Enchanted by a perfect Pap on Jura

We rounded Rubh' a' Bhàillein (rock of the twigs) to witness the splendid prospect of the remote south shore of Loch Tarbert in Jura.


A succession of dazzling white strands were backed by a series of raised beaches and cliffs.


Behind them all the shapely mass of Beinn Shiantaidh (757m) heaved towards the blue vault of the sky. There are several translations of her Gaelic name but I much prefer "The Enchanted Mountain."


At her feet lay the Lord Astor's Victorian shooting lodge, Glenbatrick. This time, no one was home but we had met the good Lord and his party some 2 years before.


We were now approaching Rubh' a' Chrois-aoinidh (rock of the cross-cliff) which marks the mouth of Loch Tarbert.


In the distance, across the Sound of Islay, lay Rhuvaal lighthouse at the northernmost point of Islay. We were nearly at the end of our voyage...

A raised beach on Loch Tarbert, Jura

We had reached half way to the head of Loch Tarbert in Jura. We were by the first of two tidal narrows which restrict access to the inner recesses of the loch. The water here was not very salty and was stained brown by peat but there was no sign of a river.


We emerged onto the huge raised beach of Camas Nam Meann which is a favourite spot of mine.


The pebbles which make up this beach rise in a huge bank 30m above current sea level.


They then descend to 18m and hold back the fresh but peat stained waters of Lochan Maol an t-Sornàich. The waters of the loch which gradually filter through this huge beach are the source of the peat stained water at the edge of Loch Tarbert,


A few patches of vegetation have managed to take root over the 10,000 years since the tides last reached this level.


From our vantage spot, we could see Oronsay (and its house) and Colonsay on the horizon. It would have been a lovely spot to have enjoyed a leisurely lunch. However, we still had 19km to paddle back to Port Askaig and our ferry was due leave in only a few hours.

Thwarted by the young guardian of the Royal Cave, Jura

It might have only have been 9:40am (and we might only have had time for first breakfast) but all four of us reported for launching/photographic duties...


...and soon the kayaks were afloat and waiting to transport us on a tour of Loch Tarbert, Jura. This must be one of the most beautiful but infrequently visited of all the Scottish sea lochs.


We left Ruantallain and travelled east along a line of raised beaches and cliffs with dry caves.


Apart from ourselves the only signs of human life were the contrails of trans Atlantic jets flying on the Great Circle route.


We were going to land at Uamh Righ, the Royal Cave, but grey seals were pupping along the shore and so we kept our distance. The cave has been inhabited since the Bronze age
but during the Christian period up until the Reformation the cave held a special significance in the burial rights of people who died on the mainland. The cave was on the funeral routes to Oronsay Priory and Iona Abbey. If storms prevented crossing to the islands the bodies were left in the cave until such time as the weather improved. There are still many crosses carved on the walls of the cave.


Only partially disappointed at not being able to land at the cave, we continued on our journey into the loch. We looked south to the beautiful sands of Glen Battrick Bay but we did not stop. Our destination lay further east, towards the outer narrows of the Loch....

Sun rise at Ruantallain beach, Jura

Slowly the sun rose over the ridge formed by the giant raised beach...


... and warmed the sands of Ruantallain.


Down on the beach there were fewer midges, so we cooked breakfast beside the kayaks.


The beaches at the mouth of Loch Tarbert are like those four on Colonsay and Oronsay, which are ranked in the top 20 Scottish Highland and Island beaches. We had now been on five out of the twenty in the last three days!

We sat admiring the view and warmed ourselves in the early morning sun like lizards, in preparation for the exertions ahead.

A new dawn on the fossil rock glacier of Beinn Shiantaidh, Jura

Before dawn there was not a breath of wind to disturb Loch Tarbert on Jura. The humidity was very high and condensation was everywhere.


The sun had not yet hit the summits of the Paps of Jura and it was still too cold for the midges to make their appearance.


Then slowly the Sun's rays shone through the coll between Corra Bheinn (573m) and Beinn Shiantaidh (757m) and warmed its summit slopes. This coll is the site of a very unusual geological structure on the Shiantaidh side. There is a fossil rock glacier at the base of the large (sunlit) scree slope above. It formed between 11,000 and 10,000 years ago and is thought to be evidence of low altitude permafrost in this part of Scotland at that time.


As the sun continued to rise, it caught the NLV Polar Star as she was preparing to leave the loch. Some of us were not exactly ready to weigh anchor...

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?"