Into the blue, in the Sound of Arisaig.

It was back on the 19th of February that Ian, Mike and I were joined by Jennifer and Phil for a paddle in the Sound of Arisaig.

 The bay at Samalaman was in deep shade and a hard frost covered the sands...

 ...but just offshore we entered full sunshine...

 ...which helped to warm frozen fingers as we got the spray decks on.

 Mike took advantage of a light breeze but...

 ...it did not last long and soon we were paddling on a glassy sea.

Ian has already drawn attention to the amazing quality of blue light we experienced that morning.

In the distance the distinctive outlines of Eigg and Rum dominated the western horizon while...

...behind us the hills of Moidart were thrown into relief by the  low winter sun.

We were making for a series of skerries that guard the mouth of the Sound of Arisaig.

Scotland Outdoors, Spring 2013 issue.

The Spring 2013 issue of Scotland Outdoors magazine has just been published. I was very pleased to be asked to contribute an article about sea kayaking the seas at the end of the Road to the Isles. Scotland Outdoors magazine presents the best in outdoor activities to a readership who are passionate about Scotland's wild places, so it is great that sea kayaking has been given such exposure. Sea kayaking really is a great way to explore Scotland. As an "ex" walker, hill walker, scrambler, climber, mountaineer, skier, cyclist, mountain biker, white water kayaker, dinghy sailor, yachter and windsurfer I should know!

Under a blood red sky at Cul na Croise.

Ian and I paddled out of Cul na Croise  bay towards the mountains of Eigg and Rum under a sky that gradually turned...

 ...to blood red.

As Mike paddled directly back to the shuttle car at Ardtoe, Ian and I sat in our kayaks and savoured the stunning sunset until it was nearly gone.

By the time we got to Ardtoe it was nearly dark with only a few embers of the long gone sun slowly fading in the south west sky.

The north coast of Ardnamurchan, Portuairk to Ardtoe (27.5km) proved to be a stunning but committing paddle. On the narrow single track roads, the shuttle took two hours to set up and another two hours to recover the car at Portuairk two days later. I am particularly grateful to Ian and Mike for the driving as I would have been unable to drive that distance on these roads, never mind paddle afterwards!

You can read another illustrated account of this Ardnamurchan trip on Ian's blog here, here and here.

Time was running out and we left the shifting sands to darkness.

 As we paddled SE towards Ardtoe and the sand dunes of Cul na Croise a chill wind got up as the sun began to set. We were now in deep shade but the summits of Beinn Resipol (845m) to the ESE,...

...Rois-Bheinn (882m) to the ENE and...

...the west end of Eilean Shona (199m) to the NE were still in the sunshine.

By the time Ian and I arrived at the dunes and...

...shifting sands of Cul na Croise the sun had set and we thought we had missed a great photo opportunity.

However by the time we had pulled the kayaks up the beach and...

...started to walk along the sands...

...it was obvious that the pink tinged sky...

...still gave a lovely light to the wet sands.

Out at sea the distant mountains of...

...Eigg and Rum were nearly silhouetted against the rosy sky.  

All too soon it was time to leave this lovely spot. Time was running out and we left the shifting sands to darkness.

Ockle Point to Rubha Aird Druimnich, Ardnamurchan.

Paddling east, the next Ardnamurchan headland we came to was low lying Ockle Point.

Once we rounded Ockle we could see the final headland of the day in the distance. Rubha Aird Druimnich was sunlit and standing out against the dark slopes of Rois-Bheinn (878m) beyond.

 The sun was steadily sinking to the SSW and...

 ...Muck which was directly in front of Rum when we started was now lying away to the left.

 From Rubha Aird Druimnich, Eigg now lay directly in front of Rum.

 The convoluted folds of rock on Rubha Aird Druimnich were thrown into sharp relief by...

 ...the low winter sun.

We now turned SE for the final 5km. Ian and I hoped to make the shifting sands behind the beach at Cul na Croise before sunset. We tried... but we didn't make it.

A Viking boat burial with a view.

Leaving Fascadale, the SE wind had dropped considerably and we enjoyed the view to the Small Isles Rum and Eigg.

The coastline here was lower than further west but...
 

 ...inland rose to the rocky summit ridge of Ben Hiant, 528m.

 As we journeyed east the distinctive profiles of Rum and Eigg slowly slid past each other.

 A continuing feature of the north Adnamurchan coast is the sparsity of landing places.

Mike's skeg had jammed so we were pleased to find a small sheltered cove called Port an Eilean Mhoir...

 ...at the head of Swordle Bay. Whenever we find a landing place like this we know that it has been used by generations of travellers before us. It is always interesting to discover what archaeology lies in the immediate vicinity. In this case, there is a Viking boat burial, dating from the 9th or 10th century, just behind the beach.

We soon got Mike's skeg functioning again and...

...had time to appreciate the beauty of our surroundings.

 I loved the way the clouds seemed to radiate from the volcanic rocks of Eilean Mhoir.

We sat for a while...

 ...enjoying the view over to...

 Rum, Eigg and...

...Skye. It is humbling to think of the generations of mariners who have enjoyed this view, both before and after the Swordle Bay Viking last sailed these waters.