Introduction to Hirta, St Kilda.

The morning of 3rd June 2008 dawned with a freshening SW wind blowing across Village Bay on Hirta in the St Kilda archipelago. The forecast was for a force 7 and Murdani, the skipper, of the Cuma said he would like to leave by 14:00.


The Cuma's RIB shuttled us into the jetty on St Kilda as all the other boats left!


We were met by Bill Shaw, the friendly National Trust for Scotland ranger. He explained important Dos and Don'ts for our visit.


It was with some excitement that we ascended the steep stone flags which led up from the jetty..


With Dun in the background, Bill took some group photos before we started our explorations of this extraordinary remote place which has been inhabited for over 3,000 years!.

03/06/2008 am

Paddling with planets.

We launched from the shingle beach at Dunure just as a pink glow appeared behind the cold snowy ridges of Arran. Although the sun had set 15 minutes before, the summit ridge of Goatfell was still catching rays from below the horizon.


We set off for Maidens guided by light from Venus, Jupiter and Turnberry lighthouse. We were surrounded by six other lighthouses: Ailsa Craig, Sanda, Davaar Island, Pladda, Holy Island outer and Lady Isle but the first three were unseen as they were below the horizon like the now departing sun.


As the light faded the horizon darkened from deep orange to blood red.


An hour and fifteen minutes after sunset the horizon still betrayed the long gone sun. Flocks of sea birds swirled out of the darkness on their way out to sea but the slow shutter speed (1/6s) has all but failed to capture them. Ailsa Craig still dominated the land and sea but its bold outline was soon to merge with the darkness above. Far from land, the clear skies gave one of the best views of the Milky Way we have ever seen.


We landed at Maidens two hours after sunset. It was very dark and minus three degrees Celsius but what a fantastic time to be out paddling!

06/12/2008

At the end of the day, in Dunure

We emerged from the Anchorage Bar into the chill of the gathering night.


Our timing was impeccable, the sun was just kissing the horizon to the south west.


David offered to run us back down to Maidens to pick up the car....


....as the golden glow on the horizon grew ever more intense.


Ailsa Craig looked so enticing we decided to paddle back to Maidens, even though we would not arrive until 2 hours after sunset.

06/12/2008

All along the watch tower at Dunure.

Sea kayaking is a strenuous activity, which places many demands on the fitness, nutrition and hydration of participants. The success of a major sea kayaking expedition often depends on the shore based support crew.


Last Sunday David was unable to join us on the water as he was on call for his veterinary surgery. He drove down to Dunure and walked along the cliff path to the old WW2 watch tower. There he kept a concerned eye open for our approach from afar.


As we came round the headland and wended our way through the skerries below, he waved before heading down to the pub to put in the order for the Guinness.


He then helped us carry the kayaks up the beach beyond the two pint mark. Such selfless sacrifice is an essential requisite in any expedition's support crew.

A toast, a toast! Here's to the unsung heroes!

06/12/2008

Ayrshire's gem of a coastline.

We cut across the wide expanse of Culzean Bay. It is backed by the sands of Croy. Behind the shore there is a cliff line with a raised beach behind. This is now rich agricultural land and when the fields are ploughed, many gem hunters follow the plough seeking out agates. These semi precious stones can also be found on the current beach but there most are broken and cracked by wave action.


We landed at the remote north end of Culzean Bay.


What a magnificent spot to enjoy lunch!


This can be an awkward spot to land in surf, with lots of boulders to catch the unwary!


In the clear winter air, it seemed we could nearly reach out and touch the rocky ridges of Arran's snow covered mountains.

06/12/2008

Disembodied heads on the return from Ailsa Craig!

After our exploration of the lonely rock of Ailsa Craig we set off on our return journey in glorious May afternoon sunshine.


It was hot work in the sun as what little wind there was began to die away as Ailsa Craig began to grow smaller on the western horizon.


By the time we were approaching Lendalfoot on the Ayrshire coast, the wind had dropped completely and we paddled accompanied by crazy reflections, some with disembodied heads.


The tide was well out as we landed in the reefs over which we had paddled just a few hours ago. On the horizon Ailsa Craig looked distant again but now we had an exact measure of that distance.

05/05/2008

Landfall at Culzean

We made first landfall at the south end of Culzean estate.


The low December sun cast shadows behind each ripple in the sand. In summer this popular beach would be covered in footprints.


In the distance Ailsa Craig floated on the calm waters of the Firth of Clyde.


We were soon paddling north under the walls of Culzean Castle. This is a great piece of coastline and one we visit regularly. It was in fact my first ever sea kayaking trip!

06/12/2008

Not quite a Maidens morning!

Even the mid day shadows were long in the low mid winter sun. A great forecast had raised the possibility of a far flung adventure, somewhere up the west coast. But on Saturday I slept in, after a hard week at work. So we found ourselves just down the Ayrshire coast at Maidens.


We were on the water by 1230 and I could hardly take my eyes off the beautiful snow covered ridges of Arran on the far side of the Firth of Clyde.


It was Jennifer's first time on the water since a serious mountain bike accident. It was a perfect reintroduction!


Behind us Ailsa Craig dominated the SW horizon beyond Barwhin Point and its clear silhouette held the promise of a spectacular sunset later.

06/12/2008

It really doesn't get much better....

All the recent talk about Ailsa Craig took us back to the Ayrshire coast. It really doesn't get much better than the mid winter sun setting behind Ailsa Craig. Of course we waited for the sunset in the comfort of the bar which is a mere 50m away!


This was 1 hour later. We still had 10km to get back to the car from the sunset. It was very dark and cold when we finally landed. Magical paddling!

06/12/2008

Rock and roll on Ailsa Craig

From the slopes above the lighthouse, we had spotted a huge pile of granite boulders at the top of the beach. These had been collected in 2001 by a digger and dump truck from the site of the old quarry by the south fog horn. No fresh blasting took place, the pieces of rock had lain there since the quarry was abandoned in 1971. The moving machinery had been brought by landing craft by Kays of Mauchline who make the world famous Ailsa Craig curling stones. They removed 1,500 tons of granite on the landing craft and left the remainder on the beach for future supplies.


In the past, the granite was cut into cylinders of rock on the island. The cylinders were then further cut and finished into curling stones at Kay's workshop on the mainland. It is still possible to find blocks of rock that have had cylinders cut out.


Although Kays used a JCB digger to load a landing craft in 2001, in the past a light railway served both the lighthouse and the quarry. Wagons loaded with granite rock were allowed to roll down the slope to the jetty.


This rusting truck is just about all that is left of the wagons. The railway was operated by a cable system. When hauling oil and supplies up to the lighthouse it was powered by an engine in a pit at the top of the railway.


The railway ran right to the end of the pier where a crane was used to unload and load supply and quarry ships.

05/05/2008

Ailsa Craig lighthouse.

From the summit of Ailsa Craig we started our steep descent back to the lighthouse. At times it looked like we were about to walk over a precipice but the path always swung back onto more gentle slopes.


The castle and the lighthouse reappeared almost beneath our feet!


As we traversed the slope we could see huge blocks of granite piled at the top of the beach beyond the lighthouse (see next post).


The lighthouse was built by Thomas and David Stevenson in 1886. The light flashes white every 4 seconds. The lighthouse was automated in 1990 and the last keepers left.


This NLB plaque can be found in the courtyard. Unfortunately the former keepers' cottages and workshops are falling into dilapidation.

05/05/2008

It's tough being a gannet!

Not far from the summit cairn of Ailsa Craig we found this unprotected greater black backed gull nest. Now the rats have gone, this ruthless bird has no predators. We have seen these gulls straffing a colony of razorbills, forcing them into flight then eating their eggs.


Just a short distance away, down a grassy bank, lay the top of the gannet colony on the west craigs. It was quite tempting to go down and get some good closeups of the nesting gannets. But these gannets were incubating their eggs. If they had been disturbed and left the nest, the gulls would have swooped down and stolen the eggs. I contented myself with this distant view.


Marauding black backed gulls were not the only problem facing the gannets. Thirteen fishing boats, at least two of which were registered to Belfast, were trawling round and round Ailsa Craig. From the heights we could see where their nets had stirred up the sea bed. It seemed a great pity that so many fish were being scooped out of the sea, right under the beaks of the breeding gannets.

05/05/2008