Water, fire and peaty smoke on Islay!

Paddling across great leagues of ocean and battling against katabatic winds had left us hot tired and sweaty. We noticed a waterfall of bracing cold mountain water which rushed down from the hills above and tumbled over a small cliff almost into the sea. We found shelter in an old cottage nearby and took turns to enjoy a natural shower. At the back of the waterfall there was a thick bank of soft moss to lean against while the fresh water cleansed the salt. It was very brrrracing!


We soon warmed up beside a blazing fire, fuelled by a log which Tony had brought from one of our stops.

Uncorking a bottle of the great Ardbeg, we swapped sea kayaking yarns late into the Islay night as the wind and rain lashed the outside of the bothy. Although we were burning logs, the room was filled by a peaty aroma from the Ardbeg.

14/07/2008

Of lighthouses and lenticulars!

We were completely exhausted by the time we rounded McArthur's Head so we decided to take a breather by the lighthouse jetty. This lighthouse, though on the mainland of Islay, is so remote that it was supplied by sea.


While David rested, Tony and I decided to climb up to the lighthouse. There were quite a few steps!


The boats were soon left far below.


Then there were more steps and we got a great view up the Sound of Islay.


After some further steps, we finally made the lighthouse gate. We were just grateful we did not have to carry supplies on our backs, as the light keepers of old had to do.

Dougie MacDougall was one of a family of Islay boatmen who served the lighthouse. You can read more about him over on Islay Weblog.


McArthur's Head lighthouse was built in 1861 by Thomas and David Stevenson. The light shows two flashes every 10s, and is red from NW to NE an white from other directions. The light is 39m above datum.

We were struck by the very unusual looking clouds which had formed downwind of the headland.


These are lenticular clouds. These are caused by warm moist air blowing over mountains and form as standing waves down wind of high ground. Once formed, air rises very rapidly round the clouds and this sucks even more wind into the system. The result is very strong winds at the surface, which is what we experienced crossing Proaig Bay. The wind would also have been accelerated down through the mountains in Proaig Glen.

14/07/2008

Blowin' away the cobwebs round McArthur's Head!

Aroused from our slumbers, we paddled the SE coast of Islay under some very unusual clouds.


As we approached a headland, the wind steadily increased.


Round this point Tony tried to paddle straight across the bay into the wind but at times he was going backwards, straight out to sea. We were now very much awake, as we battled our way into the wind by hugging the shore. At times our progress could be measured in inches.


Only once we were in the shelter of McArthur's Head did we finally escape the blast of the wind. McArthur's Head is an interesting place. This detatched stack has a cave running right through it to the narrow channel behind.

14/07/2008

Siesta on Islay

Refreshed after our stop at Ardbeg, we made our way north east, hotly pursued by a fresh west wind.


We had covered leagues of ocean and were becoming exhausted by our exertions.


Just in time, we spotted an idyllic white shell sand beach which was sheltered from the wind by wooded slopes above.


We found ourselves in yet another stunning location with a view under brooding clouds to the great Sound of Jura..


On our travels we have been greatly inspired by tales of great Spanish navigators. Taking our lead from them, we decided it was time for a siesta!

14/07/2008

Sea kayaking in search of the Holy Grail: the Ardbeg distillery, Islay

We continued to paddle with a tail wind along the SE coast of Islay. As a result, we had no olfactory warning of the delight that lay round the headland. Tony sprinted ahead leaving David and I in his wake.


We decided to the tie the kayaks up as we thought we may be spending some time on land. The essence of our trips is exploration but this one was more of a pilgrimage.


The clear Celtic symbols left us in no doubt that we were now on hallowed and spiritual ground. We had arrived at the Ardbeg distillery, home and birth place of the Lord of the island malt whiskies.


Tony was quite relaxed as he waited for our arrival outside the temple of the old drying kiln. He was still licking his lips as we approached, a clear sign of a quick one!


We entered the great shrine of Ardbeg and prepared for worship of a palatial kind.


But first we were delighted to find that the old drying kiln now served sustaining food and drink for the faithful. As we placed our order, the serving staff did not bat an eyelid at our dripping kayaking gear. As the sun had not yet passed the yardarm, we decided to wash a bowl of delicious soup down with a pint of bottle conditioned Finlaggan Ale from the Islay Ales brewery. Afterwards we found the facilities to be warm and spotless. Only after a ritual washing the salt from our faces did we feel prepared to sample the great Ardbeg....

14/07/2008

Dun roamin', the return to Hirta.

Emerging from the Great Arch of Dun for the last time, we headed for Village Bay on Hirta. It was 21:30, the end of a fantastic day.


As we paddled under the ramparts of Dun, showers of puffins emerged from their burrows and launched themselves over the cliffs to splash into the sea around us. Photo JLW.


Finally we landed on a small sandy beach revealed by the low tide. We had finally circumnavigated Hirta and landed on Village Bay!

02/06/2008

Lonely Loch Einich

As we made our way further up Gleann Einich we came across the Alt Ruigh na Sroine, the first of many streams to ford.


Later on the Beanaidh Bheag river was to prove far tougher and necessitated a change of socks.


As we gained height the mountain landscape became more dramatic.


Under wild skies the granite ridges were dusted with the first snows of winter.


The air was filled with the sound of burns tumbling down from high corries and rattling the boulders in their beds.


At last we breasted a moraine and below us lay lonely Loch Einich.


We were dwarfed by the scale of the landscape.


Loch Einich lies at a height of 598m. It is seldom visited, even in summer. On the 9th of September this year, Rothiemurchus Estate's head stalker, Peter Ferguson made a very sad discovery. He found a dead body inside a tent which had obviously been pitched for several weeks. The man had been a writer and photographer. I hope his death was peaceful as he was so far away from help and his family.


We started the long descent to Glen More as the clouds lowered from the high corries.


In the valleys it was still autumn and bright October sunshine had yet to give way to winter.


This little lochan reflected the beauty and tranquility of this wonderful place. By 16:30 we were a world away, back in Glasgow.

05/08/2008