The northern Sound of Islay, the sound of superlatives.

The north half of the Sound of Islay is blessed with...

 ...some amazing rock architecture on the Jura shore. We were treated to more dykes, arches,...

 ....caves and stacks.

 We were enjoying the view so much that we kept close inshore out of the main south going flow.

 The Islay shore was also not without its delights. This is the Bunnahabhain distillery.

 Meanwhile back on the Jura shore the succession of caves and...

 dykes continued.

 Then gradually the Sound narrowed and as we approached...

 ...the lighthouse at Carragh an t-Sruith the full force of the ebb tide caught us and we sped south at 13km/hr.

 The next Islay delight was the Caol Ila distillery very rapidly followed by...

...Port Askaig, where the ferries from Kintyre, Jura, Colonsay and Oban call. This evening it was only the Eilean Dhiura, the Jura ferry, that was in port.

As we reflected on what we had seen in our rapid transit of the northern Sound of Islay, we agreed that it truly was a Sound of Superlatives. As we would now be crossing from Jura to Islay I was particularly glad I had brought some Caol Ila 18y old malt for later that night. Jura malt on Jura then Islay malt on Islay, what could be better?

Waiting for the tide in the Sound of Islay #2 Jura adventure at Allt Bun an Eas!

After picking the ticks off our ankles and wrists we tucked our trousers inside our socks. We still had plenty of time before the tide turned in the Sound of Islay. We fancied talking a walk back along the shore....

...to the waterfalls we had seen earlier. At first I was not sure I would make it that far as my knees were painful in particular my right knee. However on the descent off the grassy slope behind the basalt dyke something deep inside my knee clicked. Suddenly it was less painful and much easier to move.

 So Tony and I set off along an amazing beach, under Beinn an Oir 785m, to the...

 ...waterfalls at Allt Bun an Eas (burn with the waterfall at the bottom). The final fall cascades into a pool on the beach itself.

I had climbed up here (before knee problems) on a visit with Phil and there are three more fabulous pools above the large pool at the bottom of the falls. Each is more difficult to reach than the one before. There are big jug handle holds and Tony soon made his way up. It looks very steep but the first step was only about 25 degrees.

I was just going to stay at the bottom but my knee was still nice and loose so I could not resist and was soon up the first rock step to the second pool. Tony was now up at the third pool and shouted down that it was completely stunning.

Unfortunately it was at this point that my right knee clicked again and I had sudden stabbing pain. Ouch! Stunning pool or not I was going no further so I retreated. Thank goodness for the big jug handle holds on the rock!

We made our way back on a higher path. On the cliff line above the beach there are long dry sea arches, caves and...

...stacks. We could now see that the tide in the Sound of Islay had slackened off and would soon turn. It was time to return to the boats!

Waiting for the tide in the Sound of Islay #1 a tick feast!

The flood tide was now rushing north up the Sound of Islay at  5 knots. While there are some counter eddies, it is a purgatory thing to waste energy fighting the forces of nature. It is much better to go with the flow and where better to stop for third luncheon than this stunning beach on the Jura shore?

 Tony wasted no time in leaping to the top of the basalt dyke behind the beach. "You'll need to come up and see this view" he shouted down. Well my knees were still aching after the Tarbert portage the previous night so I took my time...

...and pitched my tent in the lee of another dyke. My tent was still soaking wet after my camp on Seil with Mike two nights previously.  The fresh offshore wind soon had it bone dry. While it was drying I slowly made my way up to Tony the easy way, round the back of the dyke.

As I climbed the view got better and better. This is looking north  to the distant mountains of Mull.

This is looking NW to Ruvaal lighthouse on Islay with Oronsay, Colonsay and Mull on the horizon.

This is looking west across the Sound of Islay to Sgarbh Breac 364m on Islay.

 This is looking SE down the narrowing Sound of Islay.

 These pretty yellow primroses caught my eye as I stopped to give my knees a rest.

 Tony was right the view from the top of the dyke was stunning.

 We had pulled the kayaks well above the incoming tide so we were in no hurry.

 Unlike these guys whom we had seen lifting their pots when we left the mouth of West Loch Tarbert.

The boat is Speedwell of Glenariffe CN318. Her home port is Kilkeel in SE Northern Ireland some 240 kilometres away! Whatever, she was on full throttle and only making slow progress down the Sound of Islay.

After all this activity and hubbub died down Tony and I were left in peace. We spent some time just watching the tide rush by and picking ticks off our wrists and ankles. This was our luncheon, not a tick feast!

A change of course in the Sound of Islay.

When Tony and I left West Loch Tarbert on Jura's wild west coast, our original intention had been to paddle the 8km across the Sound of Islay from Rubha a' Chrois-aoinidh on Jura and land to the west of Ruvaal lighthouse on Islay. There we could sit out the north going flood tide in the Sound of Islay before the tide turned and carried us south to our next destination on the SE coast of Islay. At first the sea was calm but...

Intermission with no photos.

...one thing about sea kayaking is that you need to be flexible. We had only gone 2km but the offshore tail wind which was funnelling straight down West Loch Tarbert had increased to the top of a F4 and we the Sound was kicking up some very lumpy water as the tide increased.

Anyway we decided to give Ruvall a miss and turned through 90 degrees to broad reach down the Sound as far as we could, given the tide was running against us.

 Out in the open Sound, we made splendid progress...

Intermission with no photos.

...for a further four kilometres but as we entered....

 ...the lee of Jura, the wind dropped and veered to the south so we had to drop our sails. The coastline here has frequent basalt dykes, arches caves and raised beaches.

It was getting hard paddling against the wind and the tide but we hugged the shore to keep out of the main stream as the Sound narrowed ahead.

This magnificent series of waterfalls cascade from a high valley directly onto the beach. The deep V shaped gorge was not cut by the present flow but by the huge volume of melt water from the retreating ice after the Ice Age.

 We made one last burst against the tide before finding...

 ...a most agreeable place to stop for...

 ...third luncheon. A basalt dyke behind the beach offered shade from the chill south east wind.

A big egg or a small frying pan?

Tony and I stopped for second luncheon at a little bay on Rubha a' Chrois-aoinidh at the mouth of West Loch Tarbert on Jura. What to eat?

 A big bird.

 An empty nest.

 Is this a big egg or a small frying pan?

As we ate we enjoyed a view over the mouth of the loch to another magnificent raised beach on the north side. After a scrumptious luncheon, the tide had turned and come back in to the boats. It was now time to leave West Loch Tarbert.

The beaches under the Enchanted Mountain of Jura.

From the raised beach on the south shore of West Loch Tarbert on Jura Tony and I set off on our exploration of the outer loch.

A fair wind and the last of the ebb tide helped to propel us...

...past an amazing series of bays backed by...

...raised beaches which were in turn backed by long dry sea cliffs and caves. The Paps of Jura now heaved above the coastal landscape and would be with us for most of the rest of our expedition.

As we approached Glenbatrick  bay the water quickly shoaled to a sandy bottom and turned from ultramarine to...

...dazzling turquoise. What looked like a road on the hillside was actually another raised beach.

We approached Glenbatrick house at the head of the bay. It is locally pronounced Glenabatrick after the original name Glenabedrig.

The house was built in Victorian times for the Astor family and it is the current Lord Astor's holiday home. David Cameron's wife Samantha is Lord Astor's step daughter and the Camerons have enjoyed several holidays here. Tony and I met Lord Astor in 2007 in a remote bay on the west coast of Jura. He seemed a thoroughly decent person. Behind the house the shapely mass of Beinn Shiantaidh (757m) heaved towards the blue vault of the sky. There are several translations of her Gaelic name but I much prefer "The Enchanted Mountain."

We left the turquoise waters of Glenbatrick Bay and paddled over the...

...the deeper ultramarine waters off Rubha a' Chrois-aoinidh (headland of the steep cross) at the entrance of West Loch Tarbert. Then we spotted a little sandy cove, time for second luncheon!