En route to Tiree.

We drove through the night to arrive in Oban in time to catch the 0545 ferry to Tiree. There is no car park at the Oban ferry terminal so we drove into the back of the railway station car park and dropped the kayaks there before trollying them through to the ferry terminal. I left the car in the free long stay Lochavullin car park, which is entered off Lynn Road.

Once aboard the MV Clansman ferry we made straight for the dining facilities, where we enjoyed the full trucker's breakfast before...

 ...taking a postprandial perambulation on the viewing deck...

...where we watched the Sound of Mull slip astern.

Soon we were disembarked...

...and launched our kayaks on the little white sand beach beside the ferry pier at Scarinish on Tiree. We had arrived!

A journey towards the edge of the World.

My journey north to St Kilda started at 17:30 after work last Friday. It was a slow drive due to the number of caravans and motor homes heading north. These vehicles carry such evocative names as  GT, Cheetah, Concorde (Mach 2 model), Monza, Le Mans etc. However, the road quietened after Fort William and by 21:30 I was watching the sun set behind Eilean Donan Castle.

I spent the night at Gordon and Morag Brown's new Skyak sea kayaking centre on Skye. After meeting some of the others, we spent a very convivial evening chatting and planning our adventure. We rose early the next morning and loaded the kayak trailer. We drove to the Calmac ferry terminal at Uig...

 ...and were soon enjoying the in flight entertainment. A large pod of dolphins were leaping out of the waters of the Minch.

 The Cuillin of Skye were soon slipping astern...

...to be replaced by the mountains of Harris as we entered Loch Tarbert.
 

We drove through the high mountains of Harris and descended to the wide open moors of Lewis. Lewis and Harris form the third biggest landmass in the British Isles after Britain and Ireland!

We had a long drive ahead of us to the little port of Miavaig in Loch Roag on the west coast of Lewis.

 Here we met the Cuma and her Skipper Murdani.

 Soon we were loading the kayaks onto the Cuma and our journey was about to begin. Murdani at the stern supervised the loading but he didn't seem to be quite himself. I overheard him say to the Gary the Cuma's mate " I don't like leaving without it." and "I know we have got plenty plastic ones but stainless steel would be better."

We set sail without it and with plenty plastic ones on board....

Seeking shelter in Brodick Bay.

As the Arran ferry, MV Caledonian Isles, approached her terminal at the head of Brodick Bay, the snow covered mountains crowded round us and the sea in their lee flattened.


Lying at anchor, in front of the decorative turrets of Brodick castle, we saw an unusual ship. She was the MV Hartland Point. One of a fleet of six Royal Fleet Auxiliary Point class sealift ships. These are RoRo cargo and personnel vessels. When not being used for Royal Navy purposes, they can be contracted out for commercial trading and ferry duties. Hartland Point was the second of the class to enter service in 2002, after being built at the Harland and Wolff yard in Belfast. She displaces 23,235 tons and can cruise at 18 knots with a maximum speed of 21.5knots . She is 193m long, 26m beam and 7.6m draught.

Like us sea kayakers, the MV Hartland Point was taking shelter in Brodick Bay, which is sheltered from the prevailing SW winds. She was waiting to berth at the MOD Glenmallan jetty (alt. Glen Mallen) in Loch Long before making her way across the Atlantic to Becancour in Canada's St Lawrence River system. Glenmallan jetty is licenced to handle up to 44,000kg of explosives at any one time.

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.

Journey to the far west.

Our original plan was a camping trip from Ardnamurchan over to the Cairns of Coll, down west of Coll to Tiree then back up east of Coll and over to north of Mull and back round Ardnamurchan. Unfortunately the weather Thursday, Friday and Saturday of last week put paid to that. Surprisingly Sunday promised to be fair so instead, we planned a little day trip from Ardnamurchan, the most westerly point of mainland Britain.

We left Glasgow at 6am and arrived at the Corran ferry at 8am. Since I was last here, the 08:15 ferry has been cancelled and the first Sunday sailing was not till 08:45. The ferry was still tied up at its mooring on the far side of Loch Linnhe.


Rather than wait, we decided to drive the long way round Loch Linnhe, Loch Eil and finally Loch Shiel. This way added 33 miles extra to the 23 miles and 15 minute ferry journey but only saved about 15 minutes.

This is the monument to Prince Charles Edward Stewart who raised the standard of the 1745 rebellion at Glenfinnan at the head of Loch Shiel. Just behind and out of sight, is the curved Glenfinnan railway viaduct which has been made famous by the Harry Potter films.


At 09:51 we finally crossed the watershed of the Ardnamurchan peninsula above Loch Mudle and there before us lay the distant "Small Isles" of Rum and Eigg.


At 10:20, 4 hours and 20 minutes and 186 miles after leaving Glasgow, we arrived at our destination. The little shell sand cove of Portuairk is a natural harbour, formed by a deep inlet through the rocks of this exposed coast of Ardnamurchan. The tide was ebbing fast so we had a long carry before we finally hit the water at 11:13. We couldn't wait for the day's adventures to begin. But it was to be a long day...

10/05/2009