Paradise lost and found and a miserable rock at Cul na Croise (Eden).

 We  had just set off from Camas an Leige on the north Ardnamurchan coast when Donald appeared from the west. He had very nearly made it round Ardnamurchan Point but wisely turned back due to increasing swell.

We could not resist landing again and this time Cul na Croise was peaceful as the helicopter had departed. After catching up and after Donald stretched his legs he...

...set off towards our next rendezvous on Eilean Shona.

 We set off more leisurely, enjoying the last moments on Cul na Croise.

Either the swell had got up or Donald's little 6HP motor produced more wake than we were expecting.

As we paddled along the strand, just beyond the surf line, we came across two sculptures which had been...

 ...left behind by the participants in the Eden reality TV show. I know the participants did not find the paradise that they had been hoping to find here but what they had lost, we had found.

We turned our bows to the north and paddled inside the lonely islet of Sgeir an Eididh (loosely translated: miserable rock), we did not stop.

We made landfall at Rubha na Caillich north of Ardtoe. Our next destination was another...

...piece of paradise: turquoise waters leading to a dazzling shell sand beach on the north side of the South Channel of Loch Moidart.

A little west of Eden.

26/03/2017

 From Smirisary we paddled south along the rugged coast of Moidart which...

...is split asunder by the straight and narrow north channel of Loch Moidart. The view through the channel to the SE leads to the summit of Garbh Bheinn (885m, "rough mountain") in Ardgour, some 30km distant.

To seaward the Sgurr of Eigg and the Rum Cuillin created a...

 ...jagged horizon between the calm blue Sea of the Hebrides and the clear blue sky.

 The western side of Eilean Shona completed the rugged landscape that contrasted with...

 ...the almost surreal and unseasonal calmness of the sea.

As we continued our passage south, the angle  between the Sgurr of Eigg and the more distant Rum Cuillin gradually reduced until our further progress was...

 ...blocked by our arrival at the the Ardnamurchan peninsula.

Our eyes had been drawn to the magnificent beach of Cul na Croise, which had been a live practice ground for the D-Day landings in WW2. At first it sounded like they were still practicing...

...as a helicopter flew back and forward overhead ferrying loads of gear out of the forest behind the dunes.  Until just 6 days before our arrival, this had been the site of Channel 4's ill fated reality TV show Eden. New Yorker magazine described it as "reality TV's wildest disaster". It makes interesting reading. It turned into something pretty dark, nearer Lord of the Flies than Big Brother.

For some peace and quiet we decided to head further west towards Camas an Lighe and on the way...

...found a quieter corner with an incredible view...

....to the Small Isles and...

...their jagged mountains which made a stunning location for...

...second luncheon, albeit a little west of Eden.

Sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar 2014.

I wish a very Happy New Year and a great 2014 paddling season to all visitors to seakayakphoto.com. As way of a celebration of the last year and in anticipation of sea kayaking adventures yet to come, here is the 10th annual sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar from seakayakphoto.com. I apologise for its late arrival. Neither my computer nor myself have been in the best of health.

As in past calendars, all the photos were taken during the previous year (2013). Unfortunately I have not been paddling over the last 6 months so the choice of photos has been more limited than previous years. Nevertheless I have been able to choose photos from north and south of Ardnamurchan Point, the Inner Hebrides, the North Channel, the Firth of Clyde and the Solway Firth.

January.

The Little Cumbrae lighthouse in the Firth of Clyde proved surprisingly popular despite being in the depths of winter. We met friends from the Drumchapel and Clydebank Kayak Club there.

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February.

Rubha Carrach is on the exposed northern coast of Ardnamurchan. This coast is not paddled as often as it should be. Most circumnavigators of the British mainland cross to Eigg or Rubh' Arisaig on their headlong dash north. Paddlers staying in the area are faced with a circumnavigation of the whole Ardnamurchan peninsula if they only have one car, or a very long shuttle (over very slow single track) if they have two cars.

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March.

Glenuig Bay opens into the Sound of Arisaig and views extend along the Ardnamurchan peninsula and to Muck and the other Small Isles. One of the great joys of winter paddling is returning in the dark!

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April.

The north coast of Rum in the Sea of the Hebrides is a wild place. This is the sad wreck of the Jack Abry II, a French trawler that ran on to the rocks here just before midnight on the 31st January 2011. Fortunately, despite a gale and the surrounding cliffs and mountains, all 14 men on board were airlifted to safety by the Stornoway coastguard helicopter.

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May.

The Mull of Kintyre is a rather committing paddle. The tide was moving at  6 knots and even in benign conditions there was no landing for 25km. It sticks out into the North Channel which separates Scotland from Ireland. On this misty day there was no sign of Ireland and we felt like we were paddling round the edge of the World.

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June.

Kylie the dolphin can often be found near Ardlamont buoy at the

mouth of the the Kyles of Bute.

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July.

Murray's Isles lie in the mouth of Fleet Bay on the Solway Firth. In early summer they host noisy colonies of cormorants and gulls. The cormorants need to keep a watchful eye on their eggs and chicks as the gulls swoop down on any unguarded nest. It is a wonderful experience to drift in the tide past the colonies in kakak and watch, hear and smell the constant activity.

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August.

Nothing can be finer than paddling across the mouth of Loch Fyne on a summer evening.

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September.

The surf beach at Machrihanish is exposed to the North Atlantic swell and extends for over 6 kilometers. It is probably wise not to surf a fully laden sea kayak in amongst the surfers. The dune system behind the beach is one of the largest in Scotland.

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October.

Shoe Bay is easily missed as it is hidden in the skerries at the mouth of Loch Moidart. The name comes from the very soft sand which swallows footwear!

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November.

The dramatic outline of An Sgurr is the highest point of Eigg in the Sea of the Hebrides.

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December.

This is the view to the Small Isles from the silver sands of Morar Bay.  The bay is shallow and tidal and in a westerly wind, steep breaking waves build up as the ebb tide rushes over sandbars. On this trip the wind was from the east and all was calm.

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Luncheon at Shoe Bay.

 Ian and I paddled across the south mouth of Loch Moidart towards Eilean Shona and a little inlet....

 ...which lies hidden at the back of...

 ...a cleft of...

 ...turquoise water...

 ...that runs deep into the grey rocks of Moidart.

The silvery sands of Shoe Bay are very soft...

 ...and have claimed very many shoes over the years.

 We climbed to a knoll above the sands where we enjoyed a view...

 ...of the Ardnamurchan peninsula along which we had recently paddled.

We enjoyed a first luncheon washed down by a dram of The Singleton. We found a cork from a bottle of Bollinger, which suggested that suggested that silver slippers and not just Lomo boots may have been lost in the soft sands of Shoe Bay.

Better days in Kentra Bay.

After a good breakfast at Glenuig Inn, Ian and I launched in the small sandy cove of Ardtoe. It is situated at the root of the great peninsula of Ardnamurchan. It was just after high water, so we decided to start our day by exploring the tidal inlet of Kentra Bay.

As we approached the narrow entrance, the coast to our left was composed of grey rocks interspersed with white sand beaches and on our right...

 ...lay the Small Isles and...

 ...the snow covered Cuillin of Skye.

 We paddled into Kentra Bay under a leaden sky and upon a glassy sea.

 Wild wooded slopes tumbled steeply to the shores and...

 ...the ebb tide was already streaming through...

 ....the gaps between the rocky islets.

 We passed an old boathouse and a carefully...

 ...moored old Nordkapp.

Although it was March, the birch woods were still in the grip of winter. Maybe the trees were expecting the coming snows...

 This moored dinghy had seen better days but...

 ...the old Ardtoe pier is made of sterner stuff, its great stones have weathered many storms.

Nearby houses perched on the cliffs, while their boat houses clung to rocks by the shore.