ardtoe.

We planned to paddle from Glenuig across the Sound of Arisaig - Andy was tempted by descriptions of stunning beaches on a wild coast, and I was very glad when the morning turned out sunny and clear; perfect to see this coast at its best!  Once out into the Sound of Arisaig, the familiar outline of Eigg with Rum beyond provide a scenic backdrop to the crossing.

We reached the north side of the Sound and paddled along the coast, soon arriving at one of the best of the small beaches.  I planned to camp here that evening in order to meet the team as they headed in towards their own camp and so put up the tent......

....while we dawdled on the beach in baking heat.

After lunch we continued west along the rugged coastline towards what I assured Andy would be a superb beach.

It's not all sandy beaches here though; one particular pebble strand which appears uniformly grey from a distance has a variety of richly coloured pebbles at closer inspection.  It's a place I can (and have) spent hours photographing pebbles as the tide ebbs back leaving them wet and shining.

But, white sand beaches and aquamarine water had been promised, so after a brief stop, on we went....

...to arrive at a beach which will be quite familiar to readers of this blog.  It's so attractive and relatively easy of access that it gets plenty of visitors and is heavily used for camping by walkers and paddlers, including some large commercial guided sea kayaking groups.  To do a small bit in reducing impact, neither Douglas or I choose to camp here any more.

It has to be said though, it's a stunning location with a view to match.  The coloured object above the high water mark proved to be a substantial piece of trawl net.  I tried to cut some bits away to remove them but it was way too big to make any kind of difference.

On a sunny day, the water close to the shore at this beach is remarkable, deep indigo blue through shades of aquamarine and turqoise to a quality very well described by my friend Duncan as "so clear, it's hardly there"

I think the colour of Andy's North Shore Atlantic kayak matches the location rather well!

We spent some time on the beach chatting with other folk enjoying the warm sunshine and gorgeous views before getting back into the boats to paddle back along the shore.  Andy would head back across the Sound of Arisag to Glenuig while I would meet the team of paddlers near their camp before heading to my own camp for the evening. 

It was really good to meet Andy and to share some time on the water with him; and it's always a special pleasure to visit familiar places with someone visiting for the first time, to see the place afresh.  I watched until Andy was a speck in the distance heading over towards Glenuig, then landed and climbed to a vantage point where I could watch for four young adventurers who were also exploring this area for the first time.