The Old Man of the Mull of Logan.

At the Mull of Logan there are a number of hidden inlets which lead to the great rock arch called the Devil's Bridge. Phil, Tony and I had been before but as Maurice had not been before (and we had said nothing to him) he amazed when he found it.

 Those entering the recesses and passing under bthe arch do so under the baleful stone gaze of the Old Man of the Mull of Logan.

 We dallied for some time in this wonderful spot but the tide was still rushing north and we were now going to head south to Port Logan...

 ...against the tide.  There was no eddy on the SE side of the Mull but close in the tide was only running at 4km/hr compared with 9km/hr just a few meters out.

 Soon we were in quiter waters and the coast here has a maze of gullies many of them interconnecting. This arch is called Little Bridge.

 Further along we came to this old cabin before we arrived...

 ...in Port Logan Bay which is backed by the fertile fields of the Rhins of Galloway.

Our final obstacle was clearing the lines of the many fishermen who lined the old pier. Port Logan was originally called Port Nessock and in the 1
7th century attempts were made by the McDouall family to establish it as a ferry port for Ireland. They also built the Port Logan Inn which is sadly closed at the moment.

The quay and Port Logan Light were built in 1830 by Colonel Andrew McDouall. The light is a conical stone tower with a platform for a lantern. It is not known when it was last lit but for sometime after that it had a bell, which was rung to guide local boats back in foggy conditions. A decent road to the village was not constructed until the early 20th century, so most of the village's trade and traffic depended upon the sea. A life boat station was built at Port Logan in 1866. It closed in 1932 as the RNLI lifeboat at Portpatrick, 18km to the north west, was motorised by then. The boat house is now the village hall which you can find near the quay.

Our 24km trip from the East Tarbet round the Mull of Galloway, Crammag Head and the Mull of Logan is one of the finest paddles in Scotland. However, due to the tides it can be very serious if there is any wind.

Catching the tide from Crammag Head to the Mull of Logan.

This is a return to where I left off our Mull of Galloway trip.

After rounding Crammag Head a little breeze got up and we fairly sped up the North Channel with both tide and wind assistance.

Portencorkie is really the only beach north of West Tarbet and funnily enough each has a huge gas tank. These were washed of a cargo ship in a storm. The beach does trap any detruis and I have only stopped here once so...

 ...we pressed on round...

 ...Laggantullach Head and...

 ...past Clanyard and Port Logan Bays. We stayed out in the tide and made rapid progress towards...

 ...the Mull of Logan, our second Mull in one day.

The flood tide was running like a river at 9km/hr, fortunately the light wind was with the tide otherwise it might not have been as calm as this.

We broke out into a calm eddy behind the Mull. Tony Phil and I knew what to expect. Maurice was in for a surprise...

The Old Man of the Mull of Logan.

We enjoyed fantastic sea kayaking through a maze of skerries as we paddled towards the still distant Mull of Logan.


The Mull itself looks rather uninteresting when approached from the north. Lurghie point just emerges gently from the sea.


However, turn the corner and its character changes. We found ourselves paddling against a stiff adverse current between Otter Rock and the Mull as the tide had turned almost an hour before.


Then we turned a corner and there was the Devil's Bridge, one of the finest but least known of Scotland's many rock arches.


In the lagoon behind the arch, the stony gaze of the Old Man of the Mull of Logan keeps a perpetual watch over those who pass the Mull...