Sea kayaking round the Mull of Oa from Claggain Bay to Kintra.

A two day, 43km, paddle from Claggain Bay to Kintra, round the Mull of Oa on Islay, the most southerly point in all of the Hebrides.

Tidal streams 200m off the Oa peninsula at spring tides run at 4-5knots:

NW going flood begins HW Dover (11:31 on the day) overfalls off Rubha nan Leacan, Sgeirean Buidhe, Mull of Oa.
SE going ebb begins -0610 HW Dover overfalls off Mull of Oa, Sgeirean Buidhe, Rubha nan Leacan.

However, we found that close inshore, the NW stream begins about -0100 HW Dover.

The south east coast of the Mull of Oa.

The Mull of Oa.

Islay retrospective #2.

The Ardmore Islands and appropriate consumption.

The intoxicated Giant of Ardbeg.

And they say there is no "Oa" in Paradise!

Oa, what a beautiful day!

Oa, if it wasn't for the midges!

Cormorants, g-oa-ts and cliffs on the Oa.

Round the Mull of Oa.

Taking a break at Lower Killeayan on the Oa peninsula.

There's a kind of hush, all over the Oa tonight.

Oa, what a place to see g-oa-ts and sea eagles!

Oa my! It's a tight squeeze getting out of Bun an Easan!

S-oa-ldier's Rock.

End of the day at Traigh Mhor, Islay.

Oa my! It's a tight squeeze getting out of Bun an Easan!

From the beach at Lower Killeyan (where we had enjoyed first luncheon) we had paddled quite a long way along the Oa peninsula. It was now well past time for our second luncheon!

So we landed in the delightful cove of Bun an Easan "foot of the waterfall". We climbed up the slope behind the beach and enjoyed a tasty meal of Stilton cheese, oatcakes and red grapes washed down with a little Ardbeg. As we lay back in the sun, enjoying a postprandial doze, we looked over the sparkling blue waters of Loch Indaal to the distant Rinns of Islay.

After dining, we strolled back tdown o the beach and through a little cave to a hidden...

...valley with a burn. It is called Sruthan Bun an Easa or "little stream of the foot of the waterfall".

Tony and I found another cave entrance, high on the grassy slope above the beach. Its floor angled steeply downwards. Standing in the entrance, the cold air inside sighed back and forth past us, like the breath of a giant. Feeling the walls we descended into the darkness. At the bottom we came to a dark carven into which the unseen ocean swell was surging and booming.

Time passed too quickly at Bun an Easan and it was now time to leave. Tony was in for a surprise (I had been before):  the In Door is wider than the Out Door!

It was a tight squeeze and our paddles clattered and echoed on the rocky walls. We made it through, despite our large luncheons!

There's a kind of hush, all over the Oa tonight.

We set of from Lower Killeyan Bay and were soon weaving through a series of offshore stacks and...

...channels through the skerries. To the north of the bay, the tidal eddy was running against us even more strongly than it had before.

We took a last look back at the Mull of Oa from Sgeirean Buidhe Ghil before we took a...

...well earned rest in the shelter round the headland.

From high on the next headland our progress was watched over by...

 ...rocky gargoyles until we were hushed...

...into silence by Shhhhh rock!

Taking a break at Lower Killeayan on the Oa peninsula.

The west coast of the Mull of Oa is characterised by many offshore skerries and stacks. The Mull forms the SE boundary of Loch Indaal. Despite the flood tide, a strong counter eddy was flowing south, out of Loch Indaal, and joining the west going Mull of Oa tide race. At several pinch points we found ourselves paddling "uphill"!

 We took a break at the lovely Lower Killeyan beach. Visitors are advised not to swim here due to the strength of the tide.

Tony went off exploring while I sat on the rocks looking over the mouth of Loch Indaal to Orsay and its lighthouse some 14km away. It was near there, at Portnahaven, that we had launched to paddle the west coast of the Rinns of Islay just a few days before.

The way ahead looked even more interesting than where we had just come from so...

...after a leisurely luncheon we returned to the kayaks. It was a good feeling knowing we had passed the tidal crux of the journey and could now relax and enjoy paddling the incredible coast to come...

Sea kayaking round the Mull of Oa, Islay

A 26km paddle from Port Ellen to Kintra round the Mull of Oa Islay early March 2010.

Tidal streams 200m off the Oa peninsula at spring tides run at 4-5knots:
NW going flood begins HW Dover (11:31 on the day) overfalls off Rubha nan Leacan
SE going ebb begins -0610 HW Dover overfalls off Mull of Oa

However, we found that close inshore, the NW stream begins at least -0100 HW Dover.


A bottle nose dolphin off Sgeirean Buidhe.


Bottle nose dolphins


Soldier's Rock.


This was a day trip from Glasgow, made possible by a temporary late evening sailing from Port Askaig. I do not normally make such a rigid timetable but given the distances, ferry times and tide times it was essential. As it happened, we arrived at Kintra at 15:45 and used a taxi to recover the car. What a day!

I have mentioned both before but two really excellent sources of information on Islay are:

Armin's Islay Blog

Ron's Islay Weblog


This was the tidal atlas, marked up with the times for the day. We were there 2 days before springs.

Day return to Islay, please.

The most southern point of the Hebrides.

Oa what a beautiful morning, Oa what a beautiful day!

The SE coast of the Mull of Oa, Islay

The point of no return, Rubha an Leacan to Gob an Rubha Dhuibh, Oa, Islay

Sea kayaking with dolphins at the Mull of Oa

Going with the flow, round the Mull of Oa!

A glimpse of distant white shell sand promised a break.

Oa what a paradise!

The most southerly Gargoyles in all of the Hebrides

Oa speak no evil

Threading the Oa of a needle

All hail Soldier's Rock, Islay

What a geo on Oa!

End of an Islay day.

Oa, I'm so sorry about all the dreadfull puns.

Photo album map.

End of an Islay day.

After our rounding of the Mull of Oa, the most southerly point in the Hebrides, getting through security at Kintra was relatively easy. There was no queue and although we had to put our liquids bottles into bags (there was no volume restriction) we did not need to remove our shoes.


There was no way I was going to walk back to Port Ellen, so we pulled our kayaks up to the Kintra road end and I phoned Fiona's Taxis in Port Ellen. (Just in case there was no phone reception, I had allowed time for Jennifer and Misha to walk back to Port Ellen and recover the car.)


In the distance, far to the WNWacross Loch Indall, we could see clear sky and sunshine beyond the Rhinns of Islay lighthouse. The lighthouse is actually on the island of Orsay which lies beyond Rhinns Point. It was built in 1825 by Robert Stevenson. Its light flashes white every 5 seconds.


We got changed back at the car on the front at Port Ellen as the sun was setting.


Due to the taxi, we had about an hour to spare so we drove up to the head of Loch Indaal which is overlooked by the magnificent Paps of Jura.


The warm lights in the cottages on the far shore looked so inviting in the bitter cold winter light of the gloaming.


We stopped for a break in Bowmore the capital of Islay. The view to the head of Main Street is dominated by the iconic Round Church, which was built in 1767. I have always thought that its shape resembles that of a whisky still which is not wholly inappropriate on this island of malts! Needless to say we stopped of at the truly excellent Harbour Inn, which is a very short step from the slipway at Bowmore's little harbour. An excellent sea kayaking pub!


The only reason this trip was possible was due to one of the two Islay ferries being taken off service for annual maintenance. The usual 17:00 return sailing from Port Ellen (which would have been too early) was replaced by a 20:20 ferry from Port Askaig. Here the MV Hebridean Isles is just nudging into her dock at Port Askaig. In the foreground, our old friend, the MV Margaret Sinclair from Mull was acting as a relief ferry for the island of Jura.

Our day trip to Islay was over.

What a geo on Oa!

Soldier's Rock was barely out of our minds before we discovered the NW headland of the Oa peninsula on Islay was riven with a series of deep geos culminating in this one. It stretched for 100m, deep into the rocks and culminated in a slight opening with a steep beach behind. A lazy three foot swell was running into the geo and crashing on the steep beach in dumping surf. The repeated low BOOOMPHS reverberated along the narrow channel. We chose not to risk landing in this isolated spot and turned carefully just on the edge of the surf line and made our way back out towards the light and the open sea beyond. The hail had turned to rain but by the time we emerged it had turned to snow carried by a cold wind from the north.

We were now only 2.5km from our end point at Kintra. We had planned to stop for a well deserved second luncheon at the delightful little Port Alsaig but despite being ravenous, we decided to press on in the snowstorm.


We landed below Kintra farm at the south end of the Big Strand. This beach is the biggest on Islay and its sands stretch away for over 8km along the east shore of Loch Indaal. We were ravenous but there was little shelter in this open place so we ate our sandwiches as the snow fell. Misha had the biggest sandwich bag and ate it all! We recounted the highlights of our day as the snow fell and the light faded.


"The dolphins were this close!"


"Get away!"

What another great trip... the only fly in the ointment was that my car was 7km away at Port Ellen!

Oa speak no evil

As we paddled the west coast of the Mull of Oa under the steady rain, there was no sound apart from the steady hiss of raindrops drops hitting the water. We discovered the reason for the silence when we came to Shhhhh... Rock. It has a wonderful window or natural arch.


The rivers, fed by the rain, were cascading over the cliffs and...


... tumbling straight into the sea like this waterfall on, the Abhainn Alt Astail.


We now entered a small bay with a group of incredible caves clustered round its head. Until now the rock scenery of the west coast of Islay's Mull of Oa had been dominated by stacks, now it was the turn of caves.


A waterfall was pouring down through a crack in the roof of this cave.

The most southerly Gargoyles in all of the Hebrides

It was pouring with rain when we left the beach below Lower Killeyan.


The mist came right in and obscured the far side of Loch Indaal, leaving the dark shapes of the stacks isolated from the rest of the landscape.


It was an eerie feeling to be paddling in such an isolated environment as we lost sight of each other in the vonvoluted rocky channels between the cliffs and stacks.


From the headland north of the beach we looked northwards to a series of bold headlands, one after the other, culminating in Dun Mor Ghil in the distance.


A little later, we looked back, from just south of Dun Mor Ghil, to the monument on the now distant Mull of Oa which still towered above the intervening sea stacks.


Rocky gargoyles looked down on us from the rain soaked heights of Dun Mor Ghil.


Back at sea level, partially submerged rocks betrayed the strength of the current in these parts, indeed, some of the headlands required a determined effort to pass.

It might have been raining, but we knew we were in sea kayaking heaven, here on Islay's Oa peninsula, the most southerly point in all of the Hebrides.