...decided to head for the Arran ferry instead. When we arrived it was pouring with rain so we changed into our dry suits in the comfort of the car deck as the vehicles were disembarking before us.
We were on the water just after the MV Caledonian Isles left to return to Ardrossan however, we were slightly delayed in setting off. The little beach to the east of the ferry jetty is composed of coarse sand and fine shingle. There is guaranteed to be something that will jam every skeg box and indeed each of us had to clear our skeg boxes twice before we had working skegs.
We decided to circumnavigate clockwise and spend the first two days running south before the strongest winds of the weekend. I always enjoy the sense of weightlessness that occurs as soon as you get a heavily laden sea kayak afloat. Soon after leaving Brodick we spotted the first of many otters we would see round Arran.The woods along the shore were full of birdsong.
The pouring rain did nothing to dampen our spirits but looking back...
...a stream of dark clouds was streaming downwind from the summit of Goatfell.
The east Arran hills were still covered in wild hyacinths which are commonly called bluebells (but the Scottish bluebell is actually the harebell).
Just before 20:15 we spotted the peak of our destination, Holy Island rising behind Clauchlands Point. There have been recent problems of access for wild camping on Holy Island caused by the Buddhist monks banning camping, However, I had recently been reassured by the Ayrshire and Arran Access Officer that the the monks (who own) the island had now accepted that under the Scottish Land Reform Act, they could not ban people from wanting to wild camp. However (as of today) the Holy Island web site still states "We strongly discourage camping anywhere on the island" which is clearly at odds with the Law of Scotland. What sort of welcome would we get...?