Sea kayaking round Kerrera

From Oban sea front round Kerrera, a 23km day paddle on the Firth of Lorn, February 2011.

Crossing Oban Bay to Kerrera. 

Although we started in the town, most usually the best launches would be from Corran Esplanade or from Ganavan Sands. You can also launch over rocks north of the Kerrera ferry, opposite yacht moorings but not at the ferry itself.

Tidal flows.

Sound of Kerrera the flood enters the south end and exits the north end by Oban.

In mid channel:
NE going flood begins +0430 HW Oban (-0100 HW Dover) 1 to 2.5 knots springs.
SW going ebb begins -0155 HW Oban (+0500 HW Dover)  1 to 2.5 knots springs.

In the channel between Bach Island and Kerrera.
Times as above flow 2.5 knots springs. Wind against tide here can cause a nasty steep sea.

Kerrera is usually seen as a beginner trip but even in the calm conditions of this trip we were unable to land on the south coast due to swell. I have never been able to land at Gylen Castle.

Better days in the Sound of Kerrera

Max, the parrot vampire of Kerrera!

Turning a corner on Kerrera

Wot a Loti toing and froing in Oban harbour.

Swanning about in Oban.


A previous trip.
















 

Wot a Loti toing and froing in Oban harbour.

The rain started as we continued up the NW coast of Kerrera. The rain hissed into the calm sea around us...

 ..and the seascape turned steadily to muted shades of grey.

Phil cut a colourful dash on the Firth as we approached the northern entrance to Oban Bay.

 We let Loti* enter the channel before us and enjoyed a good surf in on her wake.

We stopped for a second luncheon on a pebble beach on the south side of the channel below the Hutchison Monument.

No sooner had we set off than  MV Isle of Mull approached Maiden Isle at the mouth of the channel.

It is a tight squeeze for ships entering the harbour and sea kayaks have to keep clear! Again, we caught her wake, before it was our turn to enter the harbour...

 ...before MV Eigg, the Lismore ferry, nipped in behind us.

In the meantime, MV Mull had to wait for Loti, to turn round her passengers and clear the berth. A busy spot!

* MV Lord of the Isles

Turning a corner on Kerrera

 We were unable to land at Gylen Castle as there was some surf breaking on the steep rocky beach so we carried on towards the south west point of Kerrera. The crashing of the waves on the dark rock of Kerrera was the only sound.

On the way, we passed interesting natural castles of conglomerate rock sitting on top of what looked like a layer of dsark basaltic rock.

The mountains of Mull came in to view as we entered the gap between Rubha nan Feundain and little Bach Island. It was the height of a large spring tide, which was travelling north through the gap at 5km/hour. All was flat as there was almost no wind but this can be a bumpy place in wind over tide conditions. It is also a good spot to see porpoises.

Turning north into the Firth of Lorn, there were no trees on this exposed side of Kerrera.  The shore alternated between steep rocks and great smooth gently sloping slabs of basalt, like natural slipways.

Away to the north, NLV Pole Star was working at navigation buoys on the approach to the Sound of Mull. A blink of sun lit up the snow covered hills of Morvern, contrasting with an otherwise grey sea scape.

Port Phadruaig offered a welcome break for a winter luncheon. We were surrounded by calmness and serenity

Max, the parrot vampire of Kerrera!

We paddled down the Sound of Kerrera under darkening skies.

The great bulk of Scarba appeared in the distance and the wind dropped away to nothing.

The smoke from a lonely cottage on Little Horseshoe Bay curled lazily skyward. It is the home of Yvonne Macmillan and at least a dozen parrots!

Photo STV.

Yvonne has set up a sanctuary for distressed parrots on this remote spot on the island of Kerrera. Parrots are very companionable birds but need a lot of care and attention, otherwise they can develop behaviour problems. The island of Kerrera is now a sanctuary for distressed parrots. Yvonne is a parrot behaviour consultant, possibly the only one in Scotland. In 2009, STV made a charming short film of her interesting story. In it you will hear how a distressed Max bit Yvonne's neck right on the jugular! My father was a vet, my daughter and paddling companion David are vets and I know how pets can enhance peoples lives. It is good to know that people like Yvonne are prepared to look after needy companion animals.

With "Pieces of Eight, Pieces of Eight" and "This parrot is not deceased, it bit my jugular!" ringing in our ears, we  continued down the wooded east coast of Kerrera...

...until we came across the ruins...

...of Gylen Castle, which was quite free of parrots, though it looked spooky enough for more traditional vampires!.

Better days in the Sound of Kerrera

This was the view from the sea front at Oban. In the near distance the island of Kerrera shelters Oban from the open waters of the Firth of Lorn. In the distance, the mountains of Mull were topped by a snow covered Ben More, at  966m, the highest mountain in the Inner Hebrides.

 A front was rapidly crossing the sky from the SE...

 ...as we crossed Oban Bay to Kerrera.

Ahead a monument to David Hutcheson stands above the narrow channel, which the many ferries from Oban take to the islands. Hutchieson founded a shipping company, which has now become Caledonian Macbrayne.

To the north the mountains of Morvern were stll in the sunlight but low lying Lismore was already in the shade. The Lismore ferry, MV Eigg, was entering the channel below Dunollie Castle.

 As we approached Mount Pleasant on Kerrara we came across a ruined ship which was exposed...

...by the low spring tide. She had clearly seen better days.

Dark deeds on the north shore of Oban Bay.

It was now time to leave the bustle of Oban.


Having said that, it has one of the most picturesque settings of any Scottish sea side town. Oban Bay is protected by the lovely isle of Kerrera, seen here on the right. The narrow Sound of Kerrera stretches away to the south west. The distant island of Insh can be seen through the far entrance to the Sound. Oban Marina is actually situated on Kerrera with a water bus to connect to Oban. The marina welcomes visiting sea kayakers, they have showers, laundry and a restaurant.


We made our way along Oban Bay's north shore, past the diminutive lighthouse...


...and the imposing bulk of Dunollie Castle. The keep dates from the 15th century but the first fortifications date from the 7th. It belonged to the MacDougall clan, the Lords of Lorn, who at one time owned a third of Scotland! Apparently they were quite a rough lot!


As we approached the mouth of the Bay, we came to...


...little Maiden Island. The island has a dark legend attached to its past. A young girl was tied to the rocks at low tide to persuade her to admit to witchcraft or the like. However, she did not admit any guilt and the tide came in and drowned her.


As we reflected on this dark past, the skies to the north west lightened...

A Lorn view at luncheon

From our luncheon viewpoint on Port nan Crullach on Mull we had a wonderful prospect across the Firth of Lorn to the island of Kererra and the snow capped peaks of Ben Cruachan (1126m) beyond.


The bulk carrier MV Jomi was making her way up to Corpach near Fort William. She was built in 1991 and is 88.2m by 13.6m with a gross tonnage of 2827.


We were aware that we would need to keep a very close eye open for ships on our return crossing, which would be in the dark.


The rocks at the back of the beach were an ideal luncheon spot for soaking up what little warmth came from the weak winter sun.


Away to the SSW the dark ridges of the Garvellachs were backed by the long island of Jura. You can just see two of the Paps of Jura on the right horizon.

What a great view from a lunch spot!

Clearing fog, Ganavan Bay to Kerrera

A 29km day trip from Ganavan Bay round Kerrera, Firth of Lorn, January 2010.


Fog lifting in the Sound of Kerrera.

Ganavan, a launch site for sea kayaks and seaplanes

The fog on the Lorn...

Better Days: the wreck of the Hyacinth

Black and white in the Sound of Kerrera

Better Days in The Little Horseshoe Bay

Fleeting wraiths of fog in the Sound of Kerrera

Gylen castle and the Brooch of Lorn

Blowing the cobwebs away in the Firth of Lorn.

The strange case of the missing calves at sunset.

The liquid canvas of the sea.

Embers of a Kerrera day


Photo album map.

Embers of a Kerrera day

Long after the sun went down, we could still see the open Atlantic horizon between Kerrera and the steep cliffs of Mull.


After a while the gold in the sky turned to red and in the distance...


...the monument to David Hutcheson stood out on the Kerrera skyline. In 1835 he was one of the founders of the Burns shipping company, which ran the first steamers up the west coast of Scotland. His brother in law, David MacBrayne continued to develop the routes and the company grew into Caledonian MacBrayne runs most of the the ferries on the Scottish west coast.


We were enjoying the night so much that we continued on past the car into the gathering darkness to the north east.


Eventually, as the final embers of the day were dying, we retraced our wakes back to Gallanach. Ahead we could see the lights of the CalMac ferry from Mull slipping into Oban harbour before us.