The colours of St Finan's Isle

We enjoyed a relaxed evening on the shore of Loch Shiel, talking late into a clear evening.  There was a cover of high cloud when we emerged from the tents which merged into mist towards the head of the loch.

Breakfasts of various types were prepared, tents taken down and boats repacked.  We were in no particular hurry but soon enough were getting back on the water.

Not far from our camp site the loch narrows and takes a twist; the water is here between the moraines of the glacier which carved out Loch Shiel.  The shoreline on the north side is used as rough grazing for sheep and cattle, the south shore is quite rocky and forested with spruce.  Gorse was in full bloom, making for a colourful backdrop

As we passed through the narrow twist of the loch a view opened up to Eilean Fhianain (St Finan's Isle).  We wouldn't dream of doing a trip on Loch Shiel and not visiting this fascinating island, so full of interest and history.  You'll notice that in this image it appears greener than the surrounding hills - seen with the eye this is even more marked and the island is a green jewel among the highland scenery.

We landed on a narrow strip of shingle near to the pier on the island to spend some time exploring.  If landing here, it's worth knowing that this little strip of shingle drops very steeply into deeper water really close to the shoreline and can make for an awkward landing if the water level is low.  There's something quite pleasing about the colourful sight of a group of kayaks on a beach!

We left our sails rigged as the breeze was both light and onshore.  All of our small flotilla were rigged with Flat Earth sea kayak sails made in Australia, and we noticed that there was almost a full range of Mick MacRobb's production designs, two versions of the Code Zero, a Tradewind .80, a Footloose .80 and an early prototype sail are all represented in this image.  If you haven't yet tried sea kayak sailing, we can all vouch for how much fun there is to be had!

Our boats weren't the only splashes of colour on the shore of St Finan's Isle - the bright yellow stars of Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna) flowers studded the grassy shore......

.....while the whole of the steep west slope of the island was carpeted in a mist of Common Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) which were just coming into full bloom - a wonderful sight.