The passing paddlers of Polly Bay

 A little further around the coast in Enard Bay, the road comes close to the rocky shore.  It's there, really! A hint of where it runs can be seen just to the left of the yellow trees at the right hand side of this image.

I continued around the coast towards Polly Bay where I intended to stop for lunch.  Landing places aren't that frequent on this stretch of the coast and the beach would make an ideal spot.  I'd hoped to be able to land close to the "Dun" (fort) marked on the map to the north of Polly bay to take a look but there was no easy landing on the steep and rocky point.

Approaching the corner of Polly Bay, a sea kayak appeared, then two more.  I hadn't really expected to see any other paddlers out on a weekday in the far north - and in a nice coincidence we'd met before :o)

Barbara, Chris and Matthew were on their way back to Lochinver from a two day paddle trip in Enard Bay.  Remarkably, we'd met in very similar circumstances in October 2012 in the Sound of Arisaig.  We chatted for a while about coincidence, the advantages of paddling outside the summer season and what a great day it was to be on the water.  Where will we next meet I wonder?!

 Barabara, Chris and Matthew headed off north while my route went south west into Polly Bay.  At this low state of the tide there's sand to land on - at higher states of tide it will be on boulders, but still it's a good landing spot with a fine view to Stac Pollaidh (peak of the peat moss).  I've a huge affection for this bristly little hill which has a presence out of all proportion to its 613m/2009ft height.

I found a spot to sit and take first luncheon above the boulders on the shore.  It was a peaceful place with a view out to Point of Stoer in the north.  I made a relatively brief stop here before pushing on, but the quiet rhythm of the waves on the shore and the gneiss boulders at my feet got me thinking on an entirely different scale of time.