Little Cumbrae: a touch of the Hebridean Wild West.

Little Cumbrae lies deep within the protective arms of the Firth of Clyde and so is not strictly speaking one of the Hebridean Islands. These lie off the remote Atlantic coast of Scotland from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to Cape Wrath in the north.


The highest point of the Little Cumbrae is only 47km from George Square in the heart of Glasgow, which with its commuter belt has a population of 2.3 million people.


Despite this proximity to so many people, we found ourselves completely alone on a winter Saturday lunch time. Of course in the summer there will be innumerable yachts, motor cruisers, speed boats and jet skis on the horizon.


We can now enjoy the solitude of this wonderful place, which in winter is as quiet as any remote Hebridean Island. As Billy, Tony and myself paddled round Little Cumbrae, it rekindled memories of a truly memorable trip, which was only the second time that we three had paddled together.

12/01/2008


Scarp, Outer Hebrides.

We had gone on a trawler supported trip arranged by Andy Spink of Hebridean Pursuits to the "Wild West". Andy has been organising these trips (for six years now) with the aim of getting to the remoter parts of the Hebrides, including when possible St Kilda. This year, the week long trip leaves from Oban on 16th May. It occurs to me that it would be an ideal introductory trip for some of the regular visitors to this blog who have not yet paddled in the Hebrides. Of course when I say introductory, what I mean is to the area not to sea kayaking! You would need to be used to paddling in exposed rough water conditions. Full details are available from Andy tel. 44(0)1631 710317 and email hebpursuit@aol.com.

11/06/2006

Comfortably numb!

It was a cold grey day down on the Ayrshire coast today. Our hands were so cold.


We just happened upon a hostelery, with the attraction of a warming fire. Some say the timing and location of our trips depend more on pub opening times than on tide tables. This is a quite scurrilous accusation, which we totally refute .


We continued on our way feeling comfortably numb.

Usual health warnings apply!

20/01/2008

Little Cumbrae: strategic island of the Clyde.

Approaching Little Cumbrae the view is dominated by its 14th century castle, which is built on Castle Island, a tidal islet lying off the east shore. The Little Cumbrae lies in a strategic position in the middle of the narrow entrance to the upper Firth of Clyde which is the seaway to the heartland of Central Scotland. It is no accident that the Scots fought the Vikings nearby at the Battle of Largs and that the Royal Navy nuclear submarines still pass this little island.


It was constructed by Walter Stewart who was King Robert the Bruce's son in law .


Like many Scottish keeps, its single entrance is on the first floor.


A similar keep can be seen standing on a rocky promontory at Portencross on the other side of the Fairlie Roads.

12/01/2008

RFA Fort George: "Toys out of the pram!"

RFA Fort George

As we rounded the south west of the Little Cumbrae, we were disappointed that the mist had rolled back across the mountains of Arran. Then this fine vessel steamed into view. She is the RFA Fort George and passed us at 14.4 knots. Her wake was breaking white rollers and gave us some good fun!

She was launched in 1991 and, with her sister ships, supplies the Royal Navy warships with supplies such as food, stores, fuel and ammunition.

Although RFA (Royal Fleet Auxilary) ships are not front line warships, who can forget the bravery and tragic loss of life of the crews and troops aboard RFA Sir Galahad and RFA Sir Tristram? They were both lost after being bombed at Fitzroy during the Falklands War.

Anyway it is great to get the following message from Ian, who is currently on board the Fort George:

"Hi Douglas,

I'm on RFA Fort George, and was on the bridge when we passed you. I hope our bow-wave didn't cause you any inconvenience - might even have been good surfing?! I did sort of wonder whether it might be you in the kayak. By the way, we give the "boats" a wide berth too, there's only one guy with his head stuck up out of the hatch over there!"

Apparently the unofficial motto of the RFA is "Toys out of the pram!" I think I will let Ian explain that one...

12/01/2008

Snowy, misty mountain top.

So I've decided what I'm gonna do now.
So I'm packing my bags for the Misty Mountains
Where the spirits go now,
Over the hills where the spirits fly, ooh.
Led Zeppelin

Just for a moment, as we paddled down the east coast of Little Cumbrae, the mists rolled back to reveal a stunning glimpse of the soaring, snow covered, granite ridges of Arran rising above its lesser neighbour. Almost as soon as the vision appeared, the mist closed in again and remained for the rest of the day.

But we were there to see it!

12/01/2008

Lions, geology and elves.

At the south east corner of the island of Great Cumbrae, in the Firth of Clyde, there is a peculiar rock formation (mimetolith) known as Lion Rock. It is composed of a very hard and fine-grained type of basalt only found on the island and is known as cumbraite. It is a volcanic dyke that dates from the relatively recent Eocene period. The dyke reappears on the other side of the Fairlie Roads near Hunterston power station. The deep water channel in the Fairlie Roads, which allows huge ore carriers access close to the shore, was cut by glaciers in the Ice Ages.

Of course the locals do not believe a word of this. Apparently the Lion was made by the bad elves. Elves are not known for their good sense and apparently they are terrified of lions. To this day, no elves can be found on the east side of Great Cumbrae though, if you know where to look, they are still quite populous on the west side.

12/01/2008

Wonderful winter light on Fairlie Roads

The sun rises through the mist on the Fairlie hills.


Crossing Fairlie Roads to Great Cumbrae.


Hunterston B nuclear powerstation steams gently in the sunrise.


Fairlie Roads.


Portencross Castle stands on the end of the distant headland.

12/01/2008

Of pencils, blossoms and atoms.

Saturday dawned fine behind the priapic pencil of Largs. A small ridge of high pressure intervened between two massive low pressure systems to give us a small weather window for a 30 km paddle on the Firth of Clyde.


We set off just as banks of fog were lifting. It started very cold but warmed as the day progressed. I suffered a very heavy fall when I slipped on ice just outside my front door.


We set off from the industry of the Ayrshire coast. The Panamanian bulk carrier, Lotus Blossom, was unloading the last of her cargo at the Hunterston ore terminal. In the background the twin magnox reactor towers of Hunterston A nuclear power station have produced no electricity since 1990. They generated electricity for 25 years but their decommissioning will take much longer than that.

12/01/2008

Nuclear winter

Yesterday on a cold January day Billy, Tony and I went for a little 30km paddle over to the island of Bute. You would think we would have had the place pretty much to ourselves but this Royal Navy Vanguard class nuclear (powered and armed) submarine was making its way home to Faslane on the upper Clyde. By the look of her paintwork, she had been on a long World cruise and I am sure that the families of her crew will be overjoyed by her return.


Having not crossed the bows one of these particular vessels before, we were unsure of protocol. Should we stop and let her past? Should we dip our Red Ensigns? Should we welcome her home by the firing of flares? Should we call out greetings on Channel 16 followed by a chorus of "Rule Britannia"? Should we ask "What ship are you?" (She could be the Vanguard, Vigilant, Victorious or Vengeance but boats like these do not have name plates.) Should we attempt to surf her bow wave?


Having left our maritime protocol books ashore, we decided to stop and let her past.

12/01/2008

Sea Kayaking Desktop Calendar December 2008

Soft winter sun on Ayrshire's remote and lonely Atlantic coast.

If you would like to download the December desktop, it is available in sizes of 1920x1200, 1280x1024, 1024x768 and 800x600.

For best results, do not use the photos from this blogger site but visit the Scottish Sea Kayaking Photo Gallery and click on the size of your desk top. Most visitors to this site use 1280x1024 or 1024x768. You can check your desktop size by right clicking anywhere on it then left click properties then left click settings.

Well that brings the 2008 calendar to a close. This year, six of the photos were taken in my home waters; the Firth of Clyde. The 2005 calendar had one Clyde photo, the 2006 had one and the 2007 none. I have made a concious effort to do my bit for the environment by consuming less energy in getting to sea kayaking trips :o). Sometimes it is easy to overlook what is close to home, today we paddled over 30 km from a launch site less than 1 hour's drive from Glasgow. We visited 3 islands and saw a huge bulk carrier's coal cargo being unloaded, two nuclear powered stations (one decommissioning, a wind farm, an oil fired power station (mothballed), snowy mountains, eider duck, two ancient castles, a tide race, a Fleet Auxiliary vessel and finally a Vanguard class nuclear submarine returning to its base from a World cruise!

Sea Kayaking Desktop Calendar November 2008

Winter sunset behind Ailsa Craig, Firth of Clyde.

If you would like to download the November desktop, it is available in sizes of 1920x1200, 1280x1024, 1024x768 and 800x600.

For best results, do not use the photos from this blogger site but visit the Scottish Sea Kayaking Photo Gallery and click on the size of your desk top. Most visitors to this site use 1280x1024 or 1024x768. You can check your desktop size by right clicking anywhere on it then left click properties then left click settings.

December to follow....

Sea Kayaking Desktop Calendar October 2008

Stormy autumnal skies over Huisinis, Isle of Harris.

If you would like to download the October desktop, it is available in sizes of 1920x1200, 1280x1024, 1024x768 and 800x600.

For best results, do not use the photos from this blogger site but visit the Scottish Sea Kayaking Photo Gallery and click on the size of your desk top. Most visitors to this site use 1280x1024 or 1024x768. You can check your desktop size by right clicking anywhere on it then left click properties then left click settings.

Other months to follow....

Sea Kayaking Desktop Calendar September 2008

Approaching Holy Island from the south end of Arran.

If you would like to download the September desktop, it is available in sizes of 1920x1200, 1280x1024, 1024x768 and 800x600.

For best results, do not use the photos from this blogger site but visit the Scottish Sea Kayaking Photo Gallery and click on the size of your desk top. Most visitors to this site use 1280x1024 or 1024x768. You can check your desktop size by right clicking anywhere on it then left click properties then left click settings.

Other months to follow....

Some other computer calendars you might like to peruse are the Islay Weblog Desktop Calendar, John Gray's Seacanoe E calendar (requires Flash player) and Bjorn's with images from Norway, Germany and Eastern Canada.

Sea Kayaking Desktop Calendar August 2008

Paddling in perfect peace over the clear waters of Traigh Bhan, Iona.

If you would like to download the August desktop, it is available in sizes of 1920x1200, 1280x1024, 1024x768 and 800x600.

For best results, do not use the photos from this blogger site but visit the Scottish Sea Kayaking Photo Gallery and click on the size of your desk top. Most visitors to this site use 1280x1024 or 1024x768. You can check your desktop size by right clicking anywhere on it then left click properties then left click settings.

Other months to follow....

Sea Kayaking Desktop Calendar July 2008

Rockhopping in crystal clear waters along the Wilderness coast of Mull.

If you would like to download the July desktop, it is available in sizes of 1920x1200, 1280x1024, 1024x768 and 800x600.

For best results, do not use the photos from this blogger site but visit the Scottish Sea Kayaking Photo Gallery and click on the size of your desk top. Most visitors to this site use 1280x1024 or 1024x768. You can check your desktop size by right clicking anywhere on it then left click properties then left click settings.

Other months to follow....

Sea Kayaking Desktop Calendar June 2008

An early morning fog rolls down West Loch Tarbert on Jura and obscures the view of the Paps of Jura from Ruantallain.

If you would like to download the June desktop, it is available in sizes of 1920x1200, 1280x1024, 1024x768 and 800x600.

For best results, do not use the photos from this blogger site but visit the Scottish Sea Kayaking Photo Gallery and click on the size of your desk top. Most visitors to this site use 1280x1024 or 1024x768. You can check your desktop size by right clicking anywhere on it then left click properties then left click settings.

Other months to follow....