Blood on the rocks of Loch Ailort

Photo Donald Wilcox

Donald and I had been crossing the mouth of Loch Ailort with the intention of taking a luncheon on one of the beaches on the Ardnish peninsula. However, my knee was now causing so much pain that I was desperate to get out the kayak and stretch my legs, never mind check the dressing on my recently lacerated toe. I spotted this lovely strand of sand on the delightful little Eilean a' Chaolais and called Donald over. We had found another corner of paradise. 

The rock pools were filled with crystal clear water and we had the beach to ourselves apart from...

...this starfish. This beach is covered at high water so we were fortunate to pass when we did.

We were surrounded by the silence and beauty of this huge landscape.

Once we had eaten our lunch Donald returned to his boat...

 ...to fix his flooded engine while...

...I sat on the lichen covered rocks and changed the blood soaked bandages on my right foot. These lichen colonies are probably several hundred years old. They were probably here when Bonny Prince Charlie landed nearby and raised his standard at the start of the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745. After initial success he was defeated at Culloden near Inverness. This was the last pitched battle of two land armies on British soil and resulted in much bloodshed and loss of life. The Highlands were never the same again.

Some (quite a few actually) drops of my bright red blood spilled onto the rocks and added their own colour to that of the rich orange and gold lichen. I may have left a bit of myself  in paradise but in turn, this paradise was now etched indelibly on my brain. We who live in Scotland are so fortunate to be surrounded by such natural beauty, sometimes we just don't appreciate the extent of our birthright.

Little and large houses by the shores of Loch Ailort.

From Glenuig, Donald in his boat and myself in my kayak made our way across the mouth of Loch Ailort.

 The scene was dominated by Rois_Bheinn (878m)...

...which rose above the eponymous estate house of Roshven. This is available as a holiday let and the Dining room sits 20. I am not sure if hirers are advised to bring their own cook as at Eilean Shona House, which we had passed earlier in the day. The house was built as a second home in 1857 for Hugh Blackburn who was professor of mathematics at Glasgow University. Academics must have been better paid in those days!

We passed to the west of Eilean nan Gobhar...

...then on towards the Ardnish peninsula with its abandoned settlement...

...at Peanmeanach. Nowadays only the bothy is roofed and stands in a line of roofless black houses built on the raised beach behind the present shore. The bothy was the most recent building in the settlement and probably was the post office for the whole Ardnish peninsula. In the days when transport was by the sea this bustling place had a population of about 80. When the railway line to Mallaig, which bypassed the Ardnish peninsula, was built in 1901, the end was in sight for the few remaining crofters.

We had planned to land on the Ardnish peninsula for a second luncheon but as it was still low tide, we were tempted by this delightful little beach on Eilean a' Chaolais.

Limping Inn to Glenuig, a pub too far!

Heading north past the Smirisary coast, Donald was well ahead as he tracked a shoal of fish with his fish finder.

I kept close inshore and as we turned into  the Sound of Arisaig I caught him up. His main engine had stopped while idling during his fishing and would not restart. I checked he could get his auxilliary going and left him to cleaning his spark plug.

We arranged to meet at Glenuig and I set off towards...

...the twin summits of Rois-Bheinn and An Stac, which rose majestically into the low cloud.

 Once I had passed Samalan Island, the sheltered sandy cove behind it looked very inviting...

 ...but I continued on to Glenuig Bay...

 ...where the excellent Glenuig Inn can be found! The Inn has a reputation for being sea kayak friendly.

At this point, I would normally sacrifice a significant amount of my personal time to provide you, the reader, with another in depth  sea kayaking pubs review. I was really looking forward to this one, as the Glenuig Inn serves real ales. However, there was a problem. It was low tide and the Inn was nearly 400m away. I had been paddling for six and a half hours and was desperately drouthy but sadly the Glenuig Inn was just a pub too far. To be dying of thirst within sight of a pub is about as much as any sea kayaker can bear.

Unfortunately it was not just thirst that was bothering me. The pain in my bad knee was now too bad to contemplate the direct route over the sand and seaweed covered rocks or even the longer, easier route by the jetty and the road. I also had the bad cut in my toe to contend with. It was still bleeding and by the time I had cleaned and redressed it, I was too done to go walking. Just limping a few yards to get a photo was as much as I could manage. All I can do, to assuage the disappointment the reader may feel about the lack of a sea kayaking pubs review, is to promise to visit again soon, preferably at high tide!

I had just got myself ready for sea again when Donald limped in to the bay under his auxiliary power...

PS Most sea kayaking visitors, with even moderate mobility, will find that the Glenuig Inn is very conveniently situated.

Walking on broken glass, in Moidart paradise.

From the west coast of Moidart, we enjoyed a stunning view over the sea to Eigg and Rum. Donald kept well out from the numerous skerries while he fished.

It was now  definitely time for lunch as some time had elapsed since third breakfast, so we took a break  on the sands of Port Achadh an Aonaich (port of the upland moor field).

While Donald came in from his fishing, I chatted to a nice Canadian couple from Vancouver Island. They had walked in from Smirisary.

After they left, I decided to go for a swim to cool off.  Coming out the water I put my boots on to walk over the sand and rocks to where I had left my paddling kit. Unfortunately my feet were so cold that I was unaware that something sharp had cut right through my boot and deeply lacerated my toe.

I ate my lunch enjoying the warmth of some hazy sun, which helped me dry off. It was only when I removed my boot that I realized I had a serious cut to my toe. My boot was full of blood and a small jet of arterial blood was spurting from the end of my toe which was literally hanging by a thread. I squeezed my toe for about 20 minutes but it was still spurting. I shouted for Donald to bring my first aid kit. Donald did not like the look of all the blood on the grass and excused himself. Using a variety of steri-strips and bandages I staunched the flow and limped back to the boats. I noticed a recently broken glass bottle on the sands. I was sorry to find such a thing in such a remote and beautiful spot and put it in my rubbish bag.

It was good to get back on the water after an eventful stop.

Sea kayaking to Shoe Bay, Eilean Shona.

 The south coast of Eilean Shona proved to be a wild place with wooded islets and...

...rocks plunging straight into the waters of Loch Moidart. The transition of colours from the forest above to the sea below was very pleasing.

I slipped through rocky channels, where an otter was my only companion, while Donald kept well out into the deeper water of the South Channel.

At last I spotted a sliver of silver sand cutting through the grey rocks.

Donald took a longer way round.

We had arrived at the beautiful tidal inlet of Shoe Bay. The sand here is very soft and so has claimed many a shoe! We didn't dally long, as the tide was dropping fast.

We now left Loch Moidart and turned north up  Eilean Shona's even wilder more rugged west coast. Huge boulders have tumbled from the cliffs into the sea.

Gracious living in Loch Moidart...but bring your own cook!

Our journey by motor boat and kayak continued. The south channel of Loch Moidart is guarded by...

...the grey walls of Castle Tioram (pron. cheerum), which sits on a tidal island on the south shore. It was the ancestral home of  Clan Ranald from the 14th century. The family owned the castle until the early 20th century, though it has been a ruin since  the early 18th century. The castle currently belongs to a Scottish businessman, Lex Brown, who has been in a long battle with Historic Scotland to restore the building to a habitable state. Unfortunately a 300 year battle with the elements means that the castle will need a bit of doing up!

To the NW of the castle there is a delightful beach upon which we...

... alighted to partake of a second breakfast.

We enjoyed a peaceful exploration of the castle's policies, undisturbed by the many tourists who were waiting in their camper vans for the tide to drop, before invading the island via the tidal causeway that connects it to the mainland.

As the tide continued to ebb, we made our way across the south channel to Eilean Shona where we explored the...

 ...the bay, behind which Eilean Shona House nestles, deep in the woods.

In the 1920's JM Barrie rented Eilean Shona and wrote the screenplay for Peter Pan on the island. Nowadays it is possible to follow in Barrie's footsteps and rent Eilean Shona House for a holiday but, you are advised to bring your own cook (who can stay free in the room provided).

The islands and channels of inner Loch Moidart

Rounding the east end of Sona Beag we allowed the ebb tide to carry us towards distant Tioram Castle. The source of the smoke we had seen earlier was on Riska Island and I wondered if our friends over on Song of the Paddle were camping there with a pot bellied stove!

 Loch Moidart has many delightful wooded islands of all sizes, from the very small...

 ...to the slightly bigger.

Donald stuck to the deeper water along the southern shore...

...but I slipped through the most ridiculously narrow channels  round Eilean an Fheidh.

 Drifting along in this fantastic spot was...

 ...like waking from a dream, sometimes it was difficult to separate reality from fantasy.

As we approached Riska Island, we heard a chain saw working hard. I still thought it was a party of open canoeists. It's quite amazing what they carry in those boats! However, it proved to be forest workers clearing that plague of the West Highlands... the rhododendron.