There and back again....

Our camp site on the Kintyre coast had been a comfortable one and we woke to a morning which promised showers but occasional sunshine.  After breakfast we packed up and got the boats down to the water.

We intended to cross the Kilbrannan Sound to the island of Arran and head to the north tip of the island, stopping at Lochranza for lunch.  At the start of this trip we'd discussed various locations for our third evening, as we were making good progress we'd decided on a crossing to Inchmarnock and a campsite we've used before.

As we crossed the Kilbrannan Sound a lively breeze got up ahead of a shower which looked to be a very heavy one.  Fortunately the rain passed up the Kintyre coast we'd just vacated, but we did benefit from a great sailing wind all the way on the 8km crossing.  It seems that this piece of water is prone to meteorological interest, one previous crossing gave some of the most remarkable conditions either of us has kayaked in

We arrived on the Arran shore south of Catacol Bay and after a brief leg stretch on the beach continued north past Catacol village and the row of cottages known as " The Twelve Apostles".  Built between 1850 and 1860, they were intended to house folk cleared from inland crofts to make way for sheep.  There was considerable resistance to living in the row, possibly because the rents would have been comparable to the dispossessed croft ground and there was little land to cultivate nearby.  The cottages were known locally as "Hunger row" at this time.  The cottages are very similar, but each of the twelve upper windows is different.  A local story is that the folk who eventually lived here took to fishing the Kilbrannan Sound, and wives could light a lamp in the window when they wanted their menfolk to return - the men would be able to make out which house had the lamp lit from the window configuration.  Well, that's the tale anyway!........

Our next stop was at Lochranza where we took lunch in the Lochranza Hotel with a fine view to the castle.  The tide was well on the way out here so we could take a leisurely lunch knowing that our boats weren't going to refloat for a while.

Refuelled and refreshed, we got back on the water and headed up to the north of Arran to start the crossing to Inchmarnock.  Initially we had a pleasant push from a light breeze to help, but a glance over our shoulders showed an approaching wall of black cloud....and ahead of it quite a wind started up.

There were no more photographs taken on this crossing, which proved very uncomfortable.  The flood tidal streams pouring up Kilbrannan Sound and the Firth of Clyde meet north of Arran and some confused water can sometimes be found here.  Find it we did, and in combination with a strong wind from our quarter and some breaking wave trains in the great swirls of water I found this a challenging 11km crossing under sail. A couple of times I was tempted to drop the sail as it was driving the boat forward at a tremendous rush, but I'm glad I persisted.... the conditions in which I'd sail in the future a little extended by the experience.  Close to the Inchmarnock side, a Dolphin surfaced in a welter of spray right between our boats and ploughed along with us for a few waves - an experience totally in tune with the wild ride we were having.

We arrived on Inchmarnock at precisely the same time as a quite violent rainstorm heralded the passage of a weather front - it absolutely pelted down.  My awkward landing on the rocky shore in breaking water led to a soaking - things were going well!  We decided to pitch the tents and to see if the rain would abate before moving our gear from the boats, which was a fortuitous decision.  Tents up (if wet) and we took a moment to check the weather forecast online.  What we read was quite a surprise.... the forecast had completely changed from that issued just hours earlier.  We could expect the wind to drop to almost nothing overnight before becoming strong in the morning, when we planned to cross back to Arran.

One of the keys to good trips is flexibility in planning and being prepared to react to a changing situation.  We'd had a difficult crossing and got our tents up - but there wasn't the slightest hesitation in our agreement that we should take them back down and re-cross to Arran straight away to avoid the F5-6 headwind forecast for the morning.  As we restowed the tents and took a quick snack the wind began to drop, but the rain certainly did not and we got going again in a real downpour.

By the time we were half way back to Arran the wind had completely gone - the rain alternated between light,as in this image, and very heavy; in the absence of wind the heavier pulses were heard as a hiss of water hitting water (and us!).

We made landfall right at our target of the Cock of Arran, a place we knew we'd find a spot to camp. Strangely enough, the last time Douglas and I camped here was also accompanied by a drop of rain!  Readers familiar with a west of Scotland summer will realise what awaited us on the shore given the lack of wind and low light levels.......

Midges.  Millions of the little illegitimate insects....   Douglas' expression says it all - but my camera failed to pick up the miasma surrounding him - it was a really bad attack.  As time was getting on, we cooked our dinner on the rocky shore in pouring rain and with our own personal clouds of biting insects.  We could have camped here, but it would frankly have been a miserable experience.  We thought that by paddling slowly along the coast either the rain would ease or the midge attack would abate as darkness fell.  Somewhat improbably, the rain did eventually ease and we did manage to evade the midges - and passed a comfortable late evening on the north coast of Arran.

An Arran Amble - against the wind

We slept well, our camp site was neatly sheltered from the wind.  I was aware of squalls passing through overnight and the first glance out of the tent confirmed that the morning would be quite a contrast to the calm and clear evening.  Although the weather was grey and frankly unpromising we were on the water by a little after 7 am.  Right from the start we paddled against a stiff headwind with only minimal shelter from the Arran shore.

As the morning progressed the cloud lifted somewhat and although it was still windy there was colour and interest in the view. 

We took a break at Pirnmill, mainly to stretch our legs as the next section of the paddle would offer few opportunities to land.  On a personal level, this section from Whitefarland Point up to Catacol was the least engaging of the entire trip.  The road is close to the shore for the entire way and the views seem to recede somewhat.  Paddling against the wind was undoubtedly an additional factor but I did find the morning a bit of a grind.

We were aware that the wind out in the Kilbrannan Sound seemed to be easing and as we passed Thundergay there was a final gust and the wind fell almost completely still.  We were grateful for the relief from what had been a fair effort and made good progress up towards Catacol.  The breeze got back up briefly and strongly as we rounded the corner into Catacol Bay, then died again as we arrived on the shore near the outflow of the burn for a rest stop.  Amazingly, the sun came out just as we landed in a small lagoon - but so did the midges!  After a short stop with the blighters eating more than we did ourselves, we moved on.....

The main feature of Catacol (a Norse derived name meaning "valley of the cat") is a row of cottages known as " The Twelve Apostles".  Built between 1850 and 1860, they were intended to house folk cleared from inland crofts to make way for sheep.  There was considerable resistance to living in the row, possibly because the rents would have been comparable to the dispossessed croft ground and there was little land to cultivate nearby.  The cottages were known locally as "Hunger row" at this time.  A closer look reveals that although the cottages are very similar, each of the twelve upper windows is different.  A local story is that the folk who eventually lived here took to fishing the Kilbrannan Sound, and wives could light a lamp in the window when they wanted their menfolk to return - the men would be able to make out which house had the lamp lit from the window configuration.  Make of that what you will!........

Meantime, luncheon was calling to us with increasing insistence and we paddled into Loch Ranza as a shower of rain passed through.  It seemed no time at all since we'd last paddled into the loch following a magical crossing of the Kilbrannan Sound.  We pulled up the boats in front of the Lochranza Hotel and walked up, hoping for a bar meal.  The inside of the hotel is very nice and has soft upholstered seats - we were in drysuits!  We managed to extricate all but our lower legs and sat down to a rather excellent seafood lunch.

When we returned to the boats to get back on the water, we had to hurry back into our drysuits - the sky to the north east was an ominous purple-black and the temperature was markedly dropping.  Also dropping was the first of the rain as we headed back out of Loch Ranza......

The 30 hour adventure - Arran arrival

As we approached Loch Ranza, the Calmac ferry MV Loch Tarbert was leaving on her sailing across to Claonaig in Kintyre. This meant that we had time to keep to the southern shore of Loch Ranza as we approached the village without getting in the way of a departing or arriving ferry.

Ahead of us and in the eye of the bright morning sun stood the bold outline of Lochranza Castle, the counterpart to Skipness Castle on the Kintyre side of Kilbrannan Sound.

We were able to land on the spit right next to the castle near the head of Loch Ranza to explore the castle.

Lochranza is, like Skipness Castle, under the care of Historic Scotland.   The original castle was likely a modest fortified hallhouse built by the same half-norse Mac Sween earl who built Skipness and specifically placed to control Kilbrannan Sound.  The ruins which are most prominent now are of 16th century construction and are associated with the Montgomeries.  Plaques on and around the ruin highlight where floors, stairways, fireplaces and individual rooms would have been.  We took a look into the castle dungeon and agreed that it was a pretty unpleasant place to be even for a few minutes, never mind a long period of incarceration!

Back out into the sunshine and we could appreciate the striking lines of this fine ruin.  The ground level entrance in this image is a later addition, made in more settled times; the original defended entrance is on the opposite side of the castle....half way up the wall.

In spring sunshine Locharanza is a pretty village clustered around the head of the loch.  With a ferry link, the castle, a golf course, geological fame and the nearby distillery (the product of which, a non chill-filtered, light whisky is excellent!) it has much going for it.  It's claimed though, that in winter Lochranza ranks as the Scottish village which gets the least natural sunlight due to the surrounding hills.

We were certainly in full sun this morning, but a chilly breeze had sprung up making us rather pleased we'd kept our drysuits on.  If we'd have known how warm it was to get later we probably wouldn't have felt so self-satisfied!

This anchor and cable near to where we'd landed looked as if it had been around for some time.  We didn't linger in this rather pleasant spot, which had ideally placed benches,  for second breakfast due to the breeze and set off looking for a more sheltered location which would "conform" better to our requirements.