Paddling South in the Kilbrannan Sound.

 At first, when we left Claonaig, our eyes were still captivated by...

 ...the rugged grandeur of the mountains of Arran...

 ...on the far side of the Kilbrannan Sound.

 Then as we made our way south, we gradually came to appreciate the more gentle ...

...beauty of the Kintyre coastline. The single track road runs high on the hills above the coast and remote, sandy coves, backed by deciduous woodland, offer a plethora of wild camping opportunities.

Cetus MV at Claonig

We landed on this lovely beach to the south of the ferry jetty at Claonig. I should say something about the P&H Cetus MV, which I have had on loan for the last 7 months. It has proved to be an outstanding, comfortable, all round kayak, just as at home loaded with camping gear for a week as rock hopping on a day trip or blasting with a sail. Despite class leading stability, it is still an incredibly manoeuvrable hull. The new skeg slider works perfectly but I am less happy with the elastic skeg down haul. The elastic is not strong enough to pull the skeg down in high wind and wave conditions, especially when sailing when it comes up. Overall, I like the Cetus MV so much that it will be my next kayak.  But I will order it with a wire skeg. I let Mike try it for a windy day kayak sailing and he has also already ordered his own new Cetus MV, but like me with a wire skeg.

Something fishy going down at Claonig.

We made landfall on the Kintyre peninsula at the ferry jetty at Claonaig.  It was still March and the ferry does not start running on the Claonig to Loch Ranza route until 1st April. This cormorant had just emerged from the water with a fish tail sticking out of its mouth. It flew up to its perch on the jetty and made several attempts to swallow the fish, whose tail was still wagging vigorously back and forth.

As we enjoyed our second luncheon (of mackerel fillets in tomato sauce spread on oatcakes) the view from Claonaig across the Kilbrannan Sound was outstanding. The whole of Arran lay before us.

Dreamtime on Kilbrannan Sound

 As we left Arran the wind...

 ...dropped away to nothing...

 ...leaving the middle of the Kilbrannan Sound like a millpond.

Our eyes were on the Kintyre peninsula to the west and gradually...

 ...details like Skipness Castle emerged from the haze...

 ...as we drew nearer our destination, Claonaig.

However, we could not help frequently stopping on the crossing...

...to look back...

 ....as the amazing view of Arran unfolded behind us.

Lunch on the rocks at Loch Ranza.

We crossed Loch Ranza, a sea loch at the NW point of Arran. Loch Ranza Castle was silhouetted against the backdrop of Arran's rocky ridges, which soared to the castellated summit of Caisteal Abhail, 859m.

 Although it was only seven bells in the forenoon watch, we decided to land on a rocky shore...

...for our first luncheon...

...before setting off across the Kilbrannan Sound.

Never ones to conform.

When we rounded the north of Arran we  could see the Kintyre peninsula which lies to the west of Arran.

 Looking back we could still see Millstone Point where we had camped the previous night. Then the still of the morning was broken as a slight breeze got up from the east.

 The vast majority of UK seakayakers still view sails on sea kayaks with deep suspicion...

 ...bet we have never been ones to conform and so we hoisted sails and...

 ...wafted past Fairy Dell...

 ...and this old boat, which has seen better days,...

...to where a crowd of geology students had gathered round Hutton's Unconformity.

The taxman's hand on the Cock of Arran.

 As the sun began to rise in the sky...

 ...we came to lonely Laggan Cottage. Last year an author was in residence but it appears he has moved on. The shutters were up so we left...

 ...the cottage and landed...

 ...at the long abandoned settlement of Cock.

We had noticed the buildings from the sea on a previous trip but this time we decided to explore ashore. This was a site where salt was manufactured between 1710 and 1735.

The crofters built their houses and work buildings on rocky outcrops leaving  as much of the fertile ground free for crops as possible. This was the remains of the salt excise office (salt was a valuable commodity and so was taxed). We were amazed that so early in the history of the united kingdom of Great Britain (1707) that the hand of the tax man had reached so far. The salt was used for preserving the many herring that were at one time caught in these waters. We noticed a bigger building in the distance...

...which was the pan house where...

 ...the salt pan full of water from the nearby sea was heated by burning coal fires underneath. The crude lignite coal was mined in the immediate vicinity of the buildings and today a number of shallow depressions in the ground mark the sites.

Today  the old buildings are slowly decaying and little alpine flowers have made their home in the crumbling mortar of the excise office. After three centuries, even the tax man's grip on the place has relaxed now relaxed.