We could always just drink the boats lighter!

 

We set off on our pilgrimage to St Blane's leaving David to mind the kayaks. We last saw David sunbathing in his green underpants on the green sward of Bute. It was quite a sight...

REMOVED PHOTO
Concern for the maintenance of public decency means that the above photo has been removed by the management.

On our return David had fallen asleep and the tide had gone out for miles leaving the heavily laden kayaks high and dry. David still in his green underpants (which matched his deck) was completely unabashed. Clearly David was enjooying the ambience of Port Leithne. He came up with a novel solution...

"We could stay here and enjoy the sun. We could always just drink the boats lighter"...

Our green pilgrimage to Saint Blane's on Bute.

We left our sea kayaks at  Port Leithne and steadily climbed from into the verdant hills at the south end of Bute. A narrow path soon broadened into...

 ...a substantial pilgrim's way as we climbed through a green and pleasant land above the Sound of Bute with the distant Arran mountains beyond. We entered a little wood in a sheltered valley and...

...all of a sudden caught our first sight of the pinkish stones of what is left of St Blane's monastery and church. The setting in a clearing, framed by large deciduous trees, was peaceful and idyllic. An air of calm and serenity pervaded the whole area. Regardless of your religious persuasion, or lack thereof,  I recommend a visit to St Blane's. It will help heal your soul of the scars inflicted by the hurry, injustice, selfishness and greed of a sometimes uncaring world.

It is easy to see why St Catan, the 6th century founder of the religious settlement chose this spot.He was St Blane's uncle. The grounds of St Blane's are enclosed by several walls. We climbed over the first lower one then followed the second higher one round...

 ...to a gate through which we entered the upper church yard itself. The present building dates from the 12th century. The original buildings dating from some time before AD574 would have been made of wood. The monastery was sacked several times by the Vikings after the first raid in AD790. The present nave dates from the time that Viking rule from Norway came to an end and remaining Vikings converted to Christianity.

This is the view from the 12th century nave through a fine carved arch through a wall of shaped blocks to the mostly 14th century chancel beyond. Note the chevron carving on the arch.

The chancel was not constructed of the same quality shaped stone as the nave and now contains several grave slabs.

Leaving the church and entering the upper churchyard there is a fine view to Holy Island, which was also home to an early Celtic church founded by St Molaise (566 - ~640AD)

 The upper graveyard was reserved for monks, priests and men while...

 ...a curved ramp led down to the lower churchyard, which was for women and commoners.

As we made our way back to Port Leithne we reflected on the local and green nature of our pilgrimage. We had travelled only 45 minutes by car and had then paddled our kayaks and walked. Most of today's pilgrims travel by aircraft at great cost to the environment. In contrast in the 4th century Saint Ninian walked from Whithorn in SW Scotland to Rome and back. Now that is a pilgrimage!

Catching sight of the Delectable Mountains as our Pilgrimage to St Blane's progresses.

 At the south end of Little Cumbrae island you come to...

 ...the imaginatively named Gull Point.

 Gulls do congregate on this point but what really catches the eye of the itinerant pilgrim is...

 ...the view of the Delectable Mountains of Arran.

There now follows a short intermission. It was a spring tide and it was about 3 hours after slack at high water. The ebb was streaming down the west coast of Little Cumbrae where it met a light SW wind. A surprising lively sea was kicked up which reminded me of the cost of the Canon 5Dmk3.

We were well across the Firth of Clyde channel between Little Cumbrae and Bute before the sea calmed.

We arrived at Port Leithne on Bute for second luncheon and to embark upon the final part of our Pilgrimage to St Blane's Monastery and Church.

Pilgrims progress and a religious offering on Little Cumbrae.

We landed at Castle Island (which is just off the east coast of the Little Cumbrae) for our second breakfast. There was no one in residence at the house. We rather missed the friendly pack of motley mongrels owned by the last care taker...

...there was now no one to share our sandwiches with.

In the absence of a yardarm, it was clear that (despite the early hour) the sun was well over the castle...

...second breakfast quickly transformed to first luncheon as David cracked open a bottle of Leffe Brune. This dark beer has been brewed by the monks of  Dinant since 1240 for the benefit of those passing through on pilgrimage. As we were clearly on a pilgrimage to St Blane's monastery and church, we saw this as an appropriate religious offering to our thirsty palates.

We sat in the sun while we savoured the dark brew and enjoyed the beauty of our surroundings.

However, pilgrims must progress and so we made our fortified way past the fortifications of the Little Cumbrae Castle.