A day at the beach (in November).

Once we had cleared the Heads of Ayr, we turned our bows east...

...towards Bracken Bay, which nestles below the cliffs.

 At certain states of the tide there is soft sand to land on but even so the beach is well studded with rocks.

We soon unpacked our first luncheon and made our way to the top of thje beach where an old tree trunk makes a perfect place to sit...

...and admire the view over the Firth of Clyde to Holy Island and Arran.

Scottish summers are like swallows

Scottish summers are like swallows, you don't see one for ages then along come two sunny days at once. Even so, it was rather unexpected when summer finally arrived, in early November. A couple of days after our last enjoyable trip to the Ayrshire coast, Phil and I returned and launched at Seafield, Ayr. Although the coast round about was in full sun, thik banks of sea fog hid much of the land to the north and to the west only the tops of the Arran mountains were visible above a temperature inversion.

We were heading south once more, towards the...

 ...Heads of Ayr.

 As we approached the headland...

 ...we entered the deep shade of the cliffs. Photo by Phil Toman.

 After a while, it was pleasant to feel the warmth of the sun...

...as we slowly emerged from the long cold shadow cast by the high headland.

The guiding light of Turnberry.

 As the sun began to sink to the SW, we paddled on towards Turnberry Point...

 ...then entered Maidens Bay under the guiding light of Turnnberry lighthouse.

 The sun was low in the SW sky as we pulled the kayaks from the water and...

...was already setting behind Ailsa Craig by the time we set off for home in the shuttle cars.

The huffy heron of Barwhin.

 We paddled on down the wonderful coastline of Culzean.

 As we approched the skerries at Barwhin Point, a heron watched our approach with a sharp yellow eye...

...it repeatedly flew off just as as we approached...

... and each time it would land about 100m ahead of us.

Finally, at the end of the reefs, it decided that the next jump to Ailsa Craig was probably a bit too far.

So it sat on the rocks with hunched shoulders looking as if it was in the huff with us. It finally let us pass...

...and we entered the more open waters of Maidens Bay.

What a place for a wedding!

After lunch at Croy Tom and Julie returned north to Dunure leaving Tony, Phil and myself...

 ...to cross the broad expanse of Culzean Bay.

 as we approached the south side of the bay Turnberry lighthouse appeared on the horizon before...

 ...we made landfall at Robert Adam's magnificent Culzean Castle. Next spring my daughter Sheena will be getting married to Adam (not Robert Adam!) in the Round Saloon, which is in the central tower of the castle overlooking the sea.

 Under a lowering sun, we now paddled through the Culzean skerries and...

...as we did so the grand silhouette of Ailsa Craig grew on the horizon to the south. I hope the day of the wedding is as sunny as this!

A sea kayaking "head up" map display.

Over the last three months I have had increasing problems with my left knee, which has also now started to dislocate. Both knees are very painful so I have not been any long car or sea kayak journeys. Last weekend was so nice that Tony and I set off on a local paddle from Seafield in Ayr towards Maidens, further down the Firth of Clyde.

We had taken sails but they remained unleashed. We passed the Heads of Ayr in a flat calm.

As the sun swung round to the south, we were dazzled by its low rays. Tony found a new use for a laminated map, after all we were locals so we knew where we were going.

Off Dunure, we met Phil, Tom and Julie and we all paddled on towards Croy with Ailsa Craig on the horizon..

We had last met Tom on a trip to Lady Isle further north in the Firth of Clyde. Julie and Tom live in South Ayrshire so these are also their home waters.

We passed a large flock of roosting gulls on the rocks to the north of Croy Bay...

...where it was time to stop for lunch. What a hardship, making do with local waters!

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.