Summer sojourn on the Moray Firth - underneath the arches

The third day of our trip on the Moray Firth dawned bright and sunny again. Raymond had hillwalking plans for this day and so it would be Allan, Lorna and I paddling. We'd discussed various route options for the day over dinner the previous evening - perhaps setting out again from Whitehills to make a continuous journey, or heading farther east to Aberdeenshire's North Sea coast.  It didn't take much debate before we decided on a trip which would take in some of the best rock architecture on this coast.

It takes longer than you'd think to drive the 30-odd miles from Sandend to Pennan, then take a twisting, hilly road to the pebble beach below the village of New Aberdour.  It's notobvious on this image but this beach is quite steep-to and often has dumping surf which makes launching and landing tricky.  If this is the case, a burn running into the sea is a good guide to some rock channels which can break up some of the swell.  No swell problems on this morning though!  A bit of a cloud sheet had drawn overhead, but it was still warm and there was clear blue sky to the west indicating sunnier conditions on the way

Rather than run a lengthy shuttle which would have been awkward with three kayaks and two vehicles we'd decided to paddle west from New Aberdour to the village of Pennan and return by the same route, perhaps visiting Troup Head if there was time.  Doing an out-and-back isn't always the best option, but given the scenery we knew was on this stretch, paddling it twice would be just perfect.  The rock architecture starts almost straight away, a square-cut arch forming a bridge leading out from a small headland.

This arch is bigger than it appears - we wondered how many people might have casually strolled out to the headland without knowing that this was beneath their feet!

Having passed through the first arch, there's immediately another one, taller and narrower. This would be great paddling in itself, but is just the warm-up for what follows.

Crossing a small rock bay, we headed through a couple of channels between different types of rock - this coast has some really complex geology which is in part the reason it's so interesting.

Ahead of us was the impressive Strahangles Point.  Much less well known than Troup Head farther to the west, it's actually higher than Troup - if not as massive.  The cave-arch at the base of the point goes through one of the spurs of the point, and can be very tricky in less benign conditions.

Having paddled through the cave into the shaded geo beyond, I landed on a pebble beach to see if there were any interesting pieces among the driftwood.  I was surprised to see a young Grey Seal pull up into the shallows right beside me.  It showed no fear, just curiosity and seemed to want to know exactly what I was up to.

When I walked up the beach at the back of the geo, the young seal swam back to investigate Lorna's boat a little closer, following her every move.  The water in the geo was shallow and we could see the seal twisting underneath the kayak.  Although not behaving at all nervously it could have panicked at any time - not really a good thing in this confined place.  Lorna moved out into more open water and the seal followed, allowing me to launch without spooking it.  A lovely close encounter, and it wouldn't be our last of the day.

Beyond Strahangles Point there's another change in the geology to a conglomerate rock with flood-washed pebbles in a red matrix.  Quite a soft rock type, it erodes to form some great features; this narrow arch is the gateway to a place of wonders.....