Dawn of our final day on Arran.

The sun slowly rose behind a rickety basalt dyke on the Kildonan shore at the south end of Arran.

This was to be our fifth consecutive day paddling in Arran waters (but only after 3 nights on the island.... it's complicated!)

We wasted no time and soon had breakfast sizzling in our pans...

...before launching into the swirling tides...

...that  flow through the Sound of Pladda.

Kildonan chips at sunset.

 As we walked along the shore towards Kildonan...

 ...the Pladda lighthouse began to flash...

 ...as the sun  began to set behind the distant Bennan Head.

Our walk was rewarded by an excellent bar meal...

...in the Kildonan Hotel.

Leaving a mark on the landscape.

The tertiary volcanic eruptions have left their mark on the south coast of Arran. Dramatic basalt dykes radiate out at right angles from the Kildonan Shore.

We came across this carved stone seat. Its inscription reads "does the song of the sea end at the shore or in the hearts of those that listen". This is a quote from the Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran and the seat was carved in 2008 by Lamlash sculptor Tim Pomeroy. It commemorates Bill and Catriona Sillars but nowhere do their names appear on the stone, you need to spend some time on Google to discover them. The seat is not in a particularly remote place, it is on the main coastal path round Arran. It performs a useful function, unlike the granite obelisks (John Smith loved this spot etc.) and piles of crematorium ash that litter some of Scotland's remote places, I liked this seat.

In complete contrast, we came across this memorial to someone's camp. They had torched the lot; tent, sleeping bag, clothing, food and rubbish. They clearly didn't want the bother of carrying anything back. Modern camping gear is so cheap, it clearly made sense to burn it to minimise the effect of their camp on the landscape. I am not sure if the Blackwaterfoot ladies' militia would have approved.

Kildonan landfall.

 After we rounded Bennan Head we entered the Sound of Pladda and...

 began to look for a suitable spot to land and camp on the Kildonan Shore.

We normally use the commercial camp site at Seal Shore, Kildonan for its showers and convenient location next to the hotel. However, as it was still March the camp site was not open.

Eventually we found a suitable place to land, between the many basalt dykes that project at right angles from the shore. It had been a long day, since we had left the east coast of the Kintyre peninsula at Carradale. Unlike the previous two nights, we had landed in plenty of time to get the tents up and cook a meal in daylight. However, we had no intention of doing any cooking...

One of the finest headlands in SW Scotland.

As we paddled along the south coast of Arran in the late March sunshine, we caught sight of the island of Pladda with its twin towered lighthouse.

 The coastline here rears up into...

 ...ever higher cliffs until we reached...

 ...the magnificent rock architecture of...

 Bennan Head, which comes complete with waterfall...

...and Black Cave (with blow hole)!

Our shadows drifted over the sands of ancient mountains.

 A little breeze helped us on our way from Corriecravie round to Arran's south coast.

It was high water, so we glided across the great number of volcanic dykes (or cleits) that criss cross the Cleats Shore.

This old stone gabled structure is now used as a farm building but we wondered if it was once a chapel.

The Kilmory Water enters the sea just beyond Cleats Shore and carries fine sand from the hills above into the sea.

It has helped create a broad sweep of sand in the bay, backed by a raised beach and low cliffs. The wind dropped and the sea turned glassy calm as...

...our shadows drifted over the sands of ancients mountains that now lay below the sea.

My (very) small part in The Great British Story.

Tonight, the BBC broadcast the first episode of The Great British Story: a People's History. The first programme, Britannia, dealt with the period following the fall of the Roman Empire. Throughout the Dark Ages, civilisation clung on in the western fringes of Britain as the east coast was invaded by the Anglo Saxons. The programme followed the voyage of St Columba from Ireland to Iona off the west coast of Mull. He brought Christianity into the northern land of the Picts (who had never been part of the Roman Britain having been isolated  by first the Antonine, then the Hadrian walls).

St Columba had founded religious settlements on many of the islands he stopped at on his route north. The programme showed the ancient Celtic Christian carved stone crosses that still stand on the islands of Islay and Oronsay. Standing at the foot of these wonderful crosses, which are worn by the gales of 1,200 winters, is a humbling experience.

The above photo is of one of the crosses of Oronsay. It was shown for all of several seconds. I was quite pleased. It was one of mine!