At the south end of Pladda "I wonder where they think they are going?"

We set off across the Sound of Pladda at a surprisingly high ferry angle. It was approching 3 hours into the ebb and the tide was running through the shallow sound like a river.

 Pladda jetty is on the sheltered NE side of the island though...

...in the northerly winds of our last visit (on the 23rd of May 2014), it was far from sheltered getting out of the harbour!

On this occasion we did not have time to explore this fascinating island. Unlike several small Scottish islands there are no "No Landing" signs. Pladda was bought by the Morten family over 20 years ago and their faith in human nature seems to have paid off as I have never seen signs of vandalism or littering there. Mind you, Pladda is in a remote location and the Sound of Pladda does form a significant barrier to those of a littering persuasion..

The flat nature of Pladda is due to it being composed largely of a volcanic sill of tertiary basalt. Indeed Pladda is connected to the mainland by a submarine basalt dyke, one of a swarm of dykes that radiate out from the Kildonan shore.

Pladda was one of the first lighthouses to be built by Robert Smith, the founder of the Stevenson dynasty, and the light was first lit in 1790. In those days flashing lanterns had not been developed so to distinguish Pladda from the other Clyde approach lights the lower second tower was built in 1801. The two steady lights shone for over one hundred years until a flashing light was installed in the main tower in the early 20th century. In 1870 Pladda lighthouse was one of the first in the world to be converted to paraffin and the great tanks still stand behind the lighthouse.

At the South end of Pladda we caught sight of a rather distant looking Ailsa Craig.As we left Pladda for the Craig, we passed a local fishing boat. I quite clearly heard one of the fishermen say "I wonder where they think they are going?"

An early start in the Sound of Pladda.

On the early  morning of 17th June 2014, Tony and I broke camp before the Kildonan dog walkers had surfaced. It was a spring tide at low water so...

 ...we carried the gear to the water's edge to lighten the kayaks for the long carry to the water's edge. The basalt dykes pointed straight out to our destination...Ailsa Craig. It was a perfect day for the 22km crossing and we had arranged to meet Phil on the Craig. He was going to cross the 16km from Girvan solo as Ian unfortunately could not get away.

The sea was like a mirror as we sett off at 07:45 across the Sound...

...towards the wonderful little island of Pladda and its lighthouse.

Moonlight over Pladda and Ailsa Craig.

I awoke at 3am to the the sound of lapping as High Water approached. It seemed very close to the tents and I was concerned about the kayaks. There are two groups of sea kayakers. The first carry their kayaks right up to the tents each night and the second (into which we fall) just carry them up above where they expect the night high tide to come.

Fortunately noise carries a long way in a still night and the kayaks were well above the tide. I was glad to have awoken. It was just 4 days after a full moon and there was enough light to see both Pladda and Ailsa Craig. Both the moonlight and the Pladda lighthouse lantern were reflecting on the Pladda Sound as it was calm at slack water. I could just see the lights of a fishing boat off Ailsa Craig and to the right of that (at the edge of the photo) I could see the port navigation light of the Dutch container ship MV Energiser making her way up the Clyde to Greenock.

Satisfied by the beauty of the scene and reassured by the lack of wind, I made my way back to bed. It would be a long paddle to Ailsa Craig in the morning.

A mid summer evening at Kildonan.

It had been a long day since we left Saddel Bay on the Kintyre peninsula. After three luncheons and three swims we finally arrived at Kildonan in the Sound of Pladda on Arran's south coast. It was rather hot and I went for a further swim while Tony went off for a cold shower under a nearby waterfall.

The time was now 1730 and the 1615 Larne to Troon (arr 1830) High Speed Catamaran HSC Express was just passing the direct line between Kildonan and Ailsa Craig. This was useful navigational information as the following day the ferry would cross this line twice during our planned 22km crossing to Ailsa Craig. Very approximately, the ferry crosses the line when an hour from Troon, or an hour and fifteen minutes from Larne. As she ways almost 6,000 gross tons and travels at 40 knots she presents a formidable challenge to sea kayak navigation on this crossing.

 After our swim and shower we dragged the kayaks up the beach and set up...

 ...camp on an excellent verdant sward above the beach and a clump of pink thrift.

After setting up camp Tony and I made our way along the coast to the Kildonan Hotel where we fortified ourselves with sports recovery drinks and prawns in garlic butter with crusty bread.

Being midsummer it was stll surprisingly light when we emerged from the pub. I love the view of Pladda and Ailsa Craig from Kildonnan, especially when the tide is running over the bar in the Sound of Pladda. The contrast in shape of the two islands is very dramatic. At night you used to be able to see 3 lighthouses from Kildonan: Pladda, Ailsa Craig and Turnberry. Unfortunately Turnberry light has now been extinguished.

There was not much driftwood bat Kildonan but I supplemented what little we did find with a bag of barbecue charcoal.

We toasted our toes and baked potatoes by the fire until the Pladda light started flashing. It really does not get much better than this.

Bennan Head; ancient footprints, hidden harbours and wrecks.

 The wind and the rain battered the tents during the night. I arose shortly after dawn about 04:15 and looking west Bennan Head was looking rather wild as the flood tide met the NE wind. I went back to bed but we got up at 6am before any of the other campers had stirred. This is the view east to the Ayrshire coast and this...

 is the view south to Ailsa Craig and Pladda. We decided to miss breakfast but boiled some water in the camp site kettle for coffee.

 We were on the water shortly after seven so we would round Bennan Head about slack water.

 The wind was from the NE and was cross offshore. It was very gusty about F4-5.

 It was not long before Kildonan Point and Pladda...

...disappeared in our wakes and...

,,,Bennan Head loomed ahead. It woul;d have been fun for Mike and I to to hoist sails but above F4...

...Ian would never have been able to keep up. It seems difficult to believe but there is a hidden harbour on this inhospitable shore. It is called Port a' Ghille Ghlais but we did not feel much like taking time out to explore on this occasion. Our minds were on the approaching headland. Recently footprints of Isochirotherium herculis have been found in the Triassic sedimentary rock between the basalt dykes.

 The seas round the Head had fortunately calmed somewhat since  I had seen them at 04:15 and...

 ...we were able to admire the bold blade of rock of the headland and the Black Cave (which has a blow hole at the top).A tumbling waterfall completed the wild scene as we turned the most southerly point of  Arran.

Round the head we entered the lee of the land and we could relax on the next stage of the paddle to Cleats Shore.  This shore is sandy at high tide but very rocky at low tide so many potential camping spots are high tide only. A line of cliffs sits back from a raised beach and numerous basalt dykes radiate out from the shore. This coastline has been the scene of many ship wrecks not only because of the tides and rough waters but because many of the dykes extend for more than half a kilometre from the shore.

A swarm of dykes at Kildonan.

In view of the mid day forecast on 23rd May we decided not to risk paddling across the south end of the Kilbrannan Sound to Davaar Island on the 24th. The prospect of a 20km open crossing in F4-5 increasing 6 north wind was not very appealing to us. Our next planned camp site was to be the SW point of Arran some 9km further on round Bennan Head. Bennan Head can be a rough place as the tide close in (the so called Black Tide) continuously flows east and when it meets the main west going ebb things get a bit stirred up. Pladda is only 700m north to south yet the tide on the north turns 2 hours before the tide turns on the south.

 We had a decision to make press on before the tidal window closed round Bennan Head or...

... sit back and enjoy the view aided by some sports recovery drinks.and

 ...steak sandwiches at the excellent Kildonan Hotel. Having missed the tidal window and enjoyed lunch so much, we booked a table for our evening meal. We booked a night at the Seal Shore camp site next door to the hotel. As commercial sites go Seal Shore is very good. It easily accessible from the sea, the toilets are very clean and there is plentiful hot water. It is mainly used by couples and young families and even though it was a bank holiday weekend all was quiet by 10:30pm. The camp site owners also support a charitable educational project in the Gambia.

However, although the camp site covers a large area of well mown grass, we discovered that other campers like to be really close. After we had pitched our tents other campers pitched theirs so close that guy lines crossed and Ian even suggested to one camper that he could always just use one of Ian's pegs!

On previous occasions I have stayed here I have pitched my tent on a bit of ground outside the main camping area above the shore. This would probably have been better. However, we met some nice people on the site including a young family who were island hopping in a restored 1974 VW camper van.

 Once we had pitched the tents we decided to walk along the Kildonan shore. This old  fishing boat has seen better days.

 The flag irises were already out on Arran....

 ...they normally arrive about the same time as the midges.

On the raised beach at Kildonan Shore you will find this beautiful carved sandstone bench. The inscription reads "Does the sound of the sea end at the shore or in the hearts of those who listen?"

From the raised beach there is a view of the many basalt dykes that radiate out from the south shore of Arran. This swarm of dykes from the volcanic activity in the north of Arran broke through lines of weakness in the existing sedimentary rocks. These have now been eroded away leaving the harder basalt dykes standing above the main beach level. The south end of Arran is one of the best examples of a swarm of dykes in the world. It was a warm afternoon, we were rather hot and for some reason this geological wonder made Ian think of his favourite cup of tea.

This Bing Maps view shows just a tiny fraction of the Kildonan dyke swarm, which extends for 13 km of the south Arran coastline. When you do a Google search on a small place you usually end up with a list like "Estate agents in Brigadoon, PPI claims in Brigadoon, Plumbers in Brigadoon or Meet XXXX in Brigadoon". However, if you do this for Kildonan, you get "A swarm of dykes in Kildonan".

This lichen covered dyke even has a window through...

...which I photographed the dawn on a previous visit.

 Behind the beach this waterfall cascaded over the sandstone cliffs.

There was plenty of drift wood on this beach including this oak trunk with...

 ...its wonderful bark. For a moment I wished we were wild camping here but we were looking forward to dinner in the Kildonan Hotel.

This was the view as we were enjoying the starter of scallops and black pudding.in the dining room. The MV Isle of Arran ferry was making her way out to Campbeltown passing between Pladda with its lighthouse and Ailsa Craig..

 Before heading to the tents for the night we went down to check the boats but all was well as the sun slipped away behind the dark and brooding outline of Bennan Head, on our intended route in the morning...

Planing a a fully loaded expedition sea kayak: paddle sailing through the Pladda tide race.

I was just timing my departure from the little harbour at Pladda when a baby seal popped up right in front of me (it's just below the highest bit of the wave). I hung back before powering....

 ...through the narrow entrance into the Sound of Pladda which was...

 ...surprisingly bumpy.

 Once out of the harbour we turned SE to circumnavigate Pladda clockwise.

 The spring tide had nearly finished its fourth hour but...

 ....the water was still stirred up a bit.

 We got some good runs...

 ...running diagonally down the waves.

 The water stirred itself some more as we approached....

....the east point of Pladda then...

 ....yee hahh...

 

 ...I just love sea kayaking.

 Rounding the east point freed the wind so it was time to launch the sail...

 ...and the speed picked up even more.

 What a great feeling, .flying down wind,...

 ...overtaking the waves in front and...

 ...planing a fully loaded expedition  kayak for...

 ....hundreds of meters at a time.

 Sadly the bouncy bits...

 ...all too soon came to an end as....

 ...we broke out into the lee of Pladda.

 We completed our circumnavigation in calm conditions before...

 ...crossing theSound of Pladda and landing...

...on a sandstone slab between basalt dykes on the Kildonan Shore of Arran. Time to do luncheon!

If you fancy expedition sea kayaking with a sail, we use Flat Earth Kayak Sails from Australia. In Europe they are available from Kari-tek and P&H also supply their sea kayaks with sailing rigs.