Seeing stars in Loch Tarbert, Jura

The midge attack was ferocious as we put the tents up on the shore of Loch Tarbert. Fortunately it was a clear night and the temperature plummeted, sending the little illegitimate insects back to the swamp from which they had come. We lit our fire on the beach but its little pool of light did not extend far into the darkness of the moonless night. The vault of the sky twinkled with so many stars that their number was completely beyond the comprehension of us city dwellers.

To the south, Altair twinkled brightly before being joined by the steady brightness of Jupiter as it rose above the dark shadow of the Paps of Jura. The Milky Way arched clear across the sky from the SW to the NE horizons. High above us, to the NE, the "W" of the constellation Cassiopeia shone brightly. I used one of the arms of the "W" to guide me to where the Andromeda galaxy lies. I am pretty sure I saw it, but my eyes are not as sharp as they used to be and I regretted not bringing binoculars. To the NW, Ursa Major (or the Plough) guided our eyes to the Pole Star, high in the northern sky.

Our necks were aching by the time we lowered our gaze to the horizon. But what was that bright light out in the darkness of the middle of the Loch?


We had almost expected it to be a UFO but there, all lit up like a Christmas tree, was the NLV Pole Star. She is one of the Northern Lighthouse Board's two ships for maintaining lighthouses and navigation buoys. We had seen her sister ship, the NLV Pharos off Ardnamurchan Point earlier this year.

The NLV Pole Star was launched in 2000 and is 51.52m long. She has a dynamic positioning system which means that she can hold an exact position, even in pretty testing conditions, by using a combination of GPS and thrusters. She has a shallower draught than her larger sister ship, so she can operate in more restricted waters.

The beaches of Loch Tarbert, Jura

We rounded Rubh an t-Sailean (Ruantallain) into the shelter of Loch Tarbert, just as the sun hit the western horizon. The low red light warmed the stones of a huge raised beach. It rises about 36 metres from the current high water mark. At its summit the stones are as clean as if the tide last went out a few hours ago. However, it is 10,000 years since salt water last lapped these stones.


We were keen to get the tents up before nightfall. You can just see the gable of a bothy on the horizon, but it has slipped into disrepair and tents are now a more comfortable option.


It was good to stretch our legs after the long crossing.


David innocently asked, "Do you think there will be any midges?"

Colonsay to Jura by sea kayak

Sadly, it was now time to take our leave of Colonsay. We had our last supper on one of her superlative beaches on the SE coast. The day was getting on, it was now about 2hrs 30minutes to sunset. We had paddled only 21km, since setting off in the morning, and still had a 15km crossing to our destination, at the mouth of West Loch Tarbert on Jura. It looked like we would be setting up camp in the dark again.


At first we paddled on flat water, while we were still in the lee of Colonsay. The hills of Islay and Jura seemed a long way away.


The wind and swell picked up as we left the shelter of the Oronsay reefs and became exposed to the open Atlanic ocean with a force four westerly and swells. I had to put my camera away for most of the crossing.


Fortunately, the wind began to drop, with the setting sun, as we made our final approach to the dramatic coast of Jura. The summits of her Paps were covered with a modesty blanket of cloud.

The superlative beaches of Colonsay

The beaches of SE Colonsay, like this one at Rubha Dubh, are simply stunning.


This is Traigh an Eacaill (Cable Bay).


We then found Port a' Chapuill...


...and decided we had to explore some of its many coves.


I went for a swim at this one but the water was not exactly warm.


In 1977, Scottish Natural Heritage commissioned a survey of the beaches in the Scottish Highlands and Islands. The whole area is noted for the beauty of its beaches. Over 250 beaches were assessed for scenic quality on a scale of 1 to 3 for the beach itself, its setting, the view into the beach and, finally, the view out from the beach. Only 20 beaches scored 12 or 11.

Four out of these 20 superlative beaches are to be found on Colonsay and Oronsay...


Ritchie, W. and Mather. A.S. (1977). The beaches of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.
Commissioned by the Countryside Commission for Scotland 1977. Reprinted 2005 by
Scottish Natural Heritage as Commissioned Report No. 048.

Gathering nuts on Colonsay

The day was by now pressing on so we reluctantly left the shelter of Scalasaig's little Port na Feamainn (seaweed harbour). We rounded the low headland of Rubha Dubh with its automatic lighthouse. It flashes every 10 seconds showing a white light to the east and a red light to the north.


We now entered Loch Staosnaig and paddled round Eilean Staosnaig at its head. Gentle hills rolled down to a raised beach which is now covered by farm land. It looks such an unspoiled scene but it was once the scene of food processing on an industrial scale! These white sands have been a landing point for our ancestors for at least 9,000 years.


In 1994 an archaeological dig on the raised beach revealed a large (4.5m diameter) pit, which was full of burned hazel nut shells.


In 2001 Mithen et al published a paper in which they dated the shells to approximately 9000 years ago. They also studied pollen from sediments in a nearby loch and discovered that the hazel nut pollen had all but disappeared over one season. It appears that our hunter/gatherer, Mesolithic ancestors had arrived on Colonsay and cut down the hazel trees, gathered all the nuts then processed them by roasting in this pit.


This is a diagram of how the pit would have been used.

Reference:
Plant Use in the Mesolithic: Evidence from Staosnaig, Isle of Colonsay, Scotland
Steven Mithen, Nyree Finlay, Wendy Carruthers, Stephen Carter and Patrick Ashmore, Journal of Archaeological ScienceVolume 28, Issue 3, March 2001, Pages 223-234

Better days on Colonsay...

A fine old wooden, clinker built, fishing boat lies well above the HW mark in Scalasaig harbour. She is the Eythorne I like old wooden boats. At least Eythorne still has her name and an old tarpaulin keeping the rain out. I do hope her hull lifts to the Atlantic swells once again.

"The kayaker's have arrived!"

We arrived at Scalasaig with every intention of making a cultural visit, inspecting ancient crosses and buildings. However, we are easily diverted and our boots had barely dried before we came across this sign for May MacKinnon's Pantry! Not only that this Pantry was licenced!


May and her assistant wondered if we had come from one of the (large) yachts which had dropped anchor of the pier.

"Actually we have come in kayaks."

"Oh you must be the canoeists that have come all the way from Islay!"

Word travels fast in these parts!


Well we were hungry and thirsty, so we ordered bowl-fulls of home made soup (potato and leek) and home made bread. As this was second luncheon, we added a variety of pastries including some excellent venison pasties! May wondered if we would like a cup of tea with our pasties but the sun was by now well over the yardarm, so we decided to wash it all down with some local Colonsay Ale.


Phil wondered if this might affect his paddling abilities but we quickly reassured him that it would not, if consumed in moderation, taken with some food and followed by a siesta!


"What do you think of the beer David?"

We did not forget to take notes of our experience and after careful consideration, the staff of seakayakphoto.com award May's Pantry 12/10 as a sea kayaking pub!

After a most pleasant afternoon sojourn in May's Pantry, we made our way slowly back down to the kayaks. We were met by some tourists and a lovely young couple who worked at the hotel. All wanted to know more about these strange craft that had carried us to Colonsay over an open ocean, without recourse to the ferry!

As they say in Scalasaig, "The kayakers have arrived!"