More on seeing the light and collecting taxes on the Little Cumbrae.

 We climbed up to the top of the cliffs where the Smith/Stevenson lighthouse stands but...

 ...we continued to climb the path which winds...

 ...up towards the summit of Little Cumbrae.

 As we approached the highpoint of the path we caught sight of the original Little Cumbrae lighthouse but...

 ...unfortunately there was no path to the top and I had a real struggle crossing the grass. Although I had set off about 20 minutes before the others they soon passed me.

 It is a simple round tower, 8.5m high and was...

 ...built by James Ewing in 1757. An open coal brazier was situated at its top and served as the source of light. It proved to be a profitable business as there was a tax on every ship, which passed on the way up the Clyde to Port Glasgow and Greenock. However, it had a voracious appetite for coal. The coal came from Rutherglen near Glasgow and was transported by horse and cart for 45km over the hills to Irvine in Ayrshire before being transferred to a boat for the Wee Cumbrae. It was then hauled by ponies another kilometre up to the 123m high summit. It was not exactly light work.

This plaque commemorates the bicentenary of the Cumray Lighthouse Act of Parliament which allowed passing ships to be taxed.

Inside the steps and the brazier platform have long disappeared. A resident peregrine falcon now enjoys the lofty ridge as a perch for...

 ...consuming its prey. Their bones litter the floor of the tower.

 It is a solidly built tower which should last for several more centuries. Some of the lichen colonies growing on its wall were probable over a hundred years old.

 Despite (or rather because of) its height it was often invisible to shipping as...

 ...it was frequently above the level of low clouds that frequently...

 ...swirl round the Clyde.

This is the view north to Millport on Great Cumbrae.

This is the view north north east to Largs and...

 ...this is the view east to the Hunterston nuclear power stations. You can clearly see the mushroom of cooling water in line with the two channel buoys.

This is looking south east to Portencross and...

...its castle.

 This is looking west towards Garroch Head on Bute. The paddock for resting the coal ponies is just below the lighthouse.

 Lastly this is looking NW to Kilchattan Bay on Bute, from where Ian had set off.

All in all the lighthouse proved to be a costly and fairly ineffective project. However, it served a useful function as it pioneered the collection of lighthouse dues on shipping entering the Clyde ports and led to the establishment of the next lighthouse built by  Thomas Smith and Robert Stevenson in 1793. It was situated at a much lower level and was lit by a more efficient oil lamp.

A guide to healthy living on the Little Cumbrae.

 We set off across The Tan with...

 ...Portencross castle just visible through the mist.

 We were bound for the remote west coast of...

 ...Little Cumbrae island. This island is owned by a "charity" offering spiritual retreats to its many followers. The facts that the yoga is being pursued by the Indian tax authorities for tax dodging and that the Scottish branch of the charity has never filed a financial report to the Scottish Charity Register did nothing to lessen the deep spirituality we felt as we approached the mysterious island.

 Its summit was cloaked in mist as we...

 ...paddled south along its steep hillside until...

....we arrived below the Stevenson...

 lighthouse.

 We pulled into the ruined harbour for second breakfast.

Here yogmaster David gave us a lecture on healthy living through yog and pranayam and the benefits of moderate consumption. He warned us of the dangers of eating more than one egg at a time. As always we were only too happy to follow the words of the master. A master who pays his taxes: income tax, VAT and beer duty.

Doon the watter and head in the clouds at the Cumbraes.

We set off from the beach at the island resort of Millport...

...passing the shops and...

...houses that cluster round the bay. Before the days of jet travel, thousands of Glaswegians would arrive by steamer at the Clyde resorts for the Glasgow Fair fortnight at the end of July. July is a particularly wet month in the west of Scotland. This type of holiday was known as "doon the watter". You can decide whether this referred to sailing doon the waters of the Clyde or spending one's annual fortnight with the rain pissing doon.

Beyond the end of the harbour wall lay our destination the Little Cumbrae. Its summit was lost in the clouds.

Phil was soon off in the Malin Gometra kayak which we have on long term test for a coming review in Ocean Paddler magazine.

After racing off at high speed, Phil stopped to...

...let the rest of us including Ian and myself catch up...

...but he was enjoying the new kayak so much that he was soon racing ahead again.

Misty morning melé in Millport!

It was a misty morning when we arrived at Largs on the Firth of Clyde. We had arranged to meet Ian in Millport Bay. Ian was going to cross over from Kilchattan Bay on the Island of Bute. Before I left, I checked ShipAIS as we would both need to cross shipping channels.  Fortunately there was nothing approaching the Hunterston Channel on our side of the Clyde but Ian had to contend with all 158,555 tons of the loaded tanker Yasa Scorpion which was heading up the Firth of Clyde Channel to Finnart.

After we loaded our gear, Phil went through the preflight check list, carefully counting to make sure he carried the requisite number of refreshment tins.

 Soon we were hitting the water, note where I left the spare pins for the Kari-tek Easy load roof rack!

The mist began to lift as we set off past the safe water buoy off the entrance to Largs marina.

We made good time down the Hunterson Channel past...

...the empty ore terminal.

The wind dropped as we crossed the channel to the Great Cumbrae.

Our arrival at the Eileans was greeted by these squabbling guard geese. They were not going to tolerate any landing on their turf.

However, we had raised Ian on the VHF and he was already at Millport, eating a hot sausage roll!

It was great to catch up and Ian had brought some really excellent Jura Superstition. Cheers!

Winter sunset over the Cumbraes.

 Leaving the Eileans and their grey seal colony we set off on our return journey to Largs.

The fair isle of Little Cumbrae and the mountains of Arran gradually...

 ...slipped astern as the sun began to set in the SW.

 Once we rounded Farland Point on Great Cumbrae...

 ...the sun developed a warm reddish tinge but...

...don't be fooled it was bitterly...

...cold as we paddle sailed the last few kilometres...

 ...into Largs.

Surprisingly, given our late start, we arrived back before sunset. The Arran mountains were looking fantastic behind the rounded outline of the Great Cumbrae.

This was another fantastic trip. I am glad we did not launch at Ayr with our original intention of paddling south to Culzean. The NW wind on our arrival was a bit strong for mid winter paddling which is why we chose this route which was sheltered by the islands. While we were enjoying ourselves an unfortunate (but lucky) kayaker capsized in Culzean Bay and required hospitalisation for hypothermia after being rescued by helicopter.