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Once we were in the lee of the Cock of Arran and out of the main tidal stream the water flattened and we approached Glen Sannox under sombre grey skies..
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The clouds also began to lift, revealing the mountains of Arran and its little neighbour, Holy Island.
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Alan and Phil had both managed remarkably well given the conditions and their relatively recent introduction to sea kayaking. David, Gavin, Tony and I had a thoroughly enjoyable crossing.
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Soon the exposure of the Sound of Bute was replaced by a feeling of enclosure as the great igneous mountains of Glen Sannox gathered round the mouth of Sannox Bay. These granite peaks are the eroded remains of a huge volcano which existed about 56 million years ago.
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The U shaped valleys told of the gathering glaciers that had then gouged this great gorge in the grey granite of Arran's mountains.
21/03/2009