Where the river ends and plunges to the sea.

 It is difficult to say where Loch Shiel ends and the River Shiel begins but...

by the time you arrive at the triple arches of Shiel Bridge (1935) the current leaves you in now doubt that this is now the river.

Slightly downstream is the older single arch bridge built by Thomas Telford in 1804. In higher flows a little rapid forms just out of sight and downstream of the bridge. On opur last visit we could hear it roaring.

On this occasion it was like the proverbial millpond.

The Shiel is an important salmon river and the season runs from early May to end September. As we were here in Mid October we had the river to ourselves.

Unlike the majority of Scottish rivers there is no weir or dam to control water levels. On our last visit the river level was as high asa the fishing platform hand rails.

The river winds through some magnificent countryside. Gentle riffles signify the presence of...

...shallow shingle raspids.

The autumn colours were stunning.

As we were due to arrive at low tide  there would be about a 3m drop over the final rapid to the sea so we decided to portage...

...through the lovely deciduous trees that line the river.

Ian's orange deck was particularly harmonious with the fallen autumn leaves.

The rapid was not nearly so fearsome as on our last visit, however a nasty eddy can catch the unwary here and with loaded sea kayaks we were happy to leave this section un-run.

After a diversion to see the Falls of Shiel, it was but a short stroll till we caught sight of the sea in the sheltered waters of Loch Moidart,

For the full stereo vision experience read Ian's account here...

A slippery approach to the graceful town of Kirkcudbright and the Selkirk Arms.

We were now well into the estuary of the River Dee and about one hour before high water. The flood tide had not only cancelled the flow of the river but reversed it. We passed this navigational can at 9km/hr upstream without paddling!

The Kirkcudbright yacht marina has some long pontoons which run parallel with the channel of the River Dee. If you want to progress upstream take the outside as the access pontoon blocks the inner passage. In case you have just joined the story in this blog, I should clarify that this is the Galloway River Dee. There are four River Dees in Britain: this one, one in Aberdeenshire, one in Cumbria and one in Wales. The Kirkcudbright Dee rises in the Galloway Hills in the catchment area of Cairsnmore of Carsphairn and Cairnsmore of Dee. There is an old Galloway saying:

There is Cairnsmore of Carsphairn and Cairnsmore of Dee,

but Cairnsmore of Fleet is highest of all three.

Having set off from the estuary of the River Fleet and now entered the estuary of the River Dee, our kayaks had been wetted by the run off from the watersheds of three fine Galloway mountains.

We arrived at Kirkcudbright harbour to find the fishing fleet getting ready to leave at high water. The slipway can be seen just to the right of the yacht. I have...

...used it successfully on previous occasions, such as this one with Tony in July 2013. However, when Ian, Mike and I arrived, it was covered with desperately slippy mud. Ian and I both tried to climb up it but it simply was not possible as it had a coefficient of friction, which was substantially less than a well known buttered substance.

You need to be careful leaving cars and kayaks in Kirkcudbright. A big spring tide comes over the top of the quay!

We retreated a little downstream to near the access pontoon for the marina. We changed out of our dry suits into attire suitable for dinner. Then I tied the boats to a tree with my tow line because...see above!

Kirkcudbright (Kir-coo-bri) is a delightful former county town with wide streets and gaily painted walls. It is named after St Cuthbert who was a seventh century monk of the Celtic church who was based in Northumberland. The town has been a Royal Burgh since 1453 and as such it became the county town for Kirkcudbrightshire one of the old Scottish counties. In 1960 its court house was the scene of the trial of the lighthouse man who murdered the keeper of Little Ross lighthouse which we had explored  that morning.

In the early 20th century Kirkcudbright attracted many authors and artists. Those who stayed here include Dorothy L Sayers, E A Hornel, Jessie M King, E A Taylor, S J Peploe and Charles Oppenheimer.

Kirkcudbright Castle occupies a central position at the corner of Castle Street and is more commonly known as Maclellan's Castle as it was built in 1582 by Sir Thomas Maclellan, the Provost of Kirkcudbright.  It was built as a fortified town house rather than as a serious castle, which could have withstood a siege. It has been a ruin since 1752.

We walked through the streets until we came to some cobbles in the road outside the Selkirk Arms Hotel. These inconspicuous signs mark the site of the 15th century "Meickle Yett" which was the gate through the town's defensive wall. This was built to keep English pirates and trouble makers out of the town. As the town grew the Yett was moved in 1780 to the nearby church yard where it still stands today.

Anyway enough preamble we had come to Kirkcudbright to visit the Selkirk Arms Hotel. We were in good company, the poet Robert Burns stayed here in 1749 when he was working as a customs officer in the area. It was here (and not in the town of Selkirk) that he wrote the Selkirk Grace:

Some hae meat and canna eat, 

   And some wad eat that want it; 

But we hae meat, and we can eat, 

   Sae let the Lord be thankit.

It was also known as the Galloway Grace.

Anyway I dragged Ian and Mike inside where it was quickly apparent to them that we had entered a hostelry of some considerable worth. Although draught Guinness was available, we decided to break with tradition and enjoyed draught Peroni instead.

When it comes to food the Selkirk Arms hotel prides itself on using local producers and suppliers. Mike and I shared Alan Watson's Galloway Smokehouse board while Ian had a local goat's cheese salad. But this was just for starters we each followed up with hot Galloway beef with roasted tomato and rocket served in a sour dough roll which was simply scrumptious. Note the blackboard which gives the provenance of the steak as Todd Hill Muir farm, in nearby Lockerbie which had been butchered at Carsons in even nearer Dalbeattie. There are no Airmiles for the food served here.  If it had been in season, I would have ordered....

...local lobster, which I have enjoyed here on many previous occasions.

I asked the waitress to let the chef know that three hungry sea kayakers had arrived. Within seconds, part owner, chef and fellow sea kayaker, Chris Walker, appeared in his whites for a chat for a chat. We shared tales of camping on Little Ross and of rough conditions in the Little Ross tiderace before Chris had to dash off to cook the next order. A very posh sounding lady guest could be heard asking the waitress why the chef had spoken to "them" and not to her. We had noticed she had moved from the table next to us earlier in our meal...I can't imagine why!

At 500m from the sea (at high tide) the Selkirk Arms is at the upper distance of what is normally considered as acceptable to be considered as a sea kayaking pub. However, the welcome, the exceptional food, ambience and service mean that this is this is a sea kayaking par excellence. On a score out of 10 Ian and I are unanimous in awarding it 13/10!

A fall too far at Morar.

With an extra day to spend in the Arisaig area it seemed natural to spend it in the Arisaig skerries but how best to get there? We could launch from our overnight accommodation at the Glenuig Inn  and cross the Sound of Arisaig but we paddled half way across the Sound of Arisaig in our attempt to view the eclipse of the sun. Then I discovered that Ian and Mike had never paddled in the estuary of the River Morar surrounded by its famous silver sands. Plan made! We would launch at Morar paddle south to the Arisaig skerries then take advantage of a forecast increasing southerly to paddle sail back.

The River Morar is only 800m long but it drains Loch Morar the 5th largest loch in Scotland and with a maximum depth of 310m it is the deepest body of fresh water in the British Isles. It is actually deeper than the Atlantic continental shelf! Like Loch Shiel, it was a sea water loch after the Ice Age but as the land has risen, the glacial shelf at the mouth of the loch (where the glacier melted as it reached the sea) has risen and it has been fresh for thousands of years. From the loch, the river  falls 10.1m to the sea. Technically it would have been possible to launch into the river and run the falls but we did not much like the zigzag nature of the rapid, nor the big volume of water in it , nor the somewhat frightening noise it was making. So we launched from a lay-by on the south side of the estuary head. If it is busy you can drop the boats here and park a short way away up the hill overlooking the estuary. First we paddled under the new road bridge that carries the bypass round the village of Morar.

We launch we had a stiff paddle against the current and up a considerable slope to the final rapid which is crossed by the old road bridge and the large arches of the railway bridge. The railway from Fort William was built in 1901 to carry fresh fish from the fishing port of Mallaig (which at one time was one of the biggest herring ports in the UK) to London.

White water kayakers might consider this rapid rather good sport but...

 ...for us, one look from the bottom was enough, it looked even worse than the falls on the river Shiel. so...

 ...we turned tail and drifted leisurely downstream...

 ...on the nicely sloping water that had caused us much sweat just moments before.

We were soon back at the silver sands of our launch point. This old dive boat wasn't going anywhere but we were bound for the Arisaig skerries!

For the full sea kayaking stereovision experience, you can also read Ian's account starting here.

Mariners once more, on Loch Moidart.

We relaunched into the sea waters of Loch Moidart below...

 ...the falls in the River Shiel. Partly as penance for portaging we played for a bit breaking in and out of the jet of water which was pouring into the loch from the cascade.

 To our right were the houses of the Lochshiel Estate and...

...to our left a great spit of sand and shingle which has been brought down the River Shiel  and deposited here but...

 ...what really held our attention was straight ahead...

 ...the wonderfully situated Tioram Castle sitting on its tidal island. Once we cleared the spit we hoisted our sails for a beat down the loch to its mouth. I used the forward fin in the Aries with devastating effect as the others dropped away downwind.

 We were heading for the south shore of Eilean Shona as a counter eddy meant we did not have to plug  against the incoming tide in mid channel.

 We were not the only ones heading west. This couple in a Canadian canoe made good progress in the shelter of the inner loch but as soon as they hit the tide and wind they fell far behind.

 Meanwhile we were revelling in being back on the sea and before long had reached...

...the west end of rugged Eilean Shona. At one time it was scattered by little communities now long gone. Can you spot this house?

(Two) bridge(s) over troubled water and feeling small..

Our passage down the River Shiel...

      

 ...attracted the attention of only a few mostly disinterested locals.
 

It did not take long to reach the New Bridge which...

...was built in 1935.

 We were speeding along and the weed on the river bed was stretched out flat.

 Soon the mountains of Loch Shiel were a distant memory behind us. The Shiel is a popular salmon fishing river but we went down it before the season opened so we saw no fishermen. There are many wooden platforms that extend from the banks to allow more fishermen per foot of river. I thought that the fishermen must be blessed with incredible balancing skills to stand unaided on the narrow planks of wood until I realized that these were the handrails! The broader standing boards were deep under water. The river was high! No wonder we had noticed the level of the loch had dropped so much the night before, all that missing water was coming down here.

 I had scouted out the river two years ago in similar high conditions and knew that the river took a sharp left under the single span of the Old Bridge which was built in 1804. There was the distinct sound of breaking water round the bend and the water proved quite confused with several eddy lines. I would not want to run this small rapid in high levels without some bracing and edging skills. However,0...

 ...order was soon restored and we spent...

 ...some very pleasant time meandering...

 ...round the bends at increasing speed. It was low tide and I knew and Ian and Mike expected what the meaty rapid would be like where the Shiel fell into Loch Moidart. When I had scouted the rapid previously I  knew that you could get out at the final pool, the Sea Pool JUST above the rapid and have a short portage of about 100m into the sea. However, the river was running swiftly, our speed had increased to 10km/hr and we had some new kayak trolleys to test. So we took an early exit at...

 ...the SEPA water level measuring station and...

  ...after a quick Jura to stiffen the sinews we set off on...

 ...a one kilometre portage along the estate track and past the...

 ...rapid. It was indeed rather meaty with a nasty stopper rolling in from an eddy on the left after the first drop.

 We walked down every inch of the rapid to...

 ...the lower drop. I suggested to Ian and Mike that I did not want to be a spoilsport and produced my throw line then kindly offered to provide safety cover while they ran the rapid. They took one look at each other...

...then the pair of them ran off! Maybe we were "feeling small" as we slunk back to our trolleys.