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...

Taking the tide from Slocheen Slunk to Gabarunning, Rhins of Galloway.

As we approached the Broadstone of Portdown on the west coast of the Rhins of Galloway we decided to stop for...

 ..first luncheon at what we call Rainbow Rock. It has a steep...

 ...cobble beach and even in calm conditions there always seems to be some swell but...

 ...it makes a really great place to stop.

 You can see why we call the Broadstone Rainbow rock!

During our luncheon the tide continued to build and when we rounded...

 ...Slew-Whan Point it was already...

 ...running like a river.

We took a breather in the slack water in the recesses of Sloucheen Slunk and when we had negotiated the right angled bend we emerged into the day again and took a last look back...

 ...at Slew-Whan Point.

 The next headland was Gabarunning and we sped through the gap on a tide that was vrunning at 11km/hr until...

 ...we were rushed passed the next headland at Crammag head with its lighthouse and WW2 lookout post.

 Rather than fight against the eddy north of Crammag Head...

...we stayed out in the tidal stream which was still at 10km/hour for as long as we could. We were rather grateful there was no wind as it can get a tad bouncy round these parts!

All calm in the Lunnock Cave at the Mull of Galloway.

The 16th dawned to be one of the few sunny, calm days in August. It was ideal for a trip to the Mull of Galloway.

Tony and I dropped a shuttle car at Port Logan on the west coast of the Rhins of Galloway then met Phil and Maurice at the East Tarbet. Inshore, the west going ebb starts at -1:30 HW Dover. HW Dover was at 13:10 so slack water was at 11:40 and we launched bang on time at 11:10.

The NE side of the Mull is a grassy slope and gives very little warning of the dramatic rock architecture beneath the lighthouse just 500m away on the other side of the peninsula.

The waters of Luce Bay to the NE were calm unlike a previous visit when we hit the Mull at maximum tidal flow!

 We rounded the critical point at Lagvag at slack water and entered the Lunnock Cave...

...for a celebratory exploration. If you do get caught out in the Mull of Galloway tide race, the Lunnock Cave would make a marvellous place to wait for calmer conditions as the...
.

...vicious eddylines at its mouth kill the swell.

Michelin starred pow wow at Knockinaam

We had been paddling along the remote Rhinns of Galloway peninsula for what seemed ages. Our stomachs were groaning with hunger pangs. 

At last we came across a break in the previously relentless rocks, Port of Spittal Bay. We have several times passed this spot without stopping. There appeared to be a house standing a little way back from the beach. We started drooling with the thought that perhaps we could beg some morsels of food.

On this cold January day, the North Channel tide race was pumping on the horizon. There was a little shore break in the bay...

...and it was good to feel our feet on the beach of coarse, grey sand and shingle.

Weak with hunger, our faltering steps took us up the beach towards the isolated house...

...we opened the creaking door and stepped inside. We were warmly greeted and told we were to be the only guests at the Knockinaam Lodge hotel that night. We were told a previous resident had been Sir Winston Churchill, who held several secret meeting here with President Eisenhower during the dark days of WW2.

Even better, we discovered that the hotel has a restaurant (though it only has a solitary Michelin star). Despite there just being just the two of us, Tony Pierce the chef, put on the full menu. We dined exceptionally well that night then slumbered in the warm, comfortable room with the waves crashing on the shore as a lullaby.

The Mull of Logan

 In the middle of a sunny spell in April, the day dawned grey and drizzly at Portpatrick in SW Scotland. Tony and I met Jim (fresh from Skye) and Mark and Heather Rainsley who were visiting the area. Mark was keen to get some photos of Scottish coastal fortifications and Dunskey Castle fitted the bill!

We were headed south with the flood tide for the Mull of Logan, some 16km to the south. There is some excellent rock hopping on this stretch of coast.

Rounding Money Head, I put my sail up and nipped off to Ardwell Bay in front of the others as there was a nice little wind.

On the horizon some blue sky appeared...

...as the others came in to land.

Mark and Heather seemed to be enjoying their visit to Grey Galloway.

Despite the recent heatwave (it was 22C in Galloway the day before) the water temperature was only 6C. It was interesting to note that we all wore dry suits etc, unlike the recreational sit on top paddlers in Fleet Bay who were out in shorts and T shirts!

We didn't tell Mark about the Devil's Bridge arch at the Mull of Logan and let him go round the corner first. All we heard was "WOW!".

 At this point Tony and I took our farewells of the others. They were paddling on to Port Logan and lunch in the hotel before a taxi back to Portpatrick for the cars.

Tony and I now caught the ebb tide tide going north. There was still a force 3-4 northerly wind.

We knew there would be some excitement with wind against tide at Money Head, Knockienausk Head and Tandoo Point. We were right and got our faces wet, before facing the Easter Holiday crowds at Portpatrick!