A flying crossing from Bute.

From Garroch Head on Bute we set off for...

...the Little Cumbrae island in perfect sea kayaking conditions. We had sun, a following wind and helpful waves. My maximum speed was 13.6km/hour and for most of the stretch from the Little Cumbrae to Portencross, we kept up 8-11km/hour.

We were soon back at Portencross Castle on the north Ayrshire coast..

Garroch Head can just be seen in the distance, behind my mast.

This was definitely my fastest time for this crossing which is one of our regular trips.

With views like this to Arran, you might understand the frequency of our return visits.

This little trip was 34km and was less than an hour's drive from Glasgow. I highly recommend it if you are ever in the area. From the south end of Bute, the view over to the mountains round Glen Sannox on Arran is superb, easily a match for the more famous mountain and sea view over Loch Scavaig to the Skye Cuillin from Elgol.

Any port in a storm.

As Jim and I approached Garroch Head on Bute, we were looking for a suitable spot to have a second luncheon...

... and perhaps to weather out a thunderstorm, which threatened to spill over the Sound of Bute from Arran.

 We found this little cobble beach...

...in a break in the lava beds of Garroch Head.

The lava bed rock had been worn into amazing pinnacles and channels by a combination of wave action and the cobbles.

 We enjoyed the view...

 from a little platform...

...above the beach. We wondered how many of our fellow seafarers and ancestors had been grateful for the shelter offered by this little beach if caught out in a storm.

 However HMS Dragon seemed unperturbed by the weather...

...and at last the sun broke through and shone down on Gen Sannox again. It was time to move on.

Of electrifying paint jobs and atmospheric conditions!

 After an excellent luncheon, Jim and I started our return journey from Scalpsie Bay to Portencross.

You certainly will not miss Jim's new Taran on the water.

My all white kayak is really rather plain in the Taran's company!

To the west, storm clouds gathered...

...above the Arran mountains and there was distant rumble of thunder in the air.

Then the full storm unleashed itself on Glen Sannox.

Not enough puff for the West Kyle!

In the wind shadow of Scalpsie Bay on Bute we caught up with Tony and Gavin's news while enjoying the view to Arran's rocky ridges over the Sound of Bute.

  as the spring tide rapidly ebbed from the bay...

 ...it was time for Tony and Gavin to depart. They had a long slog against the tide and wind up the west Kyle to the Burnt Islands area where they planned to camp.

Tony's new Cetus is certainly sparkly!

Jim and I had originally planned to accompany them as far as Inchmarnock at the entrance to the West Kyle before returning to Portencross. Unfortunately some of the pain killers I have been taking for my knee have aggravated my asthma so I decided we had come far enough. As Jim and I finished our lunch, HMS Dragon slowly cruised down the Clyde on her sea trials. She didn't appear to be in a hurry to go anywhere either.

A castle and two forts on the way to Scalpsie Bay, Bute.

Jim and I met at the recently restored Portencross Castle on the Ayrshire coast of the Firth of Clyde. Normally we launch down slippy rocks from the car park but recently my knee has been really bothering me and the rocks were not an option. We therefore used our trolleys to carry the kayaks a few hundred meters to the little beach by the castle.

Tony and Gavin were on a camping trip round Bute and had arrived at Glencallum Bay at 10pm the previous night. We hoped to meet them at Garroch Head.

This was Jim's first outing (in home waters) of his new Rockpool Taran. A gusty NW wind slowed our crossing and...

...by the time we rounded Garroch Head and landed at Dunagoil Bay, we had missed Tony and Gavin.

After a quick luncheon spent admiring Jim's paint job...

...we departed from Dunagoil as heavy clouds rolled in, obscuring the Arran mountains.

We soon passed Dunstrone, which like Dunagoil, has an Iron Age hill fort on its summit.

We left Dunagoil and Dunstrone on the horizon behind us and landed at Scalpsie Bay, where we eventually caught up with...

...Tony and Gavin.

Well composed on Gott Bay pier, Tiree.

Our trip round Tiree came to an end and we landed on this little beach beside the ferry pier at Gott Bay. Although the map shows rock, it is all sand right up to a steep grassy bank then an opening gate...

...to the ferry queuing area. The Calmac office has toilets, water and a tourist information touch screen computer.

Once you have checked in with the ferry staff you need to take the kayaks out to the end of the pier. By the time you do this and get the kayaks onto the car deck you will have covered 0.5km so...

...trolleys can save the smart (but casual) sea kayaker's composure.

Through the link-span, we could just see Loti as she made her way round the isle of Soa that lies off the east end of Tiree. The pier at Gott Bay was first built in 1914 then extended in the 1950's. Full roll on roll off service was not introduced until the link-span was built in 1992.

Loti, or to use her full Sunday name MV Lord of the Isles, was built in 1989 and although she has full Roro, using her bow and stern doors, initially vehicles had to use her side ramps and lift to get off at Tiree. Her sister ship MV Clansman, which also serves the route, was built in 1998. As this was after the Tiree link-span had been completed she does not have side doors or car lift.

All too soon we were aboard Loti and Tiree quickly slipped away over the horizon and into our memories.

Just resting in Scaranish Old Harbour, Tiree.

The final day of our Tiree adventure dawned sunny...

 ...but with a continuing fresh NE wind. We paddled our sea kayaks through gaps in the skerries...

...and hugged the south coast for shelter. We explored each cove, like this one at Heanish...

...then took a detour into Scarinish old harbour. It was once the main port on Tiree but the modern ferries required deeper water so the new jetty and pier was built 1km away to the NE.

Unfortunately it was too early for the bar at the Scarinish Hotel to be open...

...so we rested for a while in the shelter of the harbour, out of the wind. We paddled slowly round the bay inside the harbour past the wreck of the Mary Stewart. She was a 20m topsail schooner and has rested here since 1938. She was registered in Ardrossan but based on Tiree. She had  traded coal and other cargo on the west coast of Scotland for 30 years. The Mary Stewart was actually an anachronism in the 20th century as by that time, most of the west coast sailing smacks had been replaced by steam puffers.

 

Originally this croft would have had a thatched roof. Note how the roof does not overhang the walls. Tiree is so windy that the wind could catch an eave and lift the whole roof off. The traditional crofts had thick double walls with the gap filled with sand. The roof joined the middle of the wall and rainwater percolated down through the sand between the inner and outer wall.

The Coop supermarket is on the hill behind and is excellently stocked with reasonable prices for supplying your visit.

Of corncrakes and cremated potatoes on the machair of Tiree.

The dunes behind the beach where we had landed were covered by the sweetest smelling machair. There are no rabbits on Tiree and this part of the island is only grazed intermittently by cattle. As a result this grassland contains a profusion of  wild flowers.

What a place to pitch a tent!

We had been paddling, breakfasting and luncheoning for 11 hours and were ready for our evening meal.

 We gathered some bone dry, well seasoned wood from the high water mark and soon had the fire going.

It burned long into the night with very little smoke and the Tiree breeze meant there were no midges. Unfortunately the fire burned so hot that our baked potatoes were cremated. David's cries of disappointment were drowned out by the steady rasping calls of the corncrake. This bird is almost extinct from the "corn fields" of Scotland due to modern agricultural practice. Due to traditional farming methods still being practiced and encouraged by financial support to farmers, the machair land of Tiree is now home to nearly a third of the UK population of this once common farmland bird.