A quiet corner in Kentra Bay

Unfortunately Douglas still felt too unwell to paddle on the final day of our winter trip in the Glenuig area.  Allan and I decided on a short trip at Kentra Bay, from where we could return to meet Alison and Douglas for coffee and cake at the Glenuig Inn.  We chose the location to get some shelter from the F4-5 westerly wind, starting from the small car park at Ardtoe (at which there's a very modest 50p per day charge utilising an honesty box).

Kentra Bay is a shallow enclosed bay backed by saltmarsh at the head with woods along the western side and a rocky channel at the entrance. There are a couple of small islands with narrow channels through which the tide runs. The bay almost completely dries at low water to reveal a huge expanse of sand rich in molluscs, so it's also very rich in birdlife particularly waders and wildfowl and Otters are often seen.  The general topography of the sand is almost flat, so the tide goes out very quickly; when paddling here the timing needs to be good to avoid a long wait for the water to return.....

We paddled clockwise around the bay, our pace slow and relaxed as we absorbed the atmosphere of this quiet corner.  Overhead the clouds racing past indicated the wind out in the open but in the bay there was almost no wind.  Work was going on to fell a birch tree near the shore and at first there was the sound of a chainsaw echoing around, but after a short while it stopped and there was just the sound of waders and ducks calling as the tide began to recede and uncover feeding ground.

In the far west corner of the bay we came across this shingle beach - a quiet corner in a quiet place.  It seemed the perfect spot to take lunch.....

The continuing fall of the tide meant we didn't linger too long after lunch, setting out to enter the channel and paddle out to the western side of the entrance, Sgeir a'Chaolais (skerry of the channel).

We'd decided on a quick visit to the beaches below Torr Beithe before returning to Ardtoe.

This short stretch of coast consists of a dune system fronted by two sandy crescents.  Allan has camped here and I've seen an Otter on the sand on a previous visit.  There were none to be seen this time......

...but there are definitely still Otters here.  A short crossing back to Ardtoe completed our trip and we loaded up and headed back to Glenuig.  This is a great half day paddle if tidal conditions are right ,best done an hour or so either side of high water and can be particularly good when other locations are too windy.  We paddled around 11 km in a little over two hours but it had been a very relaxing morning in a quiet corner.

All calm in Kentra Bay

 Back in March I met up with Douglas at Glenuig - just a short time after our superb trip around the Small Isles.  This time our intention was to paddle the coast south of Loch Ailort starting at Ardtoe.  It's an area we are both familiar with but as ever there are sections we've not explored.  There was also the chance to link up the trips we'd done over the winter from Ardnamurchan to Arisaig and the Small Isles.

One of the places neither of us had visited is Kentra Bay, a broad and shallow bay which dries completely at low water.  The bay takes its name from the settlement on the shore and is an anglicisation of "Ceann Traigh" (head of the beach) - indicating the sandy expanse at low water.

As we paddled through the narrow entrance into Kentra Bay we were treated to a close view of an Otter fishing in the tide.  This was the first of several Otters we saw during the day, they do seem to be numerous in this area. 

This jetty is at Kentra on the east side of the bay.  It would make a good launch spot except that there is nowhere convenient to park a vehicle, and a notice requests that the jetty be left clear as it is use for local fishing craft.  The stonework was very solid looking and obviously built by craftsmen.  The road from Acharacle to Ardtoe can be seen just above the jetty.  This is a narrow and twisty singletrack with a very steep hill just above Ardtoe.  It also comes with a fearsome warning for summer visitors! There is parking with a 50p per day honesty box at Ardtoe.

 The birch trees on the shore had an early Spring blush of purple on them - these trees carry a purple wash right through the winter.  The water was absolutely flat calm and we felt quite warm in our drysuits.

Winter was far from over though.  The snow on the Rum Cuillin was fresh (it hadn't been there the previous week).  The dark peak to the left of the snowy hills is the distinctive Sgurr of Eigg; both it and the Rum Cuillin felt like old friends after our journey in the Small Isles. The small rocky island is Sgeir Eididh just off Ardtoe.

We were both really glad we'd taken the detour to explore Kentra Bay.  Provided there is sufficient water, it certainly repays a little exploration.  The calm water seemed to suit the ambience of this hidden gem.

Now we turned north, back past Ardtoe towards our next destination, Eilean Shona.