A look back to Loch Maree

We left Isle Maree feeling very relaxed and emerged into bright sunshine and a freshening breeze.  We paddled across to the north shore of the loch to check out a potential site for a future camping trip; the autumn colours were very fine, especially against the magnificent backdrop of Slioch.

We turned downwind to paddle along the north shore and enjoyed a relaxing paddle among stunning autumnal shades; oak, aspen, beech and birch all at different stages of turning.

After threading our way back through Loch Maree's islands we returned to Slattadale to find that in the deep shade of this part of the loch there was still a hint of frost smoke over the water - kayaking through this was a really special experience.

As we loaded our boats onto the cars we watched the light slowly change on Slioch - the name translates as "the spear" and it's very appropriate when seen from some angles, the buttresses rearing into clear air.

As you drive the A832 road back towards Kinlochewe the view of the hill across the loch is foreshortened and somewhat compressed, though still very impressive.

Our route had been a short one, but the day had been superb - for the second successive year Loch Maree had given a day of autumnal brilliance.

Climbing out to the head of Glen Docherty, we paused at "The Viewpoint" to take a look back along the length of Loch Maree and out to the distant sea - it was the end of two cracking days of kayaking, one on salt water and one on fresh water; both special days.

A wish fulfilled on Loch Maree

All but one of Loch Maree's islands are vegetated either with Caledonian Pine or with low wet-ground scrub. But one island is strikingly different...

In autumn, Isle Maree positively glows with colour.  Birch, Beech, Oak and Holly predominate on this small but special island.

We landed on a gravel shore below a very old but vigorous Holly tree, which had a fine crop of berries.  The fruits will provide food for birds as winter begins to tighten its grip, but there are stranger fruits on Isle Maree.

On a west facing slope near to the highest point of the island is the remains of a "wishing tree". Coins have been inserted into the tree for hundreds of years in a tradition that goes back way longer.  A famous visitor was Queen Victoria, who hammered in a coin in 1877. The wishing tree on Isle Maree is associated with curative properties, of all kinds of ailments including what as formerly known as "madness".  The tradition is that the unwell person's illness was transferred to the tree by the offering of a coin, particularly if combined with bathing the person in the water from a well on the island or in the waters of the loch.

The tradition also cautions against taking anything from the island, including pebbles in case the illness is brought back out into the wider world.  It may be folklore, but I refrain from my usual habit of taking a souvenir pebble from beaches when visiting Isle Maree.

On a previous visit I found that a storm had brought down a large branch which had broken what remains of the wishing tree into sections; the tree was an oak but is long dead from copper poisoning from all the old pennies inserted into the trunk.  I reported this to SNH who sent out a work party to clear away the branch and place the parts of the wishing tree in one place; they've done a great job.

In the space below the trees oak saplings are beginning to emerge, taking advantage of the space and light.  In time, this sapling or one of its neighbours may become the next wishing tree........

That previous visit had been in autumn 2018 and I left two coins in the tree for two friends.  Douglas had been suffering from a debilitating condition and Allan was in hospital with a very serious illness.  The care both received from the NHS and the medical technology available in diagnosis and treatment of both have been very successful, but maybe, just maybe the wishing tree helped too....

....which made it even more special that Allan was able to visit Isle Maree having spent many months of the previous twelve hospitalised.  Douglas is back in action too, but unfortunately couldn't make this trip, so there's a good reason to visit again.

Bright blue sky above a canopy of gold and green - this was autumn at its very best

Isle Maree has a very old burial ground at its highest point, surrounded by an even older wall.  A chapel here is believed to have been associated with the seventh century abbot St Maol Rubha (from which the name "Maree" is derived).

It's a fascinating place to explore with some very old grave markers and more recent gravestones.  A rich carpet of leaves and moss covers the whole area.  Having spent a very pleasant hour exploring Isle Maree and walking under the tree canopy......

....the sudden view of the oakwoods on the northern shore of the loch seemed ablaze with brilliance - what a day to be out on the water!

Sight and sound on Loch Maree

There was absolutely no wind when we headed out onto Loch Maree.  Our pace matched the feel of the morning and we spent long minutes just drifting on miror-calm water and absorbing the place.

Our plan was to simply explore a few of the islands clustering the north west end of the loch, so we headed slowly over to the nearest of them.  The westernmost islands have good cover of Caledonian Pine with an understory of  Birch and Rowan, those to the east have little in the way of tree cover, and there's one island which is quite different to the others.  Autumn is a great time to visit these islands; the area is a National Nature Reserve of great importance for the pines themselves which are a genetically intact relic of ancient pinewood and for the rare Divers (Gavidae) which nest here.  In autumn there's no risk of disturbance to the birds.

As we paddled between the islands new sightlines opened up at every turn.  So complex is this area that one could paddle it dozens of times without taking the same route.  A group of kayakers had got on the water after us, but we didn't see them at all in the maze of islands and channels.

Along with sights, there was sound.  Although the Red Deer rut was just about finished we heard the occasional powerful roar of a stag from the rugged hillside on the north side of the loch.  The primal challenge carried right across the water; it's a most evocative sound of autumn in Scotland and I can testify that close to, the roar of a stag is a sonic experience not to be forgotten!

Sight after sound, a fine view opened up towards Slioch, the light subtly changeing on the hill as the morning wore on and the autumn sun swung through the southern sky.

We felt very lucky to be paddling the loch in conditions like these and to be enjoying colour, scene and sound.....

Smoke on the water

You certainly won't find a casino on the shoreline, or a stylish town, but in the right conditions you may get to see "smoke on the water" at Slattadale on the shore of Loch Maree.  Lorna, Allan and I drove from Gairloch to Slattadale for a second day of paddling in what we hoped would be superb autumn conditions.

Slattadale catches the morning sunshine, which was melting away the frost of a cold night.  As the water was retaining some of summer's warmth and was several degrees warmer than the air, conditions were right for the particular sort of mist known as "frost smoke". 

Although strictly speaking the term describes frozen water vapour over the sea, sharply cold air over the fresh water of Loch Maree was producing a similar effect.  Beautiful and ethereal, the mist dissipated as soon as it was touched by the morning sun.






Autumn was everywhere; bright "hips" on a wild rose bush glowed like beacons, frost on the branches melting to silvered droplets of water.

Over all, the impressive presence of Slioch dominates the far end of the loch.  Although the mountain seems close by, it's over 12 kilometres away.

When we got onto the water and paddled away from the shore, the view behind us was of stunning autumnal colour...the purple "bloom" of birches which had already shed their leaves, the green of spruces and the dazzling gold of larches; it was going to be a great day......

A loch within a loch, an island within an island

The combination of sunshine and cloud seemed to intensify the colours in the trees along the shore of Loch Maree as I paddled slowly back out to the islands.

Between the islands there was no wind at all and the reflections were absolutely pin-sharp on the dark water of the loch. After paddling through a narrow gap between two small islands I aimed straight for the largest of the group to land and explore a little.

It took a while to get through the waist-height heather to find what I was looking for, a location which if not immediately spectacular is quite unusual.  On Eilean Subhainn there's a lochan with two tiny islands in it - difficult to see the one in this image.  What makes this an unusual place is that here on  a loch there's an island, which itself has a loch with an island in it!  I don't know of any other place in Scotland where this can be found.  Eilean Subhainn is the second largest freshwater loch island in Scotland, only Inchmurrin on Loch Lomond is bigger.  If you land and force through the heather to the lochan, check yourself for ticks afterward - even at this late stage of the season I picked up two tiny ones on my arm.

Back on the water and I wound my way through some more of the islands - you can easily spend a full day exploring here and not paddle the same bit of water twice.

Emerging from between two of the islands, a great view opens up to the wild hills of Torridon - hills of great distinction which have given me some great days; and i's been too long since I climbed them!

Heading back to Slattadale I nosed the boat in to the burn flowing from Loch Garbhaig (loch of the rough place) over the "other" Victoria Falls - so named because Queen Victoria was taken to see the waterfall which drops over a small crag into a gorge.

I arrived back at Slattadale in lovely late afternoon sunshine.  Having unloaded the boat and put it back onto the car I had plenty of time to make a cup of tea and sit watching the play of light and shade on Slioch - and reflecting on a really good day's fresh water kayaking.

The penny drops on Isle Maree

Following a stop for second breakfast I headed back among the islands of Loch Maree.  The improving weather had extended to the length of the loch and the flanks of Slioch (the spear) were now lit with morning sun.

My next planned stop would be on Isle Maree, perhaps the best known of the loch's islands, but by no means the largest.  The closest island to the north eastern shore, Isle Maree differs from all the other islands in being wooded mainly with deciduous, rather than pine trees including some very old stands of oak and holly.

Isle Maree has a long history of usage as a ritual site; it seems to have been used for the pre-Christian tradition of sacrificing a bull - which reportedly continued into the 17th century; the crags on the northern shore are named Creag an Tarbh (crag of the bull) which recalls this tradition.  In the 8th century a chapel and hermitage was established by St Maelrubha, centred around a well. 

A very ancient wall encloses a graveyard on the highest part of the island.  Some of the gravestones are very old and there are two grave slabs incised with crosses which date from the 8th century.  It's a peaceful, atmospheric place in which to spend a little time.

One more modern memorials is a broken cross stone with very fine carving which sits in a prominent spot - but seems a little out of place among the more modest graves.  Nearby, and not so easy to find is a relic of the pre-Christian tradition here.

An oak tree has been used for centuries as a "wishing tree" - where people travelled to the island specifically to hammer in a coin as an offering, in the hope of curing illness or fulfilling a wish.  The oak tree died hundreds of years ago due to copper poisoning from all the pennies driven in, but the tradition persists.

I found the tree difficult to find, because a nearby Horse Chestnut tree has come down in the gales which raged across Scotland in early October and landed on top of the wishing tree - I reported this to Scottish Natural Heritage who were hoping to get out and assess what could be done.  If trying to locate the tree, look to the south west of the graveyard.

I'm fortunate to enjoy good health, but two of my good friends are experiencing significant health issues, so on their behalf I tapped in two copper coins, with a wish for full recovery for them both.  Traditionally the island was associated with curing insanity - but I didn't have a third coin for myself!

The tradition warns against taking anything, even a pebble, from the island in case the insanity or illnesses are brought away as well, so I didn't keep to my own habit of taking a small pebble from the landing place.

Isle Maree is one of those very special places where the long spiritual traditions seems to add to an atmosphere of peace and tranquility - I left the island feeling noticably calmer.

Back on the water, the weather was developing; on the north eastern shore all was colour and bright sunshine.....

...while to the south west impressive shower clouds were building over the hills of the Flowerdale Forest.  It was turning into a wonderful day to be out on the water.

Autumn's glories on Loch Maree

After what has been far too long, due to either work commitments or poor weather, I planned a day kayaking - but on this occasion not sea kayaking.  Mid to late October sees the very best of the autumnal colours in Scotland and I wanted to experience the colour show from the water.

A drive across northern Scotland on an early morning brought me to the head of the road which snakes down Glen Docherty to the small village of Kinlochewe.  The prefix "Kin" is an anglicisation of the Gaelic Ceann, indicating the head of a loch or glen.  Kinlochewe is a bit of an anomaly, because the village sits not at the head of Loch Ewe, but at the head of Loch Maree.  Loch Maree is drained by the River Ewe which does lead to salt water in Loch Ewe - confused?!

It had been a grey morning all the way over from Aberdeenshire but the forecast was for clear skies and sunshine - and sure enough as I got ready at Slattadale on the shore of Loch Maree the cloud sheet was peeling away.

During the previous days Scotland had seen a real east/west weather split with truly torrential rain deluging the western side of the country while the east remained fairly dry.  Such was the volume of rain that Loch Maree was a good way above its usual level - by some half a metre. 

I headed out to the nearest of the islands which are such a feature of Loch Maree, and into a seemingly drowned landscape where one could paddle among the bases of tall pines.

The other great feature of Loch Maree is the grand backdrop of Slioch (the spear), one of the most prominent Munros and adding so much to the character of Loch Maree. The clearance in the weather hadn't yet reached that end of the loch and Slioch was just emerging from cloud, backed by a solid grey wall.

Add in the pines of the islands and you have a quintessentially Highland scene.  I set out to paddle through, around and among the islands as my route for the day.

There was real warmth in the sunshine and with no wind it was turning into a beautiful autumnal day.  Thus far the colours had been predominantly the rich dark green of the pines and the warm brown of the hillsides.......

.....but that all changed as I passed around the outside of the islands and the view to the north eastern shore opened up - a riot of gold and yellow with the russet of bracken below; just stunning.

On the opposite side of the loch a searing brilliance of sunlight rendered everything into silhouette.

Amongst all this dazzling light and scenery, I found a lovely spot to land and enjoy a leisurely late breakfast.