Sea kayaking in the Sound of Islay

A 15km half day paddle from Port Askaig, in the Sound of Islay, August 2010.

This is a great place to paddle if you arrive back at Port Askaig in the morning and the ferry back to Kennacraig in Kintyre is not due till late afternoon. We took advantage of a south going tide that was due to turn north in plenty of time to return.

Islay is always worth a visit, more great Islay information at Armin's Islay Blog and Ron's Islay Weblog.

Tides in the Sound of Islay:
The south going ebb  starts at -0140 Oban +05:15 HW Dover
The north going flood starts at +04:40 HW Oban -00:50 HW Dover.
The spring rate is 5 knots off Feolin.

Sitting it out on the Sound of Islay.

Haute Cuisine reviewed at An Cladach.

Fellow travellers in the Sound of Islay.

The power of water in the Sound of Islay.

Close encounter with the RNLI lifeboat at Islay.

Close encounter with the RNLI lifeboat at Islay.

We were travelling north on the Sound of Islay at an ever increasing speed. We were not paddling particularly energetically but by the time we passed the Carraig Mhor light, we were fair belting along!

These buoys were submerged by the strength of the current going our way...

...so it was not surprising we arrived back in Port Askaig in plenty of time for the ferry. We spent the spare time visiting the RNLI lifeboat station  and talking to cox David McLennan and mechanic David McArthur. They gave us huge mugs of coffee while they modestly explained how they had helped in some of the rescues round Islay's exposed and tidal coast. We told them where we had paddled and how we had found the inshore tides to turn about an hour before the times given in the pilots. Straight away David agreed and said that in his (and the local fishermen's experience), the inshore tides turned 45 minutes before the published times.

Given Islay's exposed and tidal conditions it is unsurprising that the RNLB ‘Helmut Schroder of Dunlossit ll’ is a Severn class, which at 17m is one of the RNLI's most capable all weather boats. She has a range of 250 nautical miles and a maximum speed of 25 knots. She carries a crew of 6. Needless to say, both Tony and I are supporters of the RNLI.

We could have stayed all day chatting to the lifeboat crew but the ferry was fast approaching, bringing our five day trip to Islay to an end.

The power of water in the Sound of Islay

As the power of the tide sped us north in the Sound of Islay, the low cliffs and shingle beaches gave way...

 ...to the wooded shores of Dunlossit estate. We spotted a little building with no windows at Port an t-Seillich. We could not resist exploring. It turned out to be a disused hydro electric station. Its water supply is the...

...burn that flows out of the dammed waters of Loch Allan. Today the burn's water flows unhindered over the attractive falls of Eas Forsa. The Islay Energy Trust and Dunlossit estate hope to reinstate the generator...

...and once again extract energy from the tumbling waters before they join the tidal waters of the sound...

...which will themselves soon be harnessed in a tidal energy scheme.

Fellow travellers in the Sound of Islay.

 When we eventually emerged from An Cladach, the sun had broken through the clouds and...

 ...we left the bothy in full sunshine.

As we paddled up the coastline of Islay we noticed that the shingle shores were...

...passing by ever more quickly. The north going flood was already gaining strength.

 Where the Sound of Islay began to narrow..

 ...we joined a family of swans, which was also taking advantage of the tide. We paddled on together, under the Paps of Jura.

Haute Cuisine reviewed at An Cladach.

The grass squelched under our feet as we made our way up to the bothy. We hung our soaking jackets under the eaves and set about lighting a fire to help dry out. I had brought some logs but we left those in the woodpile and lit a couple of peats, which had been cut from the hillside above the bothy.

Brunch was to be interesting. We had wraps, dry cured bacon, tomatoes, Leerdammer cheese slices, eggs, banana and Laphroig. Our plan was to cook the lot, roll it in the wraps and then give the wraps a final toasting in the pan.

As the rain battered off the bothy's tin roof, we slowly dried out by the aromatic peat fire and enjoyed the equally peaty notes of the Laphroig (surely you didn't think I had poured it into the frying pan, did you?) I asked Tony what he thought of brunch: "Well, I don't think the banana quite went with the bacon!"

After brunch and a snooze by the fire, we realised that the rain had stopped battering the roof. An exploration of our surroundings revealed that the sun was now trying to break through the clouds and that the tide had turned and was now heading for Port Askaig...

Sitting it out on the Sound of Islay.

After our trip round the Oa peninsula, we camped overnight at Kintra campsite. During the night the wind increased and the tents were lashed by rain squalls. The forecast was for strong westerly winds, veering north west and for heavy rain becoming sunshine and showers. We rose early and broke camp before driving to Port Askaig, where we would get the late afternoon ferry back to the mainland. We loaded the kayaks with some food for breakfast and were on the water before 8am.

The Sound of Islay was ebbing fast and we were whisked south, past the Carraig Mhor lighthouse, at a very satisfying 12km/hr.

The clouds were well down  and a strong W wind blew well above our heads as we were in the lee of the Islay mountains.

We stayed well out in mid channel, taking advantage of the tide, until we spotted the McArthurs Head lighthouse.

We then broke out of the tide, paddling towards the Islay shore...

...towards our destination, the delightful bothy of An Cladach. Where better to spend a few hours on grey, wet day while waiting for a ferry?

Sea kayaking round the Mull of Oa from Claggain Bay to Kintra.

A two day, 43km, paddle from Claggain Bay to Kintra, round the Mull of Oa on Islay, the most southerly point in all of the Hebrides.

Tidal streams 200m off the Oa peninsula at spring tides run at 4-5knots:

NW going flood begins HW Dover (11:31 on the day) overfalls off Rubha nan Leacan, Sgeirean Buidhe, Mull of Oa.
SE going ebb begins -0610 HW Dover overfalls off Mull of Oa, Sgeirean Buidhe, Rubha nan Leacan.

However, we found that close inshore, the NW stream begins about -0100 HW Dover.

The south east coast of the Mull of Oa.

The Mull of Oa.

Islay retrospective #2.

The Ardmore Islands and appropriate consumption.

The intoxicated Giant of Ardbeg.

And they say there is no "Oa" in Paradise!

Oa, what a beautiful day!

Oa, if it wasn't for the midges!

Cormorants, g-oa-ts and cliffs on the Oa.

Round the Mull of Oa.

Taking a break at Lower Killeayan on the Oa peninsula.

There's a kind of hush, all over the Oa tonight.

Oa, what a place to see g-oa-ts and sea eagles!

Oa my! It's a tight squeeze getting out of Bun an Easan!

S-oa-ldier's Rock.

End of the day at Traigh Mhor, Islay.

End of the day at Traigh Mhor, Islay.

 Beyond Soldier's Rock, the coastline of the Oa peninsula is riven by a series of basalt dykes in various states of erosion. Some like this one are still in place.

Others like this one, through a stack off Rubha Mor, have eroded away leaving channels just wide enough for a kayak to sip through.

When we rounded Rubha Mor we saw the great sweep of Traigh Mhor backed by the distant Paps of Jura. It is one of the biggest beaches in the Hebrides.

Our two day trip round the south coast and the Oa peninsula of Islay came to an end at the commercial camp site at Kintra. While I pitched the tents and unpacked the gear, Tony cycled the 21km and 360m of height to recover the car at Claggain Bay. If you arrive by sea kayak, check in at the farm before you pitch your tent as there are a limited number of pitches by the sea and you might need to carry your gear about 100m inland.

That night we enjoyed an excellent curry in the unprepossessing Maharani Restaurant in Port Ellen all washed down with lashings of ginger beer (it is not licensed). We both agreed that the west coast of the Mull of Oa is one of the best paddles that we have ever done.

S-oa-ldier's Rock.

 Our voyage along the west coast of the Mull of Oa continued with undiminished interest. Just before we turned east along the north coast...

 ...we came to the great sea stack...

 ...called Soldier's Rock.

In an alcove beyond the stack we came to...

...a huge cave with several windows in its roof.

It even had a cave within a cave and...

 ...a waterfall tumbling down through a skylight!

The door of the cave was the perfect frame for Soldier's Rock.

Oa my! It's a tight squeeze getting out of Bun an Easan!

From the beach at Lower Killeyan (where we had enjoyed first luncheon) we had paddled quite a long way along the Oa peninsula. It was now well past time for our second luncheon!

So we landed in the delightful cove of Bun an Easan "foot of the waterfall". We climbed up the slope behind the beach and enjoyed a tasty meal of Stilton cheese, oatcakes and red grapes washed down with a little Ardbeg. As we lay back in the sun, enjoying a postprandial doze, we looked over the sparkling blue waters of Loch Indaal to the distant Rinns of Islay.

After dining, we strolled back tdown o the beach and through a little cave to a hidden...

...valley with a burn. It is called Sruthan Bun an Easa or "little stream of the foot of the waterfall".

Tony and I found another cave entrance, high on the grassy slope above the beach. Its floor angled steeply downwards. Standing in the entrance, the cold air inside sighed back and forth past us, like the breath of a giant. Feeling the walls we descended into the darkness. At the bottom we came to a dark carven into which the unseen ocean swell was surging and booming.

Time passed too quickly at Bun an Easan and it was now time to leave. Tony was in for a surprise (I had been before):  the In Door is wider than the Out Door!

It was a tight squeeze and our paddles clattered and echoed on the rocky walls. We made it through, despite our large luncheons!

Oa, what a place to see goats and sea eagles!

 The west coast of the Mull of Oa on Islay is rockhopping heaven. We paddled through geos and...

...under waterfalls that...

...tumbled straight into the sea from the hills above. But we were not alone...

...we were being watched from both the land...

 ...and the air, by the resident feral goats and a sea eagle.