An effective navigational strategy for the Arran crossing.

The sails had driven us so quickly that we very nearly made the earlier ferry back to Ardrossan. The ferry attracted our attention because (unusually) it gave several blasts on its horn. It was being trailed by a noisy tribe of jet skis riding its wake. Every so often one of the bolder ones would skillfully cut across the ferry's bow, under the admiring gazes of the many passengers crowding the rail. The captain would then let off a blast. By following the ferry, the jet skis manage to cross to Arran then return to Ayrshire from whence they came. It's quite an effective navigational strategy.

 It wasn't long until we were  back on the little beach beside the ferry terminal at Brodick.

 We sorted out our gear leisurely until the MV Caledonian Isles (minus jet skis)...

...made her return approach.

Once aboard, we made our way up to the aft deck to take a last view south towards Holy Island and...

...north to the mountains above the villages of Corrie and Sannox.

Soon we were back in Ardrossan and we waited with the cyclists to disembark behind the cars. There is no charge to take a kayak onto a Calmac ferry but I strongly suggest you invest in a trolley. The ferries operate on a very fast turn round and you will not be popular if you hold up loading as you attempt to carry several kayaks the length of the car deck, the link span and the approach road!

By the time we had unloaded the contents of our hatches into our trusty Ikea bags, a full load of cars (including the extra mezzanine deck) had loaded and MV Caledonian Isles was on her way to Arran again. Once the traffic had cleared we walked through to the car park and paid £6 for having left the cars for three nights in a secure car park with a 24 hour attendant, quite a bargain!

Our trip round Arran was over. David and I reflected on how lucky we had been to share such a mellow trip amidst such fantastic scenery.

Sammy the Otter slumbers at sea.

We left Lamlash Bay at Clauchlands Point.

The coastline became more mountainous the further north we travelled along Arran's east coast. We drifted in the peace of this wild place.

We were not the only ones enjoying the peace. We came across our old friend, Sammy the Otter,  having a quick nap!

 "What's that?"

"Cripes, two of the ugliest sea kayakers I have ever seen!"

Sailing into the lee of Holy Island by sea kayak.

 From Kingscross Point we crosssed the southern entrance of Lamlash Bay to the south end of Holy Island.

 The brisk crossing was rewarded with a wonderful view from the Holy Island inner light into Lamlash Bay and the Arran mountains beyond. Since 2008 the north part of Lamlash Bay has been a protected marine reserve with a complete ban on commercial and recreational fishing. The great news is that fish, shellfish and sea weed stocks are recovering quickly after the bay had been turned into a virtual desert by scallop dredging.

The wind increased as we rounded the end of Holy Island and...

...we had great fun overtaking the waves. We hit 14km/hour here.

 The wind eased as we passed below the outer light and...

...entered the wind shadow of Holy Island. The east side of the island is a wild place with Tertiary lavas topping steep cliffs of Carboniferous red sandstone. We didn't see a soul, access was clearly too difficult for the legions of geology students that were visiting Arran on their Easter field trips.

As we approached the north end of Holy Island, Goatfell came into view again and the wind dropped. This brought to an end 37km of continuous sea kayak sailing. The final section of our round Arran trip was about to begin.

By paddle, sail and oar across Whiting Bay.

We now entered Whiting Bay and caught our first sign of the eponymous village, below the heights of Goatfell.

A large sea wall protects the attractive villas and just before we arrived it had been put to good use. The wake of the Troon to Larne had been crashing into it.

We continued to speed on our way under sail and..

...landed near Kingscross Point at the north end of Whiting Bay for...

...a spot of lunch while...

...we were entertained by these two. It appeared that the younger lad had been blown away by the fresh wind. He did not seem to have oars and the older lad went to his aid and towed him (with some effort) back to shore.

Running before the wind, below the sill.

Leaving Kildonan on the fourth day of our trip round Arran we hoisted our sails then paddled along a wild coastline. The scenery was dominated by an extensive tertiary sill, which extended...

...all the way to Dippen Head where we were...

...dwarfed by the scale of the cliffs.

Once round Dippen Head, we caught our first sight of Holy Island since the first day of our trip. We continued to sail all the way, mostly running before a southerly wind. The gusts round the headlands gave some exciting bursts of speed.

From Dippen Head we literally flew before the wind to Larybeg Point. Beyond the point we looked over Whiting Bay to Holy Island.

It was almost a relief to break out behind Lagybeg and take a last view of Ailsa Craig before continuing on our downwind blast.

A big cave and big appetites at Kildonan, Arran

From the sadly deserted beach at Cleit Shore we sped past huge boulder beaches until a dramatic change in the landscape announced our arrival at Bennan Head, which marks the southern tip of Arran.

Just offshore lies Pladda which is the second biggest of Arran's three satellite isles: Holy Island, then Pladda, then tiny Hamilton Isle.

We were sailing and paddling  at 9-10km per hour and David spotted the Kildonan Hotel in the distance. We might make the 3:30 Race after all! Bennan Head is composed of a sill of hard igneous rock. The original softer rocks, through which it intruded, have weathered away leaving it standing exposed. A waterfall cascades down its west (left) side.

A huge cave, the  Black Cave, cuts right into the head and...

...emerges through a high window into the gully on its west side.

We sped on to Kildonan, David made straight for the Kildonan Hotel to catch the Scottish Grand National at Ayr on the television in the residents' lounge. He looked very dapper in his plum suit with cummerbund!

Meanwhile I set my tent up in the Seal Shore commercial camp site. (There is plenty of wild camping about 2-3km away but we fancied a hot shower!)

As the flood tide began to pour between Kildonan and Pladda, we made our way to...

..the truly excellent Kildonan Hotel. The owners, Rodrigo and Anne had just by chance arranged a Mediterranean buffet night for a very reasonable £15 per head. Needless to say, we signed up on the spot. We were not disappointed, neither were the many locals, who had clearly enjoyed previous buffets. After our meal David and I retired to the bar for a Guinness, where we had a very pleasant chat with the amiable Rodrigo. We will definitely return and so should you. I just hope that our appetites have not caused a seakayakers' levy to be added to the buffet bill!

A distinct lack of nudists at Cleits Shore.

The SW shore of Arran is  superficially less dramatic than its neighbours. A boulder beach is backed by a raised beach which in turn is backed by a line of now dry wave cut cliffs. However, a series of basalt dykes run out to sea for distances of up to a kilometre from the shore.

They are particularly prominent in the region of the Cleits Shore, where they extend for a considerable distance, just under the surface of the water.  You need to give them a wide berth, especially when kayak sailing at speed, with laden kayaks!

I mentioned to David that this shore was a nudist beach, the only legal one in Scotland. Despite David being anxious to get to Kildonan in time for the 3:30 in the Scottish Grand National horse race at Ayr, he now seemed keen to take a break on the shore.

Despite it being legal, there was not a single nudist in sight and neither of us felt like disrobing from the warmth of our dry suits, just to exercise our legal rights.

From the sands at the south end of Arran, we had a fine view of Ailsa Craig, some 22km away to the SSE. We had done this crossing from Ailsa to Arran exactly two years previously.

Twenty eight km to the SW we saw Sanda, with Rathlin Island in the distance to the SSW. There was also a decent wind, which held the promise of a quick sail to Kildonan.