Between a rock and a contrail on Ardlamont.

I got up on the sixth day of our expedition after having slept very little. The pain in my injured shoulder had steadily worsened making sleep all but impossible. To make matters worse I had finished all my painkillers. Our plan  had been to spend a further two days exploring the Kyles of Bute before returning to Ardrossan on the Ayrshire coast. However, I could not face a further miserable night so I explained the situation to the others and we decided to head directly to Ardrossan some 42km distant. We did consider whether to paddle 33km to Brodick on Arran and then get the ferry to Ardrossan  but it would have put my injured shoulder under too much pressure to get the last ferry.

 The beaches at Ardlamont point are composed of steeply sloping rock shelves. The rock is 600 million years old and is made of sediments which been subjected to considerable metamorphic changes. The great pressures, folding and heat have produced some beautiful patterns in the rock.

In places the rock shelf is covered by beaches of cobbles. Mostly these are of the same metamorphic rock but there are also some sandstone, quartz and granite cobbles mixed in.

 The water looked very inviting for a swim but as my shoulder was so sore I decided not to risk it. Only Jennifer was brave enough to go in as the water in early June was still only 11 degrees Celsius.

We slowly packed the kayaks as the heat of the day began to build. Thankfully there were far fewer midges than the previous evening.

 It felt great to be paddling down the Sound of Bute with Arran on one side and...

 ...the rocky shores and yellow gorse covered banks of Ardlamont on the other.

There was absolutely no wind so the sails remained furled on our decks. My friends accommodated my injury by paddling slowly, much more slowly than...

...the passengers on this Trans-Atlantic jet, which was the only other sign of human activity. Long after the jet had gone, the reflection of its contrail writhed like a snake in the water ahead of us.

Baked potatoes and bandits in Ardlamont.

As dusk fell the wind dropped and unfortunately that was the signal for the arrival of the midges. We soon had a fire going on the beach. We don't light fires on grass and we don't make fire rings with big stones. After the next high tide there is no sign of our passing.

 Baked potatoes in tin foil are an essential addition to any camp fire.

As we and the millions of midges enjoyed the ambience of the evening we were really surprised that we had the place to ourselves, with no other human company.

A peaceful night alone on Ardlamont?

 At long last we arrived at our camp spot on the Ardlamont peninsula. We had travelled for 12 hours since we had left Gigha which lies off the exposed Atlantic west coast of Scotland. We now found ourselves deep within the Firth of Clyde, some 80km from the Mull of Kintyre at the mouth of the Firth.

We looked out over the Sound of Bute to low lying Inchmarnock and Arran. Between them, the distant south Ayrshire coast was out of sight below the horizon. Only the summits of the Galloway hills were just visible some 90km away to the SE.

The beach was backed by a raised beach of cobbles, a legacy of a rising landmass after the retreat of the Ice Age.

 The raised beach provided an ideal base to set up camp. From my tent door I spotted...

...this otter diving for crabs. We could quite clearly hear it crunching the shells. The only building visible on our entire horizon was the small white unoccupied cottage on the Arran shore at Laggan. Unfortunately we would not find ourselves alone for long, this evening...

Saved by a sundowner in Kilbride Bay.

We had been travelling for 40km since we had left Gigha earlier in the day and there were still several kilometers to go. I had torn muscles in my left shoulder (which would require surgical repair) and it was hurting like hell. It was a great relief when a northerly sundowner wind got up and blew us straight out of Kilbride Bay. It is amazing how the Flat Earth sail can take the load of a heavily laden kayak off tired shoulders.

 We soon left the long strand in our wakes and...

...we made the most of the broad reach down the Ardlamont peninsula to our intended camp.

Tired kayakers and concrete sleepers at Kilbride Bay.

From Skate Island we enjoyed a fast reach eastwards along the Ardlamont peninsula, which divides Loch Fyne from the Kyles of Bute. The cool clear air of the north wind and the low evening sun made for a breathtaking view over the Sound of Bute to Arran. We passed dolphins, porpoises, otters, puffins and diving gannets. It was difficult to believe that this glorious wilderness was in the Firth of Clyde, in the catchment area of which, 3/5 of Scotland's population live.

Many sea kayaking visitors to Scotland (and also many Scottish sea kayakers) tend to shun the Firth of Clyde and head north to places like Arisaig and the Summer Isles. Maybe the above photos might cause some wilderness seekers to think again.

The Ardlamont peninsula holds a glorious little visited beach that you can only visit by walking in or by boat. It is Kilbride Bay. It has a huge crescent of sand backed by dunes and machair.

We landed at its western end and had a well earned break while enjoying the view. However, unspoiled though Kilbride Bay appears, it was heavily used in WW2 for army, air force naval training exercises.

                             
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At the east end of the beach, a railway line with concrete sleepers still  runs straight down into the sea...

Paddle sailing away in the clear air at the end of a long day.

Once we left the shelter of East Loch Tarbert we entered the wide mouth of Loch Fyne, which is the longest sea loch in the Firth of Clyde and indeed the whole of Scotland. The view out of the loch across the expanse of the Sound of Bute to the rocky ridges of the Arran mountains was stunning. As we entered open waters a breeze picked up and we hoisted our sails.

We were bound for Skate Island some 6km away across Loch Fyne.

After some exhilarating paddle sailing in the wonderful clear evening light we...

...reassembled by the Skate Island (Sgat Mor) lighthouse.

I think Phil's smile will save any lengthy further description of the crossing!

Lost buoys and a green ferry in East Loch Tarbert.

It was nearly 5pm before we left the cove at Port Ban on the north side of East Loch Tarbert. As we left, two local boys in a boat were scouring the coastline and collecting lost fishing buoys. 

We now paddled out towards the mouth of East Loch Tarbert but had to keep clear of...

...the ferry from Portavadie which was making its way in.The Tarbert to Portavadie route is one of the more recent of the Scottish west coast ferries as it was established in 1994. This is the MV Isle of Cumbrae has been the main vessel on the route since 1999 and she can carry 18 cars at a time. She is due to be replaced by the new MV Lochinvar which was built at Ferguson Shipbuilders at Port Glasgow on the Clyde. The Lochinvar is powered by diesel electric hybrid technology with Lion batteries which will make it one of the most efficient ferries in the fleet..

As we approached the mouth of East Loch Tarbert the mountains of Arran came into view. The air was crystal clear and we prepared for a wonderful crossing.

Sea kayaking again in East Loch Tarbert.

We had now reached the most northerly point in our rather circuitous return trip from Campbeltown to Ardrossan. After portaging the isthmus at the north end of the great peninsula of the Mull of Kintyre, we...

 ...found ourselves back in Firth of Clyde waters at Tarbert. After the sweated hard work of the portage it was such a relief to be floating weightlessly on the cool water of East Loch Tarbert.

The Tarbert fishing fleet can use either the fish quay in the East Loch or the quay in the West Loch. This can save a long voyage round the Mull of Kintyre or through the Crinan Canal. SD Omagh is an Admiralty Fleet Tender operated by the private firm Serco Denholm on behalf of the Royal Navy Support Services for the naval dockyards on the Clyde.

As we left the inner harbour the beauty of Tarbert's situation was revealed. The distant hills lie on the far side of West Loch Tarbert from which we had portaged. Tarbert Castle stands over the village. It is open to the public and is a wonderful vantage point from which to view the village and its loch. The castle was greatly reinforced by King Robert the Bruce in 1325.

 It was too nice to leave Tarbert, so we landed for an extended luncheon in the delightful Port Ban bay.

By the time we had finished lunch it was low water and we faced our second portage of the day back to the water. Our Karitek portage straps proved very useful.

Tidal planning on an (unarmed) portage from West Loch Tarbert to East Loch Tarbert.

It was almost high water and we were able to paddle very near to the head of West Loch Tarbert.

High water in West Loch Tarbert is very variable as it opens into the sea in an area affected by an amphidrome. As a very rough guide, local HW is -0200 HW Oban at springs and -0500 HW Oban at neaps. This means that the tide is approximately 26 minutes earlier each day between springs and neaps. We were 4 days before springs and HW Oban was 17:18 so local HW in West Loch Tarbert was 17:18-(02:00+01:43) = 13:35. We arrived at 13:35 and the tide was indeed just turning.

We found ourselves close to the road but a surprisingly steep bank rose up from the high water mark.  To get there we had to wade through particularly soft and sticky mud. Then we discovered the "grassy" bank was actually a thicket of nettles and brambles. It took four of us to man handle each loaded kayak diagonally up the slope. In the 30 minutes it took to get the kayaks to the road, the tide had disappeared, leaving a huge expanse of oozing mud. My advice for this portage is to exit 1km further back down the loch at the slipway by West Tarbert pier.

As it was my left shoulder and left knee that were troubling me, I had to do my share of the lifting with my right side down the slope and carrying the kayaks.This meant we needed to get the kayaks onto the road facing the wrong way. We then had quite a wait until the road was quiet enough to get them safely turned towards Tarbert. There is a lane marked off for pedestrians but there is no kerb and if two lorries pass each other in opposite directions there is very little room. It is essential to make sure your trolley wheels are correctly aligned to prevent the kayak wandering out into the road behind you,

The summit of the 1.6km portage is 22m above sea level and it was on this slope that I realised I would need to see a surgeon for my sore left shoulder.

It was a great relief to start the descent into Tarbert and the Firth of Clyde. We certainly would not be breaking any speed limits as we were averaging just 2.2km/hr.

Tarbert was busy with holiday makers but there was room to park our kayaks along the quayside beside the old slipway, which is blocked off by a plastic barrier as it is in poor repair. (It was easily moved.)

On seeing Tarbert harbour, Jennifer said "Oh no the tide is out!"

An old fisherman, who was interested in our story, said  "Aye, when the tide is in at the west loch it is oot at the east loch. If ye dinna ken afore, ye ken the noo!" 

We spent 35 minutes resupplying in the local Co-op supermarket and eating an ice cream.

The tidal constant between West Loch Tarbert and East Loch Tarbert (which is a recognised secondary tidal port with tide tables freely available) is approximately +1 hour neaps and +3.5hours springs. HW in East Loch Tarbert was actually at 11:53 and by the time we launched it was 15:44, nearly 4 hours after HW. Fortunately the bottom of Tarbert harbour was firm enough for our trolley wheels but if the tide had dropped much further then it would have been soft mud.

Not counting the 35 minutes shopping, the total portage from afloat to afloat had taken 2 hours and 9 minutes. Given our 30 minute struggle to get the boats up the bank from the head of the loch, it would probably have taken the same time to have trollyed the kayaks the extra 1km from the West Tarbert slipway and its easier exit.

There are many places in Scotland called Tarbert or Tarbet. The name comes from the Gaelic word Tairbeart. In modern Gaelic this means isthmus but its origin lies in "over carry" or "draw boat". Of course sea kayakers were not the first to portage their boats over the isthmus at Tarbert.  In about 1093 Magnus Barefoot, King of Norway, had made a truce with the King of Scotland that allowed him to claim possession of any land he could "sail" round. Of course he didn't necessarily use his own Vikings as labour, he probably "recruited" the unfortunate locals.Unlike the Vikings, we had come unarmed and so had to draw our own boats across the isthmus but we were now back in the Firth of Clyde.

Better Days #16 in West Loch Tarbert.

 Beyond West Tarbert pier we came across a graveyard of decaying...

 wooden fishing boats.

This one was FV Kreisker BA207, which was wrecked here about 1987. Their days of harvesting the oceans' bounty had long gone. In short they have seen better days.

We now came to where my friend had suggested we exit the loch to begin our portage across the isthmus into the Firth of Clyde. The West Loch Hotel and the road to Tarbert lay a short distance over a gently sloping grassy bank. It looked ideal, an easy exit with the prospect of a refreshing pint but the illusion was shattered when we paddled into a lagoon of raw sewage, which was bubbling out of the end of a sewage pipe. Yuk! We made a sharp exit.

Time for a sharp exit at West Loch Tarbert Pier.

We planned to reach the head of West Loch Tarbert near high water as we planned to exit the loch near its muddy head and portage our kayaks over the isthmus to East Loch Tarbert on the Clyde. I had originally planned to exit here at West Loch Tarbert Pier where there is a public...

 ...slipway, which I had sussed out in December 2011. However, I was persuaded by a friend who had come this way last year that there was a much better exit 850m further up the loch. Well I will come to that but in the meantime, let me just say that if you come this way and plan to portage the isthmus to East Loch Tarbert, EXIT HERE.

As it was, we paddled past the busy pier towards the head of the loch. The towing vessel Mary M was tied up, she spends most of her time on the Clyde. Unlike us she would need to return to the Clyde by motoring round the Mull of Kintyre. At 7m wide she is nearly 1m too wide for the Crinan Canal further north. West Loch Tarbert is the homeport for trawler Fionnaghal, TT104, built in Berwick upon Tweed in 1989. She was tied alongside  Campbelltown based Silver Spray III, TT77. She was built in Stromness in 1986 and is licenced for prawns and scallops.