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