Paradise found at Shoe Bay

After our short portage around the tidal fall at the foot of the River Shiel we found an inlet where we could access the salt water of Loch Moidart. As this image shows, around low water there can be quite a distance to the water here.

I was a little slower heading out from the inlet than the others, having sorted out a slight imbalance in my kayak's trim. In the five or so minutes I was readjusting the boat, the southerly wind picked up considerably and was blowing strongly by the time I headed out.  The others were already some distance away, hammering down towards Castle Tioram with sails flying.

The wind continued to gust strongly and I was cautious about putting up my own sail.  Our original plan had been to leave Loch Moidart by the South Channel and head south to camp on the north side of the Ardnamurchan peninsula.  I decided not to cross to Castle Tioram but to stay on the upwind side of the loch and head slowly along to allow the others to get back across.  What I didn't know at this point was that the group had found the wind even stronger near Castle Tioram and had made the decision to leave via the North Channel to avoid the wind rather than slogging back upwind.  We've often found Loch Moidart to be a windy place; the topography funnels wind from the south and east particularly.

Some sea kayakers carry VHF radios solely or primarily for emergencies - we tend to use ours primarily for inter-group communications, though they also have great utility in distress or emergency situations.  Douglas and I exchanged messages and the plan became for the others to exit out of the North Channel while I'd continue out of the South Channel and rejoin them on the seaward side of Eilean Shona.

I continued steadily westward, enjoying the view of the dramatically sited Castle Tioram as a bonus.  You can just about make out the rest of the group at the base of the castle in this telephoto image.  Now that the plan had changed, the camp spot we'd originally thought to use would probably be a little far to paddle to against the wind.  There was a spot I wanted to check out as an alternative though.....

There's something a bit special about a white sand beach above clear water, and this one is a particular favourite.  We stop here regularly and had noted the possibility of camping here in very small groups...but would there be space for four small tents?  We know this beach as "Shoe Bay", a name you won't find on any map.  The name refers to the very soft, fine sand into which many shoes must have disappeared over the centuries.  This image from a previous visit shows just how soft the sand here is!

The sand wasn't the only attraction on this bright late spring day - the beach is backed with rocky outcrops, each of which was packed with the cheerful yellow flowers of Primroses (Primula vulgaris).

Having established that we could get our tents on the cropped turf with some creativity in pitch selection I climbed above the beach to get a bit of a wider view....it's a photogenic spot!

I got back on the water just as the sun broke through and intensified the colours in the water.  I hoped that the others would agree that this small slice of paradise would be worth a few extra kilometres of paddling!