Eilean Musdile

First job of the day was to make the 7km crossing of the Firth of Lorn. This is an interesting and active stretch of water. The flood tide splits into three streams here, one stream goes up the Sound of Mull, the others go up up Loch Linnhe passing either side of Lismore. Conversely, the ebb streams meet here, with the stream in the main channel rotating gradually clockwise. I'd chosen a quiet time near slack water at the end of the ebb and so had a quiet crossing.

Part way across I was overtaken by the Calmac ferry "Isle of Mull" on her first run from Oban to Craignure. She's one of the bigger Calmac ships and carries 70 cars and 951 passengers. Her service speed is 15 kts so it pays to look over your shoulder on this crossing! Fortunately she announces her arrival and departure in Oban Bay on VHF so I could estimate when she'd pass me.




Arriving at Eilean Musdile I passed underneath Lismore lighthouse and looked for a landing spot. There are slipways either side of the lighthouse, but at low water they weren't useable. Even at this quiet state of the tide, swells were surging around the island.





Heading along the island I came to this bridge spanning a tidal passage - not quite a bridge over the Atlantic but impressive all the same.

At the north tip of Eilean Musdile I landed on weed covered rocks and walked back to explore the lighthouse. Looking north to Lismore, I spotted a likely campsite for the evening if I could manage the whole way around Lismore.

Kerrera Camp

With a fine forecast, I headed off on a two night sea kayaking trip in the Loch Linnhe area. Arriving at Ganavan Bay just north of Oban at 6.30pm, the usual faff of initial packing seemed to take longer than usual, and it was 7.30pm when I got on the water.

Fortunately, the island of Kerrera where I planned my first camp was just 5km away! I found a good spot just as it was getting dark and set up the tent. It had taken longer to pack and then camp than it had to make the short paddle, but I was now ready for the following day.

And what a day. Early morning was beautifully calm and sunny and I had a great view to the Mull hills from my camp site.

I was soon on my way, paddling north west across a calm Firth of Lorn towards the south tip of the island of Lismore.

Castles Stalker and Shuna

I've been looking through some photographs recently and noticed how many I've taken of castles. Scotland is studded with fortifications, from Iron Age hillforts and Brochs right up to Victorian castles.


The west coast is particularly rich in fortifications of all types, most for defence against sea raiders, but some built to exert control over the vital sea routes which link the islands and reach deep inland via sea lochs.



This is the rather magnificently sited Castle Stalker. It's in the entrance to a shallow loch (Loch Laich) which is an arm of Loch Linnhe in Appin. Although the water dries out around the rocky island the castle is built on at low tide, it would still have been a very effective defence. It seems to me to be a statement of power. Built by the MacDougalls of Lorn, probably replacing a smaller fortification, in the 13th century, it was designed to stamp the authority of this colourful clan of sea raiders on an arterial route.



The story of Clan MacDougall and their struggles with the Stewarts is fascinating; a roller coaster ride of triumph, disaster, bloodshed and battles. The castle is a fitting monument to those turbulent times.




In this wider view, another castle can just be made out. Castle Shuna is in front of the tree plantation on Shuna Island. Built by the Stewarts of Appin some 200 years later than Castle Stalker, it's now a ruin. It seems to have been more a fortified house than a castle.

The views from both these castles are fabulous; these pictures were taken in December 2008 when I paddled around Shuna Island and down to Lismore. The mountains across Loch Linnhe are Fuar Bheinn and Creach Bheinn in the Kingairloch area of Morven.