Where the river ends and plunges to the sea.

 It is difficult to say where Loch Shiel ends and the River Shiel begins but...

by the time you arrive at the triple arches of Shiel Bridge (1935) the current leaves you in now doubt that this is now the river.

Slightly downstream is the older single arch bridge built by Thomas Telford in 1804. In higher flows a little rapid forms just out of sight and downstream of the bridge. On opur last visit we could hear it roaring.

On this occasion it was like the proverbial millpond.

The Shiel is an important salmon river and the season runs from early May to end September. As we were here in Mid October we had the river to ourselves.

Unlike the majority of Scottish rivers there is no weir or dam to control water levels. On our last visit the river level was as high asa the fishing platform hand rails.

The river winds through some magnificent countryside. Gentle riffles signify the presence of...

...shallow shingle raspids.

The autumn colours were stunning.

As we were due to arrive at low tide  there would be about a 3m drop over the final rapid to the sea so we decided to portage...

...through the lovely deciduous trees that line the river.

Ian's orange deck was particularly harmonious with the fallen autumn leaves.

The rapid was not nearly so fearsome as on our last visit, however a nasty eddy can catch the unwary here and with loaded sea kayaks we were happy to leave this section un-run.

After a diversion to see the Falls of Shiel, it was but a short stroll till we caught sight of the sea in the sheltered waters of Loch Moidart,

For the full stereo vision experience read Ian's account here...

A pier with the site of a Viking slaying at one end and a pie shop at the other.

Leaving St. Finan's Isle we entered the outer, lowland section of Loch Shiel.

At  Dalelia we spotted a tall stone cross, almost hidden by the trees. It is a war memorial erected by Dalelia's then owner, Lord Howard of Glossop, to his son. Lt. Philip Howard. Philip was only 23 years old when he died in action in France in 1918, near the end of WW1. His family's wealth could not protect him from the ultimate sacrifice and waste of war.

 At first the loch was still narrow and we paddled close to shore but...

...then the loch opened out again as we left the mountains behind.

 A brisk tailwind meant we made excellent progress...

 ...and the combination of sun and a following wind...

 ...brought great smiles to our faces.

Ahead we saw the pier at Acharacle. It was time for a stop. Acharacle is a corruption of Àth Tharracail which is Gaelic for "Torquil's ford". At the end of the Viking occupation of Scotland Torquil was the leader of a band of Vikings who fled here pursued by Somerled the Lord of the Isles. Unfortunately the water was too deep to cross and they made a final stand but all were slain.

 We pulled the boats up onto the grass beside the slipway and left them in the shade of a...

 ...magnificent rowan tree. Then we proceeded...

...along the pier to...

 ...the pie shop where we enjoyed hot soup and pies before...

...slowly returning to the loch side where boats were nodding gently at their moorings, where once a Viking band was slain..

Fr the full stereo vision experience read Ian's account here..