Eilean Comhlach, a surreal meeting place on Loch Shiel..

I was glad I had taken the trouble of stopping to clear the condensation from my camera lens because the combination...

..of mist and...

 ...early morning light created a surreal effect on the waters of Loch Shiel.

By this time Ian and Mike were just dots on the horizon and added scale to the scene.

 As the sun rose it gradually burned the mist off Gaskan Wood, which was just as well because...

,,,there was not a breath of wind to blow it away.

The cold grey mist still hung about the higher crags and contrasted with the warm rich russet browns of last year's bracken.

For some time my eye had been drawn down the loch to Eilean Comhlach which, with its reflection, made such a pretty picture. Its name could be isle of the meeting place, fellow warrior or suckling pig.  Several lochs have islands where warring chieftans met without fear of being ambushed by each other's men.

However, I resisted the temptation to be completely captivated by the isle and turned to face the way we had come.

 I was rewarded by this scene of mountains and mist closing in round the heads of the loch.

We had each been paddling in our own space but were all drawn to...

 ...paddle towards...

 ...the magical isle of Eilean Comhlach, where we regrouped and met.

We circumnavigated both it and its smaller neighbour.

 We lingered as long as we could but the...

 ...sun was now rising quickly and we had a long way to go. It was with some regret that we left Eilean Comhlach. We each agreed that it was already one of our most memorable days on the water and yet it was only 08:22!

Some matters concerning frost, condensation, mist, "evaporation", disappearing water and the golden light of dawn on Loch Shiel.

The skies cleared about 1a.m. and turned into a bitterly cold night on the shores of Loch Shiel. We had planned to rise at 6am and right on cue a timber lorry rumbled down the forestry road on the far side of the loch. It was the first sound of human activity we had heard since leaving Glenfinnan the previous day.

The sun had not yet risen and the frost lay thick on the ground round our camp site.

We rubbed our hands to keep them warm while our water boiled then after breakfast...

...we loaded the boats. At least, being a fresh water loch, we had not had to carry them far due to the lack of tide! However, the "tide marks" on the sand showed that the level of the loch had dropped 15cm overnight. This might not sound much but Loch Shiel has a surface area of 19.3km2! That is a huge volume of water that had disappeared overnight. Since it clearly had not evaporated it must have gone somewhere else and that somewhere is where we were going....!

We launched just as the first rays of sun hit the mountain slopes high above. You will note that I had brought my Aries 155. It swallowed gear and food for 3 nights and 4 days in winter with no bother though it was right down to the seam.

We were still in deep shade when we launched but by the time our cold fingers fumbled with the spray decks...

...the sun had risen above the mountains.

We turned our backs to the sun and aimed our bows...

...to the SW...

...down the long defile of Loch Sheil. A layer of mist on the water began to rise leaving the...

...air crystal clear in the golden light of dawn. Ian and I snapped away with our DSLR cameras but they were so cold and the air was so humid that the lenses misted up with condensation.

The light was so wonderful that I really did not want to miss any shots. So I landed and spent some time with lens tissues and holding the lens to the sun to warm it.

Kayaks at dawn in the Ballachuillish narrows.

 We spent a very comfortable night in the excellent Ballachuillish Hotel. We planned to launch from the hotel and so started to load the boats in the car park.

 It was minus 12C though elsewhere in the Highlands it had fallen to minus 13.7. Whatever it was a bit nippy on the hands.

Although the loch side was still in darkness the summit of Garbh Bheinn, 885m, was catching the first rays from the rising sun which was still well below our horizon.

We trolleyed the kayaks a short distance to the jetty of  the old BalLachuilish Ferry. The bridge was completed at the end of 1975 but, before that, a vehicle ferry ran across the narrows from 1903. These were flat bottomed turntable ferries and used the slipways in the shallow water at either side of the narrows. One of the last of these ferries was the Glenachulish. She was built in 1969 at the Ailsa yard at Troon on the Firth of Clyde. She served the Ballachulish crossing until the bridge opened, then she was moved to Kessock and then Kylsku to serve as the relief ferry until those crossings were replaced by bridges in 1982 and 1984. After this she moved to Glenelg for the Skye crossing where she still serves today. The Ballachuilish crossing at the peak of a spring tide always provided an entertaining ferry glide.

We planned to go up the north side of the loch to catch what little sun might make its way down to the loch through the steep mountains. The ebb tide was pouring out the narrows at 5.5 knots. Mike decided to take the eddy well up under and beyond the bridge before ferry gliding across the narrows further up.

I decided to just tough it out by ferrying across the fastest flow at the bridge. I had to PLF and was very warm by the time I got to the other side but at least I could rest while I watched Mike...

... come across into a small eddy then watch...

...Ian make his way across.

It really was a struggle against the current...

...we stuck to the shallow water...

...where the current was running slower but...

...it was literally an uphill  battle until we ...

...reached the calmer waters of the broder loch beyond. After a brief rest we

...set off on our exploration of Loch Leven.

Gradually the sun rose above the mountains and...

as we rounded the natural rock walls of An Dunan (site of an Iron Age fort) we...

...entered the natural harbour of Poll an Dunain in full sun.

Mid winter dawn over Portencross.

On Sunday 28th December a brief ridge of high pressure appeared over the west coast of Scotland. We decided to make the most of the short winter day and paddle the 30km over to Arran then get the ferry back. We met before dawn at Ardrossan ferry terminal  where we left a shuttle car.

 In the pre-dawn light, we could see the snowy summits of the Arran mountains over the harbour wall.

 It did not take long to load Maurice's and Phil's kayaks onto my trailer and we then drove with Tony to...

 ...Portencross, where we got ready in the freezing...

 ...cold.

 Across the Firth of Clyde a lovely pink glow appeared in the clouds above the Arran mountains.

As it was low tide and the rocks below the car park are covered in slippery green slime, we trolleyed the kayaks 250m round to the little bay by the castle. We were on the water by 9am and slipped out of the narrow...

 ...channel below the dark walls of  Portencross castle.

 As the sun rose, the summits of the mountains caught the sun while we...

 ...were still in deep shade but then...

 ...the sun literally exploded above the horizon.

Despite the cold, it looked like we would have a good day.