Showing posts with label rockhopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rockhopping. Show all posts

Friday, January 05, 2018

A washed up whale and an adequate supply of washed up wood on the machair of north Colonsay.

On the third day of our Colonsay adventure we woke early due to beautiful sunshine which had warmed the tent as soon as the sun rose over the low hills to the east.

It is always easier to pack on the third morning. We had burned logs and barbecue coals which we had brought and eaten and drunk quite a few of our consumables. On a sea kayak camping trip we burn about 5,500 Calories a day!

 It was most gratifying to see how flat our launch would be.

In contrast, this is what our last visit to Kiloran Bay was like. We got our faces wet on that launch!

The feeling of lightness once on the water is always a joy after the effort of humphing the camping gear and loaded boats to the water.

We set off on a very flat sea and hoped to do some close quarter coastal exploring which had not been possible on our previous visit. We hoped to find a one kayak wide rocky channel that leads into a hidden sandy lagoon near the north end of Colonsay.

At first things looked pretty promising but...

...we had not gone far when we were reminded that the Atlantic is never flat for long. Look at David, to the right of Sam, to get some idea of the scale of this growler.

Fortunately the swell did not increase too much and it was very...

...exhilarating paddling along this remote coast with...

...the sun sparkling and the roar of the surf washing the dark rocks.

Unfortunately there was too much swell to land at Port Sgibinis and inspect the Balnahard Whale, which can be easily seen in this remarkable image from Bing Maps. It is a huge artwork by Julian Meredith who has invited visitors to fill in the outline of the whale with cobbles from the raised beach.

Any disappointment was short lived when we arrived at Pol Ban, a lagoon hidden behind some offshore islets and skerries. A combination of the direction of the swell and low water meant the lagoon was protected. We paddled into several of its recesses until we found...

...the narrow channel which led to...

...the sands backed by machair beyond.

One by one we wended our way into this remote part of Colonsay.  No road reaches this far...

..as a steep line of  cliffs cut this tiny northern part of Colonsay from the rest of the island to the south. On our last visit these cliffs were home to many red billed choughs but there were none on this day.

We left the boats in the creek and...

...made our way up to the machair where we discovered...

...a great many huge weathered logs. Colonsay has no trees of this size so where had they come from? Almost certainly...

...these trees grew in North America and had entered the Atlantic via the St Lawrence river before the long crossing to the Hebrides on the North Atlantic Drift. If logs like this are washed up on an inhabited part then they do not last long as they are a coveted source of fuel, which helps see islanders through the long Scottish winter. These trunks have survived as they are just too large and too difficult to get to. We must come back and camp here sometime. The wood supply looks adequate even for our pyrotechnic needs.

On the east side of this isthmus of machair another inlet offers the possibility of landing in calm weather above half tide. The sun was now high in the sky and it was getting hot. Maurcice said he was dying for a drink but was a bit short of water. Sam said he still had some in his water bottle back at the kayak. Mention of a libation brought a twinkle to...

...David's eye. "Isn't Colonsay the island with a brewery?"

Without further ado, we made our way back to the boats!

Tuesday, January 02, 2018

Between a rock and a hard place on the wild west cost of Colonsay.

We set off from Oronsay up the west coast of Colonsay with Ben More on Mull away to the north.

On our previous visit in 2010 there had been a bit of a swell running and we had to keep well out beyond the skerries.

This time it was a joy to wend our way through rocky channels and past white sand beaches. Sometimes we had to reverse out of blind channels which was all part of the fun.

A week of NE winds had flattened the Atlantic swell.

Soon we were passing beneath the rocky ramparts of Dun Ghallain on the summit of which an Iron Age hill fort once stood.

Beyond Dun Ghallain we left the last of the sandy bays behind...

..and entered a more committing part of the coastline.

Far beyond these rocky reefs...

...to the west, Labrador was the next landfall.

To the east the coastline of Colonsay had become an unbroken and unyielding wall of rock. We still had a long way to go.

Read Ian's account here.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

A rocky epilogue in Corbies Cove.

From Corbies' Cove it was a short paddle to the contorted rocks of Ravenshall Point.

 It was near HW and we were able to make our way through several rocky channels to...

 ...the NW side of the point where this rather fine arch is situated.

 At this point we turned back towards...

 ...Corbies' Cove where the sand below the waterfall was now well under water.

As we paddled east we dallied at almost every corner...

 ...it was so warm that many Red Admiral butterflies were warming themselves on the rocks just inches from the sea.

 We really did not make rapid progress as we looked for any excuse to divert into...

 ...every nook and cranny.

We came across this rather fine cave that stretched in as far as the eye could see.  I am pretty sure this would have been used by the many smugglers that used to frequent this coast.

This section of coast at high tide is a real treat, the gaps between the rocks become ever smaller!

Along this coast most of the rock is Silurian greywacke sandstone but there are a few volcanic dolerite intrusions, like this one, complete with gas bubbles. Our trip to the Solway was nearly over as just round the corner we would pass a series of caravan sites but what a wonderful rocky epilogue Corbies Cove had proved to be.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Caught on the wrong foot, retreat to Ardtoe.

Leaving the north channel of Loch Moidart we ignored the tempting sight of the Small Isles, Eigg and Rum and turned to the north where...

 ...we entered a turquoise lagoon where we...

 ...stopped for a well deserved second luncheon.

 We had intended continuing north and spending the night in a bothy in the Sound of Arisaig but two events changed our mind. The first was a phone call from my wife telling me that a family member was undergoing a life threatening major surgical operation. The second was the MSI weather warning on the VHF. It warned of imminent gales and heavy snow. Although we would have chosen a bothy in a relatively sheltered position in Loch Ailort, the medical news left me no option but to turn back. Ian is such a gentleman that he made it very easy to make the decision. We looked back wistfully to the mountains in the north but we both knew that we would return.

 We passed the hidden channel of the north entrance to Loch Moidart and the...

 ...the rocky ramparts of the west end of Eilean Shona before...

 ...rockhopping among the skerries and...

 ...channels to the hidden...

 ...sands of Ardtoe...

 ...which require maze solving skills...

 ...to finally find.

As a footnote, Ian and I faced blizzard driving conditions on our separate roads home and the March snows proved to be the worst of the winter with their drifts persisting well into April. Ian returned to his work at sea shortly but we will hopefully paddle again in late summer. Ian's account of this trip can be read here, here and here.