The secret beach at the centre of the marvellous maze of the Moai of Mull.

Once we left the shelter of Balfour's Bay we were soon back in the wind. Donald in the F-Rib went on ahead as we were going to be  exploring some shallow channels.

 It did not take long to reach the maze of islands and reefs of the west coast of Erraid.

 It really is a maze and I had to reassure the others that we were on the right track and there would be a stunning secret beach at the end of it.

 I knew I was on the right track when I spotted the guardian of the beach, one of the Moai of Mull (I had been this way before back in 2007).

 A couple more corners and there it was, the secret beach of the Moai of Mull. As the sun dipped towards Iona in the west our long shadows moved over the bottom of the sandy bay as we...

 ...slid into land on the strip of white shell sand.

 We set off in different directions to explore...

 ...the natural amphitheatre  of pink rocks.

We were grateful our kayaks had allowed us to explore this wonderful spot. But do not feel sorry for Donald in the F-Rib, he was off to the other side of the Sound of Iona exploring the Iona coastline/

 Ian and I climbed to a rocky knoll and surveyed the maze of the Moai of Mull we had just paddled through.

The sea pink looked marvellous against the pink granite rocks.

 Lengthening shadows of sea shells on the sand meant it was time to...

...return to the boats, if we wanted to find our way out of the maze in daylight.

Taking the plunge in Balfour's Bay

On the south coast of Erraid we came across a breach in the pink granite walls of rock. It led in to a dazzling...

 ...white sandy beach called Traigh Gheal (white beach, the Gaels were an imaginative lot!) though it is better known as David Balfour'sBay. Robert Louis Stevenson experienced the island while on visits with his father who was constructing the Dubh Artach lighthouse on the edge of the Torran rocks. Unfortunately RLS was the black sheep of the Livingstone lighthouse dynasty. He had no interest in following his father's footsteps and became an author. He later used his knowledge of the island in his novel "Kidnapped". The hero David Balfour was shipwrecked on the Torran rocks during a storm and was washed up on this beach on Erraid. He spent several hungry wet days eating limpets before he realised it was a tidal island and walked off at low tide!

Unlike Balfour we arrived in a flat calm and a May heatwave. The air temperature was 24C but the sea was still only 9C.

One by one our little flotilla landed and we...

...drew our boats up the beach for an extended luncheon but first...

Photo by Ian Johnstone.

...I wasted no time in diving straight into the freezing cold water. It was extremely refreshing and so I did not stay in long but enjoyed the zing as I dried in the sun afterwards. After lunch Ian and Alan also joined me for a post prandial swim and again we dried in the sun. Later, I could not resist going in for a third swim. I have found this to be the secret of sea swimming in Scotland, several short swims are better than one long one.

After the swimmers had dried we all explored different areas of the bay before making our way...

...back to the boats. I had in mind a visit to another stunning beach, much less well known than Balfour's Bay, but could I remember how to find it?

Erraid and Tinker's Hole

 We set off from Fidden campsite through a maze of...

 ..pink granite skerries.

Donald kept well out in his little RIB but we...

 ...were able to paddle through the shallows where the water was as clear as green glass.

We reached the rocky shore of Erraid. Alan is looking at the cottages which were built for the keepers of the Dubh Artach lighthouse and later the keepers of the Skerryvore lighthouse joined them when the Skerryvore shore station at Hynish in Tiree closed. The lighthouse engineer was Thomas Stevenson, father of the author Robert Louis Stevenson (more about him in the next post).

 High above Lorna on the skyline of Erraid, the white dome of...

 ...the lighthouse signal tower looks out over the  Sea of the Hebrides to the distant lights.

As we paddled round the pink granite shore of Erraid it was baking hot especially when we entered the narrow windless channel of the Tinker's Hole. Ian is down to a T shirt but was still too hot.

We caught up with Donald who had stopped on a tidal sand spit to photograph the signal station.

He passed us again as there is a deep channel through the gap.

 Tinkers Hole is a well known yacht anchorage as it is well sheltered given the otherwise exposed position of the Ross of Mull.

 We took our time as we were...

 ...in no hurry to leave...

 ...this magical place of cool green sea and...

 ...and warm pink rock but all too soon...

 ...we left the confines of Tinker's Hole and...

...exited onto the exposed south coast of Erraid.

Last supper on Mull

Mike had caught more mackerel and we enjoyed our last meal together on Mull here on the beautiful sands of Traigh Gheal, on Erraid. David demonstrates the size of the one that got away from his hook.


For the last time we carried the boats up Fidden beach. This was almost the first time that we had to carry boats from the low water mark. Up until now our daily schedule had been dictated by the tides and we tried to launch and land round high water. However, a new force was gradually reentering our lives, which was even greater than the force of the tide. Some know it as the "daily grind" and for us it was embodied by the Calmac ferry timetable...


The MV Isle of Mull docked punctually at Craignure and our expedition to Mull was all but over.

21/07/2007

PS
I have now been posting about our Mull trip since 20/7/2007. I hope you have enjoyed this virtual paddle with us and that, if you are able, you will one day paddle on these amazing waters yourself. :o)

The Moa of Mull

Unlike the moai of Rapa Nui, which all turn their backs to the sea, the great moa of Mull faces resolutely towards the west and the open sea. This mimetolith can be found on the pink granite rocks on the coast of Eilean Dubh which lies to the west of Erraid.

21/07/2007

The right shade of white.

Our last day on Mull was spent investigating the many stunning white shell sand beaches on the south coast of the Ross of Mull and Erraid.


Both these beaches are called Traigh Gheal. This is not particularly surprising since most Gaelic place names are simple descriptions. In this case, the English would be "white beach". Of course, the Gaelic is much more precise than the English. There are several Gaelic words for white that are commonly applied to places: gheal (geal), bhan (ban) and fionn. It's got to be the right shade of white.

21/07/2007

Red rock sunset on Erraid

As the sun slowly moved towards the northwest, the granite rocks of Erraid glowed red above the white shell sand beaches.


Finally the sun sank behind the grey gneiss of Iona and the sky above turned to fire. Far below, in the gathering darkness, our boats gently kissed the sands of Fidden and the Ross of Mull.

David Balfour's Bay Erraid

We set off from Fidden on the Ross of Mull to circumnavigate the island of Erraid. It was late evening in July and the thunder clouds of earlier in the day had moved SW over the distant Scottish mainland. After the rain, the sky was clear and bright as we wended our way through the skerries.


We stopped at Traigh Gheal on the island's SW coast. The white shell sand and red granite contrasted with the turquoise of the shallow waters. Robert Louis Stevenson, the author, spent time here while his father was constructing the remote lighthouses at Skerryvore and Dubh Artach (which lie far to the west and south west). In his novel "Kidnapped" the hero, David Balfour, was shipwrecked on this beach.