A Kintyre sojourn at Uamh nan Calman and Ravens Bay.

South of Eascairt Point on the Kilbrannan Sound, we passed a low line of cliffs and came to a dry sea stack at the mouth of a great cave called Uamh nan Calman or Dove Cave.

To the south of the cave...

...there was a delightful pebble beach called Ravens Bay.

Its waters were crystal clear and as the beach had such a marvellous view of Arran, it was undoubtedly a suitable venue to partake of our third luncheon of the day.

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.