Sea Kayaking Desktop Calendar July 2008

Rockhopping in crystal clear waters along the Wilderness coast of Mull.

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Other months to follow....

Eilean Annraidh, Iona

This view from Eilean Annraidh, which lies to the north of Iona, has inspired artists for at least 200 years. In the distance lies Ulva and the Wilderness of Mull.


We landed here for a rest after making our way up the west coast of Iona.

Waiting for the tide on Inch Kenneth.

At spring low water, shallow reefs extend far from the east shore of Inch Kenneth. Some say there is a hidden, submerged path from the mainland of Mull to the island.


Our boats were some distance from the tide. We saw no point in straining our limbs, by carrying such heavy boats, when the exercise of some little patience would bring the tide to us. We decided to explore Inch Kenneth on foot.


The fertile ground of Inch Kenneth contrasts with the rough, thin soil of distant Ulva.


This view, from near the graveyard, is looking southwest from Inch Kenneth to the Wilderness and distant Ross of Mull peninsula (at the end of which lies Iona). In the middle distance is the little rocky islet of Erisgeir. This had just enough pasture for 6 sheep!

In the graveyard we also found the burial place of Lachlan MacQuarrie, the last chieftain of his clan, who died on 14/1/1818 at the age of 103. Johnson and Boswell had been entertained by MacQuarrie when they visited Ulva. They were unimpressed with his mean dwelling but Boswell found their host to be “intelligent, polite and much a man of the world.” Sadly MacQuarrie had to sell his ancestral lands shortly afterwards. Even his dying wish, to be interred among his ancestors on the Holy isle of Iona, was confounded by bad weather. He was laid to rest on this sheltered isle instead. For MacQuarrie the tide came in for the last time on Inch Kenneth. Looking around, we saw that there were much worse places to spend eternity.

We did not have eternity on our side but were able to leave with the flood tide.

Inch Kenneth

Regular visitors to this blog have expressed some concern for our livers and our ability to continue to find oases of refreshment in the wilderness. I thought it wise to post about a day in which we did not manage to find such an establishment. Despite this, we still had an enjoyable paddle, though we all felt the effects of a drouth which came upon us as an unexpected Scottish sun beat mercilessly down on us. (There was no thirst the following day due to the truly torrential nature of the precipitation.)

Let me continue with our summer adventure. After paddling the Wilderness coast of Mull we headed across Loch na Keal for Inch Kenneth ,which in great contrast to the Wilderness, is a remarkably fertile island. Indeed, but for the lack of a pub, some might say it is as near to Paradise as you can get to on this Earth.


Nearly there..


Inch Kenneth at last, after a long and fantastic day's paddling.

On Inch Kenneth we met up with Mike again. He had chosen to have an easy day there as his arm was very stiff after having been bitten on the hand by a venomous snake during a South African adventure. Despite an easy day, he caught a 5lb pollock and spent the rest of the day in the hot sun cooking and eating it! It's a tough life when you are on location for seakayakphoto.com!

MacKinnon's Cave

Continuing our voyage of discovery up the Wilderness coast of Mull, we came upon MacKinnon's Cave, the deepest in the whole of the Hebrides.


By happen chance the low summer evening sun was shining directly into the depths of the cave which reach over 180 meters into the heart of the mountain. When Boswell and Johnson visited in 1773 they suffered "a penury of light" provided by a single candle. How would they have written about the wondrous cave light we saw?

Alien shower in the Wilderness of Mull

Paddling NE up the alien features of the Wilderness coast of Mull, it was getting hot and airless. We came upon this refreshing shower complete with mini rainbow.


As the others paddled round the next headland I was left alone. I tarried under the shower and water ran through my hair. I looked up then closed my eyes and let the drips run down my nose into my open mouth. As I felt the boat moving gently beneath me, a sudden vision of slowly swaying, clanking chains and alien jaws dripping saliva started me out of my day dream!

The fossil tree of Mull.

Approaching the Wilderness coast of Mull from Staffa, we landed at a natural recess in the rocks.


The Mull volcanic eruption of 50 million years ago did not just spill out over a barren landscape, it buried a land of verdant forests. At the back of the beach, to the left of distorted basalt columns, you can see the vertical impression of a tree trunk that managed to stay upright after it was engulfed by lava.


When it was first discovered by McCulloch, there was still a charcoal like deposit round the trunk where the bark had been. Despite its inaccessibility on foot, this has been hacked away by souvenir hunters who have since started chipping away the remains of the rocky stump. It has now been capped with concrete.

Thunder clouds over Staffa

As we completed our circumnavigation of Staffa, thunderclouds gathered over the mountains of Gometra, Ulva and Mull. Despite the geological splendours of this stunning little island, we found no sea kayaking pubs to delay our progress. Despite our thirst, we decided it would be prudent to return to the mainland of Mull. We headed for the Wilderness coast of the Ardmeanach peninsula, to see if we could find McCulloch's fossil tree....

Cragaig Cottage, Ulva

When we left the welcoming warmth of the Boathouse into the chill of a thundery Scottish evening, we were not wholly without an accommodation plan. Tony had previously fallen while carrying a loaded kayak down a steep slippery shore and his paddling clothes were soaked. We had noticed the locked cottage at Cragaig and asked the ferry man about it. He phoned the estate manager, Mr Jamie Howard, and it was ours for the night for £30.


We dried out in the warmth of a coal fire. The back burner heated water for a hot shower and there was a working WC! There was also gas for the oven and stove. What a fabulous find Cragaig was on such a wet day!

(We have never pretended to be truly hardened sea kayakers, able to survive in the open with only a tartan plaid of rough wool and a bag of oats.)


To make things even more perfect, as we dried out, so did the weather and there was a late blink of sun on the Wilderness coast.

The township of Cragaig on the southern shore of Ulva had flourished in the 19th century until the kelp harvesting industry collapsed and the potato famine struck. Its last resident was a lobster fisherman who moved here in the 1930’s after having lived for 40 years on nearby Little Colonsay. Behind the cottage, two standing stones, dating from 1500 BC, are testament to this now deserted valley having a long history of habitation. A little further away, a human infant’s bones, dating from prior to 5500BC, were discovered in L ivingstone’s cave.

To book the cottage or to wild camp on Ulva contact Estate Manager Mr Jamie Howard Tel: 01688 500264.

First glimpse of the Wilderness

Loch na Keal nearly bisects the mountainous isle of Mull. The B8073 to the hamlet of Ulva Ferry hugs its north coast. After a long climb you crest a ridge and are confronted with your first view of the Wilderness. 50 million years ago the lavas from the great Ben More volcano were finally halted by the sea here at the edge of the Ardmeanach peninsula. The cliffs of the Wilderness now tumble steeply for 370 metres to the shores of Loch na Keal below. Today the Wilderness is home only to goats, sea eagles and pelagic sea kayakers. Our first glimpse of the Wilderness set our hearts beating in anticipation of an outstanding paddle. We were not to be disappointed.

The Wilderness of Mull

The Wilderness of Mull lies at the foot of a giant series of lava floes from the extinct Mull volcano. There is almost no easy access on foot due to the near vertical lava cliffs at the top of the slope. The whole is composed of alternate layers of lava and volcanic ash. Where the sea has eroded its base there are fossil remains of organisms that were overcome by the eruptions.

Magical Mull cave light

Once we ducked our heads and entered this cave on the Wilderness of Mull, we entered another world. The water was a transluscent and luminous green. Dripping water from the roof splashed and tinkled on the surface of the water and there was a deep gurgling from the dark recesses of the cave. Reluctantly we left before the tide rose and trapped us.

Caves on the Wilderness of Mull

There are many caves on the Wilderness coast of Mull. This is one of the smallest and we had to duck down to enter on a rising spring tide!