Carrying on to the end around Morvern

We woke to a bright morning at our camp on the shore of Loch Sunart, unfortunately so did the midges!  A welcome breeze started up as we ate breakfast which was just enough to keep them away.

We were soon on the water and heading into the enclosed Loch na Droma Buidhe (also known as Loch Drumbuie and meaning Loch of the yellow ridge). The mainland shore of this loch had been one possible camp site, but we were pretty sure that the loch would be busy with yachts as it's a popular and very sheltered anchorage.  There were six yachts at anchor immediately off the spot we'd identified, and anyway we'd have missed out on the superb sunset as the view from the loch is obscured by the high ground on Oronsay.

The east end of Loch na Droma Buidhe connects with Loch Sunart by a narrow channel which dries out to leave Oronsay connected to the Morvern shore.  We knew that we'd have a bit of a portage to move the boats across the gap, but felt that this would be a bit quicker than paddling around the outside of Oronsay against a stiff breeze.

The portage was a bit longer than we'd have liked at around 200 metres but having chosen this route we decided to just carry on and carry the boats over.  The yellow colour of the exposed weed here led us to speculate whether this might be the source of the loch's name?

Back on the water and we had a stiff paddle around the south end of Carna against the ebb stream pouring out of Loch Teacuis.  The flow here can be very strong but we arrived near the end of the ebb and were able to eddy-hop around the south of Carna then enjoy a push out of Caol Charna (narrows (kyle) of Carna).  Although we'd been going less than two hours, a stop for second breakfast was unanimously carried - the exertions of portaging and paddling had rekindled appetites!

Back out on Loch Sunart and we started to feel the east wind in our faces, but it was somewhat less than the F5 being broadcast on the VHF weather forecast.  We knew that if it remained at this sort of strength we'd finish our trip without difficulty.  Sunart is a long and fjord-like sea loch reaching far from the open sea, lined with glorious Atlantic oakwood for much of its length.  The scenery is grand, this part of the loch is dominated by Ben Resipol, which today was pin-sharp in the clear air.

The upper part of Loch Sunart is joined to the rest of the loch by a constriction at Laudale.  The tidal stream in the narrows can run very strongly and rough water is often found when wind opposes tide.  By the time we gathered in a bay immediately to the west of the narrows the flood tide was barrelling through against a breeze which had risen a notch as it too passed through the gap.  We expected some rough water but in truth it was just fun, the boats powering through eddy lines and along ribbons of surf.  Donald had so much fun in his F-RIB that he went back for a second pass!

Through the narrows and we were on the last leg of the trip.  At our final stop for a leisurely second luncheon the view ahead was to the Ardgour hills, below which we'd set off.  It seemed like a long time had passed since setting out on Loch Linnhe, but it was only two days previously; sea kayak trips seem to have this ability to make time seem extended.

By the time we reached the slipway near Strontian the wind had died completely to leave a very warm afternoon with temperatures of 25 degrees Celsius - well, very warm for Scotland that is!  After lifting our boats up the slipway, all that remained was to run the shuttle and collect our cars from Glensanda.  It had been a really great trip, almost around Morven, shared with good friends and with memories to treasure.

Our route was 95 kilometres, paddled over two and a half days with two nights en route.  We started on Loch Linnhe, turned up the Sound of Mull and then along Loch Sunart to finish at Strontian.  The forecast weather was for increasingly strong winds from the east, and certainly the wind in the Sound of Mull reached  the top of the forecast.  Otherwise we enjoyed a light easterly airflow and this is probably the best weather in which to do this trip.

Day 1

Not quite an island, not quite the mainland

How to remove a hill - one load at a time    Note that on the Google Earth slide above, the Glensanda quarry is clearly visible as two pale scars above Loch Linnhe, which gives an indication of scale.

Midge Avoidance at Inninmore

Day 2 

Having a blast on the Sound of Mull

The magic of a wild camp on Loch Sunart

A Sunart stunner

Day 3

This post

A Sunart stunner

After dinner at our camp on the Morvern shore of outer Loch Sunart we looked for a good spot below the tideline and got the fire lit.  As the breeze dropped the midges made their presence felt but were a minor inconvenience rather than a full-on attack.

The sun set over Ardnamurchan with a brilliant flourish and  a searing, glittering flood of light across the Sound of Mull. We'd hoped that our campsite would give us a good view of the sunset....we weren't to be disappointed!

The light show started almost as soon as the sun dipped below Ardnamurchan Point with an intense golden glow....

..which faded to a copper colour over about twenty minutes.  One of the advantages of sunsets at more northern latitudes is that they last a long time and this one was a full hour from the sun setting to the last of the light.

Once the sun was well below the horizon the cloud formations took on the brightest colours....

...in a gradually developing palette from bronze......

......through to purples and pink shades which were bright enough to reflect their clours on the water.

Almost an hour after the sun had dipped below Ardnamurchan, the sky was still glowing with colour.  The horizon itself was a smoky brown; a band of brighter light spread around the western skyline and above that the clouds took on a deep red shade.  It had been another of those west coast of Scotland sunsets during which we felt ourselves participants rather than spectators, and with some of the best seats in the house.

Minutes later the colour drained from the sky and the stars emerged.  Soon the only bright light was from our fire; we sat late into the evening chatting and reflecting on how lucky we are to have the opportunity of experiences such as these.  The darkness around us wasn't quite complete though - we were treated to the fleeting brilliance of several very bright meteors, part of the Perseid meteor shower.  What a stunner of an evening!

The magic of a wild camp on Loch Sunart

By the time we reached Auliston Point we were in almost complete shelter from the southeasterly wind which continued to barrel up the Sound of Mull.  This had been one of the possibilities we'd discussed for our night's camp, so we gathered on the shore.....

...and climbed above the beach to a grassy meadow edged by basalt dykes with a great view across to Ardnamurchan. The ground was good for camping.......

....but the distance from the boats and the fact that the meadow was in the wind made it much less than ideal.  We decided to press on into Loch Sunart where we knew that there was good flat ground on the south shore of Loch na Droma Buidhe.  I was less than keen at the prospect of this spot for camping having previously experienced it in summer, and it would be completly sheltered from the wind which would very likely add midges and a flotilla of anchored yachts into the mix.

As it turned out, we found a great campsite before we arrived at Loch na Droma Buidhe; plenty of room on flat ground for our tents, accessible at all states of the tide and with a good supply of driftwood for the evening's fire.  We got the tents up and changed out of paddling gear, laying the kit out on the shore to air in the sun.  It had been a great day's sea kayaking in lively conditions, we could now relax into the evening.

David demonstrated his talents as a magician by first producing, like a rabbit from a hat, a collection of miniature bottles of Isle of Arran malt whiskies.

He then topped this - to the delight of the assembled audience - by making them disappear, one by one!.......

This was no sleight-of-hand illusion though,  there was magic in particular trick and the contents disappeared into our whisky cups!

This really is a big part of the magic of sea kayaking for me; a group of friends undertaking a journey together where the camps and the diversions are as integral as the distance travelled.  David's magic had been our pre-dinner entertainment and we were hopeful of a colourful evening "show".

Fortified on Loch Sunart

Emerging from the calm at the eastern end of Loch na Droma Buidhe, I was straight out into a stiff headwind and had an energetic twenty minutes paddling to cross to the north side of Loch Sunart.

My aiming point was a gap between two outcrops to the west of the island of Risga which framed the grand looking Glenborrodale Castle.  The present building, described on the excellent Canmore database of historical sites as "a florid vision in Annan sandstone rising up from sham fortifications" is a country house hotel and replaced an earlier building erected by the diamond magnate Charles Rudd, an associate of Cecil Rhodes.  The hotel website is very welcoming.......

...but not it seems, to everybody.  Welcome to Glenborrodale.  The law of Trespass in Scotland is a difficult one to define in a few words, but essentially if you don't damage property, don't intend to stay permanently and abide by the provisions of the Access section of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act - you are not trespassing.  Perhaps the sign is another "sham fortification"?

On the way back to Salen there's a site which is much older and certainly wasn't built as a sham fortification.  Dun Ghallain is situated on a tiny rocky islet, defended mostly by steep rock, but on one side by a tumbled wall. 

The fort walls enclose a small flat area at the summit of the islet, and the fort builders chose their site well.

The view extends almost the length of Loch Sunart in one direction....

.....while to the west the view stretches beyond the mouth of Loch Sunart and out to the Cairns of Coll. 

Although accessible at low water when a sandy spit conects Dun Ghallain to the shore, for most of the time the fort was protected by water. It couldn't withstand a prolonged attack, but this little fort must have been a real strategic asset to its builders.

The last leg of my short trip on lay close in on the north (Ardnamurchan) shore of Loch Sunart, and what a pleasant stretch it is.

There's interest in the shoreline rock, as here where a broad viein of quartz is intruded into the darker bedrock, the vein continuing down underwarer as far as I could see.

....while all along the shore the Atlantic Oakwood reaches to the water, interspersed in places with pine and larch.  In the clear air generated by a northerly airstream the colours simply "zinged". 

Arriving back at Salen, I used my trolley to haul the boat back up the shingle slip and got things sorted out and loaded to the car.  There was plenty of time to visit the Salen Jetty Shop for a post-paddle treat of coffee and cake.  The shop and coffee-shop are a new addition to Salen and a very welcome one, the range and quaility of goods on offer is really good and features local produce too.  It's worth knowing that the building also has toilets and showers available for jetty/shop customers.  The coffee was superb and the cake was exceptionally good, I left "well fortified" for the journey home across Scotland - as a sea-kayaking refreshment/resupply point, the Salen Jetty Shop rates 12/10!

This short trip from Salen to Loch Teacuis, around Oronsay to Loch na Dhroma Buidhe and return to Salen was about 45 kilometres.  There are tidal sections to negotiate with Spring rates of up to 3 knots at the entrance to Loch Teacuis, otherwise tidal streams are fairly weak. 

Salen can be reached either from the south and east by crossing to Sunart at the Corran Ferry and travelling on the A861 past Strontian; or from the north by the A830 from Fort William to Lochailort, then the A861 past Glenuig and Acharacle.  The A861 is a "classic" highland singletrack "A" road with passing places; it's narrow, twisty and always takes longer to drive than the mileage would suggest.  A significant issue is finding somewhere to park and access the water, particularly in summer.  Spaces are few and far between and it may need a degree of flexibility to find a suitable launch spot.  Three Ordnance Survey Landranger 1:50K sheets are required to cover the area - Sheet 47 (Tobermory & North Mull) and Sheet 40 (Mallaig & Glenfinnan) cover Loch Sunart, Sheet 49 (Oban & East Mull) covers Loch Teacuis.

Ticked off when camping at Loch na Dhroma Buidhe

After leaving Loch Teacuis via the western channel I paddled back out into Loch Sunart and around the north side of Oronsay. There are several islands of this name around the Scottish coast and in each case the Norse-Gaelic name indicates a tidal island, connected to the mainland or another island at lower states of the tide.

Out in the main loch the northerly wind had picked up to F5 and there was a distinctly bouncy sea running despite the short fetch from the north shore; it seemed that the wind was pouring over the Ardnamurchan peninsula and onto Loch Sunart.  I took no photographs for the next hour as I paddled past the inlets of Oronsay then down the west coast of the island to turn into much more sheletered water.....

...at the mouth of Loch na Droma Buidhe (Loch of the yellow ridge).  The entrance to this offhoot of Loch Sunart is narrow at the western end and very narrow at the eastern end where it dries out below half tide.

Being sheltered from almost all directions and with decent holding ground on the bottom, Loch na Droma Buidhe is one of the more popular yacht anchorages on this part of the west coast.  there were two yachts anchored when I arrived and three more arrived during the evening, including one on which, incongruously, an electric guitar was being played.  Badly.

I landed and set up camp on a grassy meadow, exposed to the midge deterring breeze but in the evening sunlight.  On this occasion, near high water Springs, there was no need to make a decision on whether to move the boat just above the high water mark or to move it next to the tent - here the two were pretty much the same place!  As a bonus, high water the following morning would be just as I was setting out, so no need to move the boat across the pebble shore then either.  As a camp site, it seemed to have lots of advantages.

The guitar player gave up as the sun dropped and the breeze grew distinctly chilly, though there was a lovely warm evening light on the hills.

I retired to the tent just as the last afterglow as fading from the sky to seaward and fell quickly asleep, but in the small hours of the morning I was wakened by the sound of disturbance around my boat.  I asumed it was deer and made a noise which sent everything quiet momentarily before I heard my paddles being rattled about in the cockpit. As I got out of the tent my head torch picked out the yellow glow of a fox's eyes on the shoreline.  My food and a rubbish bag were stowed in the boat and he must have been able to smell, but not find the goodies.  It took quite a long stand-off with some shouting from me before he took the hint and left.  I collected the food and rubbish bag to stow inside my tent and went back to bed.

The short time I was out of the tent may have contributed to the second, less palatable wildlife "experience" at this camp.  Dressing in the early morning light I noticed a couple of black dots on my ankles and removed a couple of tiny Ticks.  On getting home later that evening, the full extent of the problem became apparent - I was liberally covered from midriff down in Ticks - I stopped counting after removing over 30.  Fortunately they were all, except two, at the tiny larval stage and so unlikely to be a risk in terms of being a vector for Lyme Disease, nevertheless it was the greatest number of these pests I've ever picked up.

The breeze died just as I was finishing off taking down the tent in the morning which brought out the midges, but I was quickly on the water and away towards the very narrow eastern entrance to the loch.  The house here is reputed to have once been a tiny brewery as well as a ferry landing, but it's well past last orders these days.  The channel has a series of large rock outcrops with narrow, shallow channels between; no place for vessels much larger than a sea kayak and certainly not suitable for yachtsmen, however bold. 

Sailing and not sailing on Loch Sunart

A forecast with enough of a break in a run of poor weather set me looking at options for an overnight sea kayak journey. One of the places I had in mind was outer Loch Sunart and Loch Teacuis; on my previous visit to this area I'd paddled through but not really explored to any degree.

 I launched at Salen, which has a commercial yacht jetty, though sea kayaks can launch from the shingle slipway without charge. I managed to negotiate a place to park nearby, and offered a small donation to do so - parking has long been a significant issue right along the shore of Loch Sunart and suitable places are few.

Once on the water I crossed to the southern side of Loch Sunart near the dog-leg angle around Gearr Creag.  The weather was pretty much as forecast, a northerly breeze which would increase during the afternoon, initially cloudy but brightening up.  In this image Salen can just be seen above the bow of the boat.

A little further south west is the former settlement of Camas Salach (which seems to mean "foul bay" in Gaelic, perhaps referring to the rocky seabed).  Although there are now just two small holiday cottages here, there has been a settlement on this spot since at least 1560; remains of eleven buildings and a section of field wall have been identified in archaeological surveys, with a collection of charcoal burning platforms on the hillside above.  The tall cairn on the shore includes granite plaques with family names, perhaps of the current owners and their family.

As I continued south west along the shoreline a rather unusual jetty came into view.  Incorporated into and forming most of the structure is an old barge.

Which, it's safe to say, will not be sailing again anytime soon!  The barge was placed as a temporary jetty to facilitate the loading of timber extracted from the Glencripesdale estate, which is a long way from even a minor road.

In recent years the owner of the estate, a Mr Hugh Whittle, has been involved in a long-running planning application to build a large and very grand estate owner's house and an almost as grand "estate worker's dwelling" on the estate.  Initially refused, the second planning application was successful subject to a number of conditions - such as not subsequently subdividing the estate (to safeguard against their subsequent sale on a "parcel" of land), both buildings had to be occupied only by the persons referred to in the planning application (to prevent their use as sporting lodges/hotels) and a new jetty was to be built, removing the current temporary one - this condition was because all building materials were to be taken in by sea as a further condition of the planning consent.  Mr Whittle had claimed in the press to be the only estate owner in Scotland not to have a house on his estate.... however, he also owns Glenfeochan estate which has a pretty nice bijou home sited on it as well as a rental "cottage" sleeping eight - perhaps an indication of Mr Whittle's real intention for Glencripesdale.

As the barge remains in place, filled with rocks and with a road surface (and trees) on top, it would appear that this condition hasn't yet been met.  It would be quite a considerable task to remove this "temporary structure"!

The northerly breeze was picking up as I left Glencripesdale, so I hoisted sail and fairly birled along past the fish farm at Camas Glas (green bay) where the freighter "Harvest Caroline II" was unloading part of her cargo of fish food to the service spar module.  If you drive on highland roads, you may well have noticed Ferguson's timber lorries, part of a very successful independent business based in Spean Bridge dealing mainly in timber and aquaculture haulage.  Perhaps less well known is that the company is a maritime business too, with its own fleet of ships as well as port services.

As "Harvest Caroline II" completed her cargo discharge and prepared to sail (you can check out her current voyage here) I continued my own sailing, turning into the narrow Caol Charna.........

.....with a last look back up Loch Sunart to cloud-capped Ben Resipole.

I had now left the open water of the loch and was approaching the real interest of this trip, the narrow waters around Carna, Oronsay and Loch Teacuis.  On almost the only flat ground on the island of Cara lie a couple of neat traditional houses now used as holiday cottages, but on a much less intrusive and very different model to that envisaged at Glencripesdale!