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Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Eyes left and right for Garroch Head.

We set off in the sunshine towards Gull Point at the south end of Little Cumbrae and Garroch Head on Bute beyond but...

 ...our eyes kept being drawn every way except straight ahead. Towards the SW and Arran, which was our...

 ...ultimate destination of the day.

Away to the SE, a glimpse of Ailsa Craig some 50 odd kilometres away over the open sea brought back memories of visits to that glorious granite rock opf the gannets last spring.

When we approached Little Cumbrae,  the house, castle and...

 ...cliffs of Gull Point were all illuminated in the reddish glow of the dawn.

 As we crossed from Little Cumbrae the sun rose, the light turned bluer and a...

 ...delightdful Little breeze picked up but...

 ...it did not last long. By now we had paddled far enough to enjoy the view straight up Glen Sannox to the perfect pyramid of Cir Mhor at its head but...

 ...the view to our right was also a stoater. The snow covered peaks of the Arrochar Alps, some 60 km to the north.

After a surprisingly high ferry angle across the last of the neap ebb, we arrived under St Blane's Hill on Garroch Head. Our destination was Port Leithne but the tide was...

...out just revealing a jumble of submerged boulders in the  landing zone. Maurice was able to test his dry suit when he fell into a deep hole less than half a boat length from the shore.

Despite the sun it was so cold we kept our buoyancy aids on while we enjoyed a first winter luncheon on the rocks of Garroch Head.