A sting in the tail of the Sound of Shuna.

We crossed the Sound of Luing and rounded the  south end of Luing at slack water.

It was time for an extended luncheon, to allow the flood tide to build up sufficiently to assist us on the way home. David produced a whisky snifter that rather outclassed everyone else's, it was just as well it was his round! Fortunately he had brought a plentiful supply of  Welsh Penderyn malt whisky, which is a superb product. Distinct from its northern cousins, it has a mellow fruitiness to savour. There was certainly none of the bitter after taste that can be the sting in the tail of some lesser but aspirant malts.

We were now entering the beautiful Sound of Shuna, which stretched away into Seil Sound backed by the mountains of Morvern.

With the tide flooding, we made good time past the remote South End House, a holiday cottage on Shuna..

We were enjoying the peace of this beautiful location in some of the calmest conditions we had seen in a year. However, there would be a sting in the tail of this particular Sound...

Little and large on the road north to Appin

Back at the beginning of February, we took the great road north again past Buchaille Etive Mor, 1022m, and through the dark recesses of Glen Coe beyond.


At Loch Linnhe we turned south and entered the lands of Appin which were controlled by the bold fortress of...


Castle Stalker sitting on its little island. On the bigger island of Shuna beyond, you can just see the tiny remains of its rather inadequate neighbour, Castle Shuna.


Soon we were kayaking out into the Lynn of Lorne...


...where we set a southerly course.

Loch Linnhe and the Holy Grail

North of Lismore, Loch Linnhe stretches away to the NE. It forms part of the Great Glen fault that bisects the Highlands of Scotland.


We paddled NE past Eilean nan Caorach on our way to Shuna on which the crumbling remains of Castle Shuna stand at the edge of woods by the shore.


To our east, the much better preserved Castle Stalker stands on a small island at the entrance to Loch Laich.


Castle Stalker was built by the Stewarts of Appin in the 1440s. Over the years it changed hands with the Campbells several times on one occasion as a result of a bet. It was restored by a descendant of the Stewarts between 1965 and 1975. It achieved more recent fame as "Castle Aargh" in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.


Having visited these castles before, we made our way up the west coast of Shuna. Her lower slopes were hidden by the bare boughs of birch and alder.

28/02/2009

A winter warm up

Saturday morning on the 28th of February saw us driving from Ballachulish SW for the lovely little Port Appin. A nice friendly standing wave or two develops as the tide runs south between Appin and the island of Lismore especially if there is a southerly wind.


After a good winter morning workout we broke out behind Lismore to catch our breath.


We then headed north up the east coast of Shuna. Jennifer Tony and I were joined by...


...Harvey. We don't get out with Harvey so much these days, since he discovered river kayaking in a big way.


Our route was to take us NE up Loch Linnhe and then in through the tidal narrows of Loch Leven.

28/02/2009

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

A close encounter of the cetecean kind.

Rob said "you haven't lived until the 6 foot dorsal of a big bull knifes it's way toward you and disappears under your keel, the golden glow of a big yellow eye still visible." Rob I would be scared out of my wits! However, in a small way I have known something akin to your amazing experience.



Almost exactly 3 years ago we were paddling round the islands of Luing and Shuna in the Firth of Lorne. As we crossed the Sound of Shuna the wind dropped to nothing, then behind us came a thrashing noise like the paddle steamer Waverley. It was a group of about 30 to 45 bottlenose dolphins. They seemed to be feeding right on the surface as they came round Rubh Aird Luing. We stopped paddling and drifted in the tide. We were lying about 200 metres off their track but as soon as they saw us, all three pods came over for a closer look.



We were surrounded. The females and calves circled round on the outside, then the adolescents, then two large alpha males ignored my daughter Jennifer and came for me at high speed on the surface. Mature males weigh about 650kg and can travel at up to 30km/hr! They barrel rolled just under my kayak and one after the other, I saw the eye looking up at me then the pale belly and finally the tail. The second just flicked the bottom of the kayak ever so gently with its tail. The pair then exploded from the water before crashing back with a huge splash. They repeated this several times. Awesome. I have since seen the big one with the lateral bend to its dorsal fin 65 km to the south near Cara.



Only after what seemed like an age did the dolphins stop showing off and resume their fishing trip. Stunned, we were left on our own in the silence of a winter sunset in the Sound of Shuna.