Rockhopping and rainstorms, Part 2

This is the second of two posts catching up on a number of sea kayaking day paddles around the northeast of Scotland during July 2016. Having managed to entice Mike north with tales of the dry and sunny climate of Aberdeenshire, Allan and I rendezvoused with him at Findochty for a trip to Sandend which would take in some of the best bits of the Moray Firth coast. It was indeed sunny and warm when we met up in the morning.......

.... but it didn't last!  A torrential rainstorm hammered down for  an hour or so, and strangely this actually added enjoyment to the day.

The rain passed through soon enough and we were left with calm conditions - perfect for this part of the coast which is prone to swell - and perfect in particular......

....for Mike to experience paddling through this iconic arch near Portknockie and so become a "Bow Fiddler".

A different day but similar weather on the Moray Firth - Lorna heading through one of the hidden channels to the west of Sandend - a rockhopping delight even in the rain.

Another day with outbreaks of rain when one tactic was to shelter in caves from the heavier bursts!  This is one of the many caves near Portsoy , one which which Allan, Lorna and I hadn't previously explored. It turned out to have a blowhole and the landward end and became very tight at the back - the scrape of paddle on rock the only indication that there was a paddler within!

The coincidence of calm conditions with rainy days continued right through July - Allan and I made our way to Collieston on a day of rare flat calm on this exposed part of the North Sea coast.  We drove from inland Aberdeenshire through very heavy rain which continued on and off all day.  Heading north towards Cruden Bay, we took the opportunity to explore close inshore while the conditions were so calm, passing noisy seabird cities and paddling amongst large rafts of Guillemots, Razorbills, Puffins and Fulmars.

This part of the coast has been the scene of many shipwrecks, documented wrecks include the 1594 destruction of a Spanish (actually believed to be from the Spanish Netherlands) sailing ship "Santa Catherina", from which various artefacts have been recovered.

In more recent times there have been numerous wrecks, a combination of wild weather, a rocky coast with little shelter and a busy shipping lane all contributing to the numbers.  This rusted piece lodged at the back of a rocky cove looks as if it may be a ship's boiler.

Just north of Collieston we came across the entrance to a cave which is entered through a curtain of water dripping from the cliff above. 

The rock is quite soft and porous here and the roof of the cave was marvellously featured with calcite formations.  Probably the violence of swells driven in here will prevent the formation of stalactites, but it was still one of the more striking caves we've explored.

We rafted up to get headtorches out and explored deeper into the cave.  It splits into two tunnels deep under the cliff and the left hand branch goes back a good way to where we found a tiny beach of exquisitely coloured pebbles

The air in the cave was markedly cooler than outside and there was a strange absence of the echo normally heard in caves - a remarkable place.  Half-tide and absolutely flat conditions are needed to explore this cave - the roof is quite low and it would be hazardous in even a small swell....it's well worth waiting for the right conditions though.

Sea kayaking in sunshine on blue seas is, of course, perfection....but grey skies and heavy rain aren't bad either!

From Buchan to Transylvania!

Just south of the sandy sweep of Cruden Bay at a group of skerries known as The Skares there's a change in the rock type to a pink, heavily featured granite.  This doesn't form such large cliffs, but there are interesting features on this section; this is the larger of two arches - no chance to paddle through this one though!  There are lots of caves along the route, some very large but I elected not to disturb the birds by paddling in at this time of the year.

The skerries at the south of Cruden Bay are a great place to see Atlantic Grey Seals

Some of which are very curious and playful!  In the background are the dunes and sandy bay of Cruden.

Passing Port Errol, the tiny harbour of Cruden Bay, the stark and dramatic ruin of Slains Castle is reached.  Built in 1594 by the Earl of Errol as a replacement for Old Slains, it must have been a draughty place to live.  The castle is quite large and was built around an existing tower house.

The diarists Boswell and Johnson stayed here on their tour of Scotland, but probably the most famous visitor was Bram Stoker who used the castle as inspiration for "Dracula".  It's not hard to see why, the gothic lines and drama of the place create a brooding and slightly menacing atmosphere in bright sunlight, never mind a wild moonlit night....

I continued a little further north from here before turning for the paddle back to Collieston.  The sun was out though and it was pleasant enough.  In Collieston harbour, the kids had finished school and were playing on the sand and swimming in the sea - hardy souls!

This had been a great paddle; the spectacular seabird colonies, wonderful wildflowers, seal encounters, a sandy bay, arches and caves plus a vampire's castle - who says the East coast lacks interest?!

Apart from Port Errol, there are few opportunities for landing along this route (31 kilometres in total).  The few bays which are tenable to land in are rocky and much easier to use at higher states of the tide, being bouldery lower down.

The start of the route is on OS Landranger sheet 38 (Aberdeen) with the remainder on sheet 30 (Fraserburgh)

Tides run stronger here than on most of the north east coast.  The Springs rate is given at 1.75Kts, turning at roughly HW and LW Aberdeen.  I found that close in the stream felt stronger, particularly at the headlands either end of bays, where strong eddies and some turbulence occurs.

Seabird cities of the Buchan coast

May has so far been quite a windy month, so when a calm day following a run of westerly winds was forecast it seemed a good opportunity to paddle along the seabird cliffs of the Buchan coast

I set out from the little harbour at Collieston on a cloudy morning with no swell, a bonus on this part of the coast which juts into the North Sea.  I planned to paddle north past Cruden Bay and return later in the day.  Launching is very easy at Collieston as there's a sandy beach inside the harbour.  Parking is limited, but there's another car park a few hundred metres north of the village with a small beach.  The harbour is owned by the local community and an honesty box is in place for using it - the suggested donation is £1.

Heading out of the harbour I turned north and shortly passed the ruin of Slains Castle, confusingly one of two along this coast with the same name.  This is Old Slains, the smaller and less well known of the two.  It was built in the 15th century and blown up by James VI of Scotland (James I of England) in 1594 to punish the Earl of Errol for becoming involved in a plot against him.  The Earl was later forgiven and went on to build a much larger castle further up the coast.

Further north the cliffs begin to get higher, the dark rocks streaked with white from the seabird colonies

Every ledge and platform is crammed with nesting birds.  The most numerous are Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), Guillemots (Uria aalge) and Razorbills (Alca torda) with smaller numbers of Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis), Shags (Phalocrocorax aristotelis) and everyone's favourite, Puffins (Fratercula arctica). 

I kept back from the cliffs a little to minimise disturbance to the birds; the other numerous species here are Herring gulls (Larus argentatus) which constantly cruise the cliffs looking for unguarded eggs or chicks.

Paddling along the seabird cliffs in late Spring is an intense sensory experience; the sheer noise of the colonies, the almost overpowering smell and above all, the whirling, whirring activity of birds coming and going to their nesting ledges, jostling, preening and arguing.  You are truly surrounded by birds and their daily lives.

It's one of Britains greatest wildlife spectacles and an absolute privilege to experience.  The sobering thought is that these packed cliffs are quite small colonies in comparison with those on cliffs such as Fowlsheugh near Stonehaven.