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Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Responsibly exercising our legal right to wild camping on Holy Island, Arran.

 It was still raining heavily when we paddled through the gap between tiny Hamilton Isle and...

 ...Clauchlands Point on the Arran mainland.

 Holy Island lay across Lamlash Bay and as it was getting late we decided to wild camp on the island.

 we were not the only ones heading south. This submarine appeared out of the mist and rain.

 We decided to avoid the area on the east of Holy island because of the Buddhist prayer poles and the NW of the island due to the residential buildings for the volunteers. We also avoided the best bit of shingle because of nesting gulls, oyster catchers and ringed plovers. Despite a previous history of kayakers being asked to leave and the monks warning on their website "We strongly discourage camping anywhere on the island" and "no fires are lit",  we were happy to exercise our legal right of discrete wild camping.

 It was still pouring with rain a a cold northerl;y breeze got up. We decided to warm ourselves by a small fire. We respected the monks request and lit our fire below high water mark (as we always do anyway). The driftwood on the shore was all soaking wet but I had brought my patent fire lighter...a bag of barbecue charcoal.

 Despite Mike's misgivings we soon had a small fire going. As it was very wet, we stayed in our dry suits to cook our meal.

We enjoyed our meal by the fire and just for a second or two, there was a hint of a sunset. Ian pointed out a woodcock which flew backwards and forwards patrolling its territory round the edge of the wonderful new mixed woodland which has been planted by the volunteers.

 The following morning we were up at 6am and I took a stroll along the beach and was pleased to see that the previous no landing and no camping signs had been removed. We broke camp and left no trace. There was no sign of the ashes of the fire which had been washed away by the tide.

Just as we were about to leave at 0730 we were approached by a very pleasant and polite female volunteer. She made no comment about camping not being allowed and was interested to hear where we had come from and where we were going. We chatted for some time about the west coast in general before she headed back along the path towards the Buddhist centre. Before she went, I noticed that while she was chatting with us, she had a good look at where we had camped and the area of woodland behind. We were pleased that nothing untoward had been noted before saying goodbye.

A few minutes later another female volunteer arrived from the other direction. She too was interested in our trip and made no comment about camping. She had not been on the island very long and I was able to tell her several things about the history of the island and how once many families had lived on the island. She was unaware of this and I pointed out some ancient lazy beds that had been used by crofters to grow crops. I was also able to tell her that a female ancestor of mine had been born on Holy Island in the early 18th century then moved to a another croft at Corriecravie on the SW of Arran when she got married. We said pleasant goodbyes to this volunteer and thought that camping problems on Holy Isle were over until...

When we got home we discovered that another two kayakers had camped on exactly the same spot as us three nights later. They thought the beach was too rough to land on so they paddled round to the Buddhist Centre and used their slipway before starting to trolley the kayaks round to where we had camped. Being right under the eye of the Centre, a volunteer came down and "strongly advised them not to camp" though he did acknowledge that he could "not prevent you". I rather thought that this was like waving a red rag at a bull and given the past history of camping problems on Holy Island  I certainly would not have chosen to arrive so blatantly. Indeed the owner of nearby Sanda recently tried to stop people landing but was only able to prevent them using the pier and slipway, which were his property. The Land Reform Act allows people to access the land from a beach but not from private property such as a slipway or a pontoon. In this case, the monks could have very reasonably refused access to the kayakers and sent them back to the water.

My advice is that it is legal to wild camp on Holy Island but do so sensibly and discretely. Arrive late and leave early to minimise disturbance, don't stay for a whole day or more. Be a small party, large parties by their nature are not discrete. Leave no trace. Don't camp by the prayer poles or near shore nesting birds near the NW point.

With respect to wild camping, here is an extract from the Scottish Outdoor Access Code:

Access rights extend to wild camping. This type of camping is lightweight, done in small numbers and only for two or three nights in any one place. You can camp in this way wherever access rights apply but help to avoid causing problems for local people and land managers by not camping in enclosed fields of crops or farm animals and by keeping well away from buildings, roads or historic structures. Take extra care to avoid disturbing deer stalking or grouse shooting. If you wish to camp close to a house or building, seek the owner’s permission. Leave no trace by: taking away all your litter; removing all traces of your tent pitch and of any open fire (follow the guidance for lighting fires) not causing any pollution.

With respect to lighting a small fire on the foreshore, here is an extract from the Scottish Outdoor Access Code: "Public rights on the foreshore will continue to exist, including shooting, wildfowl, fishing for sea fish, lighting fires, beachcombing, swimming, playing and picnicking."

I have previously posted on this subject:, it is worth reading some of the comments.

An excessive attachment to the land.
The Outer Light of Holy Island...Scotland's forbidden Island.
Scottish access problem, is Holy Island closed?
Holy Island of two faiths, Arran.
Do Holy Island Monks think they are above the Law of Scotland?
Holy Island, the cave of St Molaise and modern day monks.


21 comments:

  1. Douglas, I am glad to hear that despite having the right to camp on Holy Island you took the "low profile" approach and had a pleasant camp. As population increases I find myself more and more locked out of places where I would like to camp (Australia, USA, Austria).
    I much more approve of laws that allow to camp on public and private land (of course with due respect to they owners) instead of being locked out completely. In a few months I will be again on the Swedish East coast archipelago where I can camp anywhere I want. Because of that rule I plan to spend 6 weeks sea kayaking, all them camping.
    Despite most the island being privately owned one can set up camp anywhere, as long as it is within reasonable distance from a dwelling. It would be royal pain to work out what and where is permitted otherwise, with so many islands and some many inviting locations where to camp. Somehow there seems to be no conflict between land owners and campers. I can only dream of that being the case in other places around the world

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    1. Hi we are going to Sweden / Norway soon and want to kayak any advice ????

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    2. @ Allison: Sweden's East coast is a paddling paradise with more than 30.000 islands in the Stockholm archipelago alone one can really have so many different places to go. Restocking with food and water is extremely easy in villages along the coast (or on islands). Water is warm enough to not need a dry suit (in summer) and can be used for cooking because less salty than the ocean. Locals speak perfect English with American accent (from watching non translated movies) and the waterways are busy with sailing boats but very few motor boats. There are many light houses to visit (if that interest you) and plenty of deserted islands with very easy landing (there is always nice smooth granite to land on)
      I like the coast North from Nynasham to Svedjelandet the best. Visit my blog if you want to see videos of sea kayaking in the Baltic sea (tag: Sweden)

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    3. Hi Gnarly have a great trip in the Baltic! I understand the Scottish Land Reform Act was partly based on the Scandinavian model of access. Things have greatly improved in Scotland sice the introduction of the Act.

      Allison, I hope you have a great trip too.

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  2. Gosh Douglas, who were the numpties that pulled their kayaks up the monks slipway? Do they not realize that that sort of behaviour spoils it for the rest of us?

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    1. Hi Gary, good to hear from you. They were not numpties. It is just their inexperience. It was only their second camping trip and they are both well aware that upsetting a landlord will impact on those that follow.

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  3. "They thought the beach was too rough to land on so they paddled round to the Buddhist Centre and used their slipway before starting to trolley the kayaks round to where we had camped."

    Douglas forgive me, this seems so unlikely , you are making this up, right?

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    1. Hi Jim, surprising yes but it did happen. As I said to Gary above, it was only their second camp and as they have just bought new composite boats, they were reluctant to land on the beach where we were able to land more discretely in case they scratched their boats. I am sure they will be reconsidering landing strategies in the future.

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  4. Hi Douglas I am enjoying reading your blog and also Ian's blog. I sypathise with the two kayakers. Some years ago we were visited by two monks in robes and asked to leave immediately. Rather than create a scene we leftjust before it got dark. luckily we got camped at clauchland Point not too far away. I think the kayakers did well to stand their ground but like Gary I fear their actions will only have inflamed the situation.

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    1. Thanks for posting your experience Alison. It could not have been pleasant having to leave at that time of night.

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  5. I am working on Arran at the moment and in the pub in Lamlash last night I overheard about this incident with two kayakers pulling their kayaks up at the Bhuddhist centre slipway then camping. The guy who I think might run the Holy Island ferry was telling his friends that the monks are now going to patrol the path round the north of the island night and morning to discourage campers arriving by kayak. Robert

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    1. Ok Douglas given that they were new to kayak camping I was wrong to use the word numpties... guys/gals if you are reading this...sorry. However the news from Robert confirms my fears that this may have escalated the monks wish to strongly discourage wild camping. Cheers Gary.

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  6. Unfortunately this blog has collected quite a bit of spam which I have deleted. I accidentaly deleted the following post from Robert:
    Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Responsibly exercising our legal right to wild cam...":

    I am working on Arran at the moment and in the pub in Lamlash last night I overheard about this incident with two kayakers pulling their kayaks up at the Bhuddhist centre slipway then camping. The guy who I think might run the Holy Island ferry was telling his friends that the monks are now going to patrol the path round the north of the island night and morning to discourage campers arriving by kayak. Robert



    Posted by Anonymous to Sea kayaking with SeaKayakPhoto.com at 10:24 pm

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  7. Sorry I deleted your post Robert, I have pasted the above from the copy that gets sent to my email. Thanks for letting us know about this local news. I heard similar from another source this morning so I fear it is true.

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  8. Hello Douglas, I think the main issue here is the fact that the monks want to strongly discourage wild camping when it is legal to do so. I have followed your blog for some time and it has inspired me to head out on my first camping trip next month. Like the two kayakers on Holy Island who I sympathise with I am concerned in case I end up in an access hotspot. Is there any way to find out where these hotspots are? Thanks.

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    1. Thank you Alan. Fortunately in the days of the internet it is now easy to do a little research before hand. A simple google search Iona wil camping comes up with this among other relevant pages. The SCA website and the UKSKGB community and Almanac pages are a mine of information. The majority of land in Scotland is owned by a relatively small number of very rich people. two centuries ago much of the land was cleared of its native inhabitants to create big hunting and shooting estates. These tend to have very large houses and coastal estates often have houses near the sea often with convenient boathouses, slipways and short grass above a sandy beach. I always avoid camping near or in sight of these. I like to land out of sight and I tend to like to arrive late and leave early to avoid any chance of confrontation. It is vital to leave no trace of your campsite.Have a great trip. :o)

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  9. Hi folks I am afraid the spam built up on this post overnight and some real messages have got caught in the spam filter I have again deleted several real posts by others by mistake I have restored Alan's post here is another from Darren which I unfortunately deleted forever:

    Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Responsibly exercising our legal right to wild cam...":

    Hi Douglas, I think the Scottish law is a great idea. Where I live we have very limited places to wild camp and most of them you have to book in advance. Thanks for your blog I hope to visit Scotland one day. Darren :-)


    Posted by Anonymous to Sea kayaking with SeaKayakPhoto.com at 02:08 am

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    1. Thank you Darren, sorry I deleted your post. I hope you do manage to visit Scotland and have an enjoyable trip. The vast majority of Scotland's wild land is free to access, it is just a tiny number of hotspots that cause bother today.

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  10. Hi Douglas thanks for your blog. As a resident of Arran I do have a little sympathy for the monks. While I think discrete wild camping should be allowed on Holy Island I think the two kayakers were out of order to blatantly pull their kayaks up in front of the Centre. Wild camping is something that needs to be learned. The two kayakers should have learned their camping skills in the Scouts or as part of a kayak club.About three years ago another two novice paddlers camped on the east side of the island near the prayer poles and and in full view of the retreat in the outer lighthouse then they lit a big fire. The following day was too windy for them so they landed at the inner lighthouse and portaged through the private area round the women's retreat and back up to the Centre. There they discovered the ferry was not running so the monks put them up overnight in the volunteers residence and fed them. That is why I have a little sympathy for the monks. For some reason some novice campers just don't seem to be able to do discrete. John

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    1. Hi John, thanks for your post. It is good to hear a local point of view. There are always two sides to any story. It is up to us to make sure that wild camping is discrete and does not bother the monks.

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