Eilean Dubh, the dark island of the Kyles of Bute.

We set off from Caladh Harbour to exit via the north channel with the thickly wooded island of Eilean Dubh on our starboard side.

Like the south channel, the north channel also has a stone beacon to mark the entrance.

Eilean Dubh means the dark island and the dense growth of non-native rhododendron means that not much light reaches its base and so it gradually chokes out native species. Many places in Scotland are trying to eradicate rhododendron such as...

...here on Riska Island in Loch Moidart.

Back in the Kyles of Bute, we paddled round the steep, dark shore of Eilean Dubh till we came to..

...one of the few landing sites which is situated on the east side of the island.

The sign at the top of the jetty says "Strictly Private". This of course is irrelevant since the  Land Reform Act (Scotland) was introduced. There is a path from the jetty to the burial ground of the Clark family (of Clarks Shoes)  who owned the Caladh estate for much of the 20th century. There are eight graves dating from 1937 to 1999. Sadly one is of a child who died at only 9 years of age. We decided not to land.

Para Handy, wartime ops and a wee touch of oil in Caladh Harbour.

 From Buttock Point at the north end of Bute we set off across the west Kyle for the Cowal shore.

We were bound for Caladh Harbour, which has both a north and south entrance, each marked by a white stone beacon.

The thickly wooded island is called Eilean Dubh (the Dark Island) and it gives  shelter to the harbour.

 The small lighthouse which stands at the south entrance originally had a simple oil lamp...

 ...in the recess at the top.

We swung round the small headland below the lighthouse and entered the harbour. Almost immediately...

...we arrived at the slipway and what was the lighthouse keeper's cottage. It has been completely rebuilt and is now a holiday cottage. One of the occupants of the original cottage was inspiration to author Neil Munro for the character Para Handy who was the skipper of the Vital Spark, a Clyde puffer that plied these waters in the 1930s. The much loved BBC series "The Vital Spark" used the harbour for filming many location scenes. A century ago Caladh Estate had no road and so supplies had to come in by sea and puffers would have been frequent visitors to the harbour. Many people know the Lighthouse Cottage as Para Handy's House.

In 1868 Caladh Estate was bought by George Stephenson, who was a nephew of the railway pioneer George "Rocket" Stephenson. He built the estate's big house, Glen Caladh Castle. The estate was in the hands of the Clark family (of Clarks Shoes) for much of the 20th century. In WW2 the estate was requisitioned and renamed as HMS James Cook. It was used for navigational training of the many officers required to command landing craft and Xcraft (miniature submarines) for the D Day invasion of Europe. The castle was demolished in the 1960's.

The slipway still has an iron ratchet system which would have prevented boats on a trolley slipping back into the sea.

 We climbed up to the harbour wall where...

 ...this old crane...

...is still in remarkably good condition.

 Just a wee touch oil and it should be ready to go!

From the old harbour wall you can see out of the south entrance to the East Kyle on the left and the West Kyle on the right.

The old boathouse has also been renovated and converted into another holiday home.

I first landed here from a yacht in the early 1970's. At that time things were pretty derelict.

It is nice to see how things have been very nicely restored. I would not stop here in the summer when the holiday homes are in use and obviously we left no trace of our visit.

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.

Amid the decay, something brought a smile to our faces.

 A few weeks ago, David, Mike, Phil and myself set off from the open Firth of Clyde up the confluence of the Irvine and Garnock estuaries.

At first things did not look too promising. This old boat had clearly seen better days and decay seemed to be...

...the order of the day as we passed long abandoned jetties.

 Then as we...

...passed under an old bridge in the Garnock estuary ...

 ...our mood lightened and...

...something brought a smile to our faces.

I saw just a flicker of respect cross their weather beaten faces.

We enjoyed a fair breeze and made rapid progress for the first 6km of the 16km crossing from Ailsa Craig to Girvan but then...

...the wind dropped and our pace slowed but ever so slowly the buildings of Girvan emerged from the sea fog.

I decided to take a quick explore of the River Girvan which flows into the sea through what is now Girvan harbour.

I passed the RNLB Sylvia Burrell, a Mersey class lifeboat.

Then a visitor from Fleetwood FV Crusader.

MV Radiance II is a retired wooden fishing boat. She was originally called Ruby III and was built in 1984 by John Gaff of Girvan. She has been recently restored.

John Gaff have stopped trading but Alexander Noble and Sons still run a boat building and repair yard in Girvan harbour. They specialise in RNLI refurbishment work. BA 817 FV Academus was in for a refit. In April 2005 she had been rescued by the Mallaig RNLI  lifeboat after she fouled her propeller on a rope off Canna.

As I  passed FV Moian BA 820 and Radiance II, a couple of fishermen leaned over the harbour wall and asked "Have you guys just paddled in from Ailsa Craig?"

I looked them in the eye and said "We have actually come from Campbeltown" I saw just a flicker of respect cross their weather beaten faces.

I joined Tony and Phil on the sands below Girvan beach car park where Phil had left his car overnight. My Mum had taken unwell during the previous night so Phil offered to run me back to Ardrossan to collect my car while Tony would continue to paddle on his own past Turnberry and Culzean to be picked up by his wife at Croy Bay. Tony and I had paddled nearly 100 kilometres to this point.

As we looked out to Ailsa Craig and the distant Mull of Kintyre we knew we had had one of the best paddles ever.