Nightfall over Ports Ramsay and Appin.

We rounded the north end of Lismore leaving the distant lights of the Glensanda quarry far behind us on the other side of Loch Linnhe.


We now entered the maze of channels behind the islands which shelter Lismore's Port Ramsay from the sea.


On leaving Lismore the SW horizon turned blood red below an ultramarine firmament, which was punctuated by Venus.


By the time we had crossed the Lynn of Lorn it was almost completely dark and the air temperature had fallen to -5C. This brought our 2008 paddling year to a conclusion. What an incredible end to a fantastic year.

27/12/2008

Sunset behind Mull

Leaving Bernera we made good time up the north west coast of Lismore. We were keen to reach Rubha Ban, the north west point of Lismore, before sunset.


However, it was 9.5km to the point and the sun began to sink behind Bernera and the distant mountains of Mull while we were still afloat. We stopped and drifted while we photographed the magnificent sunset.


Alan and I put on a spurt to reach the headland...


...while Tony stopped off on little Eilean Loch Oscair. Whatever our viewpoint, it was a magnificent sunset behind Glas Bheinn (492m) on Mull.


This is the view that Tony saw. Remarkably there was a small flock of sheep on this tiny island. I do hope that they enjoyed each other's company, it's a long winter to be stuck on a rock!
Photo Tony Page.


We watched in silence till well after the sun had sunk below the horizon. It was nearly dark before Tony joined us at the point and we still had 5km to go back to Port Appin.

27/12/2008

Carry that weight on Lismore.

We landed on a delightful beach on Bernera. We had a second luncheon followed by a slumber in the golden sunlight as we waited for the tide to rise over the bar, which was blocking our way back homeward. Unfortunately the sun was now getting alarmingly low so we had to leave....


.... before Bernera was fully an island again. Tony and David carried the double over the still dry rocks. I, on the other hand, had to carry that weight of being expedition photographer! (With apologies to Paul McCartney)

27/12/2008

Achadun Castle, Lismore

We were soon powering up Loch Linnhe and leaving the Sound of Mull in our wakes. We decided to cut another kilometer off our trip by cutting inside the tidal island of Bernera. If the tide was not sufficiently high then it would just mean another stop to watch it rise!


The inside passage also allowed a closer look at Achadun Castle on the SW of Lismore. This was built by the MacDougalls at the end of the 13th century. It passed to the Bishops of Argyll but was abandoned by them about the middle of the 15th century. It seems to have been disused since then.

27/12/2008

Dun roving on Lismore!

Our recent trip to the delightful island of Lismore continued...


....with tidal assistance down a glassy Lynn of Lorn. The low winter sun slowly achieved its zenith as the ebb gathered its full flow.


Lismore is such a fertile isle that it was always seen as a prize in historical times. It has many defensive duns and castles of different ages and eleven are still named on the 1:50,000 OS map. This one is a Pictish broch called Tirefour Castle. It is probably about 2,500 years old. Originally it would have tapered upwards to about 7 times its current height but over the centuries its stones have been robbed for later buildings.


The tide carried us relentlessly onwards and the distant mountains of Mull appeared, rising steeply behind the gentler slopes of Lismore.


My goodness this was hungry work and after passing yet another dun, we spotted a lovely beach ahead on a little island called Eilean nan Gamhna. Time for a break!

27/12/2008

Ebb tide in the Lynn of Lorn

Although the sun was now shining on the Morven summits the Appin shore was still gripped by frost and shade. The Sgeir Bhuidhe lighthouse lies just offshore. It was built at the end of the 19th century but by 2001 was badly in need of replacement. The Northern Lighthouse Board were originally going to replace it with a standard rectangular structure but fortunately sense prevailed and the replacement was modelled on the old structure. The light has two flashes every seven seconds with white and red sectors. The original lantern is now on display in the village.


Jennifer and I ferry glided out into the ebb tide in the Lynn of Lorn. The 5km/hr current soon carried us away down the Lynn leaving the little Isle of Shuna far behind. Note that there is another Shuna 42km further SSW, to the east of Luing.


Alan and Tony were still in the shade as early morning mist hung over the wooded shores of Appin.


Then at last the sun cleared the hills and David and Phil were left blinking in its strong light. With a fair tide we were now off on our 37 km circumnavigation of Lismore.

27/12/2008

Port Appin dawn

Port Appin is a sleepy little village which nestles below the mountains of Appin which seperate Loch leven and Loch Creran on Argyll's rugged west coast. Port Appin was never a fishing port but it served as a stopping point in the 19th century for steamers travelling between Glasgow and Edinburgh via the Crinan and Caledonian canals.


Today it serves two small ferries. This is the Lismore which carries foot passengers across the Lynn of Lorn to the beautiful island of Lismore. In Gaelic, Lismore means the big garden. It is more fertile than many of the Scottish islands because of the presence of limestone rock. From 1800 till 1934 this was quarried and heated in lime kilns to produce lime for agriculture on the west coast and building in Glasgow.

The quarrying tradition in these parts started again in 1986 when the Glensanda quarry opened. It is one of Europe's biggest quarries and its granite rock was used to make the channel tunnel. Glensanda quarry is removing an entire mountain, Meall na Easaiche, on the Morven coast on the far side of Loch Linnhe, beyond Lismore. It is situated just behind the mountains in the sunshine in the photo above. Another ferry carries local workers from Port Appin across Loch Linnhe to Glensanda.


We were bound for a circumnavigation of Lismore and also chose to launch from Port Appin. We carried the boats over frost covered seaweed in the predawn light. Although we were still in freezing shade, there was a lovely pink glow in the sky reflected from the tops of the high mountains which were already in sunshine.


We planned a clockwise circumnavigation. It is 37 km and we knew that it would be dark before we finished as sunset would be about 15:34.

On 27/12/2008 HW Oban was at 05:35 and 17:49. The tidal constant at Port Appin is -00:05 Oban. It was one day before springs.

At the Lynn of Lorn south end (1 knot springs), the ebb (SW) starts at -01:40 Oban which was 16:09 on our trip. The flow (NE) starts at +04:45 Oban which was 10:20.

At the Lynn of Lorn north end (2.5 knots springs), the ebb (SW) starts at -00:15 Oban which was 17:35. The flow NE starts at +06:00 Oban which was 11:35.

On the NE going flood an eddy runs SW from the islands along the SE coast of Lismore so we reckoned we would have tidal assistance for most of the day.

27/12/2008

Less is more!

This is another post for the benefit of our Canadian friends, who might have had their illusions of sunny and calm Scottish seas shattered by the recent series on the Mull of Galloway. Relax, here we are enjoying our second of three luncheons in balmy December conditions!

Some of the staff at seakayakphoto were concerned about the effects of Christmas overindulgences on our 24 pack abdomens thus affecting the tailored fit of our dry suits.

Alan, Tony, David, Phil and Jennifer.


We set off at sunrise on a little 37 km jaunt. Unfortunately all this exercise made us rather hungry.


We paddled well past sunset into the darkness. We might not have lost any weight but what a fantastic day!

27/12/2008