We left Castle Tiorum and continued...
...our exploration of the
South Channel of Loch Moidart. The wooded sides of Riska island fall steeply into the blue waters of the loch.
Our tour of the inner Loch Moidart continued past Eilean an Fheidh (deer isle) and...
...tiny Eilean na Craoibhe (tree isle). Normally we are in a desperate hurry here as we have usually been rushing before the ebb tide dries the \North Channel. This time we were...
...in no hurry as we were waiting for the flood tide...
...to fill the the North Channel. It was most pleasing to round the east end of Shona Beag and see clear water stretching away down the channel towards the Sgurr of Eigg on the distant horizon..
We passed the long abandoned hamlet of Egnaig on the north shore. Its inhabitants had abandoned their homes long before the first road came to this part of Moidart in 1966. The road arrived well before grid electricity which did not arrive in Moidart until 1988!
The Sgurr of Eigg is a magnificent sight all the way down the north channel. It was formed when an ancient river valley was flooded with lava from the Rum volcano. The lava cooled quickly forming very hard pitchstone. The glaciers in the Ice Age then scoured away the softer rocks that had contained the river valley, leaving the Sgurr as it is today.
The north channel has a narrow entrance hemmed in by precipitous cliffs then...
....opens out into an area of reefs with coral sand beaches that are exposed at low tide.
As we left Loch Moidar,t a pair of sea eagles watched us from high on these cliffs.
Our bows turned north again. It was getting late in the afternoon and fourth luncheon was calling. Not far ahead we spotted the ideal place...
Beautiful photography. That coastline has some amazing features.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Bob. That trip was actually this time last year but I have not been feeling so great recently and am not paddling or internetting much these days. The treatment is working though so hopefully I will back firing on all cylinders soon :o)
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