Reflections on freedom in the King's Cave Arran.

Tony and I found ourselves on a very rough beach below the King's Cave on the west coast of Arran.

 It is a popular place with walkers and many have built stone towers.

There are a whole series of caves and arches here and we followed a subterranean route to the entrance of...

 ,,,the King's Cave. On this occasion the large gate was not locked and we entered ...

...the cool darkness of the cave.

Once our eyes had adjusted to the lack of light we were able to get right to the back of the cave and...

 ...see some Victorian and...

 ...early Christian graffiti. This is one of the caves in which Robert the Bruce was supposed to have been inspired by a spider during his long struggle to win Scottish Independence. Robert the Bruce was of Norman rather than Scottish ancestry. Nowhere in the cave did I see the initials R de B or indeed a spider! I don't suppose the proletariat had much say in the Scottish Wars of Independence in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.except when their blood was spilt.

At least no blood was spilt in the recent referendum on Scottish Independence. After a record turnout of 84.59% at the polls, Scots decided by 2,001,926 to 1,617,989 to remain within the United Kingdom. Members of my family and close friends voted on either side of the referendum. I am pleased to say none of us have fallen out over the result. We realize that we are so very fortunate to live in a mature democracy where people have the freedom to vote for who or what they want and respect each other's decisions. Scotland was not always like this. We used to burn people at the stake if they held different opinions and last century in Europe, Germany fell into the clutches of  the Nazi party and the World suffered. I don't suppose people in areas controlled by Islamic State today have much freedom of expression or anything else for that matter. What a troubled World, is it too much to hope for peace and tolerance?

 Tony and I made our way carefully back over the slippery rocks to...

...our waiting kayaks and the blue waters of the Kilbrannan Sound. We were very much enjoying our freedom.

Across the Kilbrannan Sound to the King's Cave.

Tony and I set off on a 10 km crossing of the Kilbrannan Sound from Carradale Bay in Kintyre towards the...

 ...west coast of Arran.

We made landfall on a wooded shore which lies...

 ...just to the north of a sandstone cliff. The cliff rises above a raised beach.

 During and after the last Ice Age the sea level was higher and a dramatic...

...series of caves and arches were cut into the relatively soft rock. The largest is called King's Cave and is one of several rival caves in Scotland and Ireland which lay claim to being the one in which Robert the Bruce was inspired by a spider.

We decided to stop and explore. I was particularly glad that Tony hopped out first. My knees are not too good...

...on slippery green stuff like this.

Plucky paddlers work their way to weather past Pluck Point.

We awoke to a beautiful morning in Saddell Bay. Unfortunately so did the midges and their morning was made by our presence (not to mention blood).

 As a result we did not dally and were on the water below the old castle walls by 07:50.

 Initially we were in the shelter of the lee of Pluck Point but...

 ...as we rounded the point we were me by a north wind which blew straight down...

 ...the Kilbrannan Sound against us.

 We kept going without stopping for a rest as the coastline was rather inhospitable for landing.

Eventually we reached the broad sweep of Carradale Bay. We reckoned we had now got upwind enough...

...to launch the sails for a crossing to the King's Cave on Arran.

Sunset on fire in the Mull of Kintyre.

After we had eaten Tony and I set off to explore the environs of Saddell Bay. We came to the little locked bothy at Port na Gael.

 It was unoccupied but looked sound and dry. We set off from Port na Gael across exceddingly rough ground  to...

...Pluck Point where we soaked up some great views in the sunset.

 The great basalt columns and sill at Drumadoon Point on Arran reflected the rays of the setting sun.

 Further north, the granite ridges of north Arran soared into...

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

This telephoto photo captures the low sun illuminating the guano splattered cliffs of the bird colonies on Ailsa Craig, now some 39 kilometres to the SE. We hoped to camp there in two days' time.

As the sun set we made our way slowly back over the rough rocks of Pluck Point. The Kintyre peninsula stretched away to the south.

 With the light now fading fast it was...

 ...time to start gathering driftwood from the shore under the grey walls of Saddell Castle. It was built in 1512 for the Bishop of Argyll but belonged to James MacDonald in the 1550's. He had raided English troops in Ireland and the Earl of Sussex retaliated by sacking the castle in 1558. Today the castle can be rented from the Landmark Trust as a holiday home.

If something looks familiar about this beach and Port na Gael cottage, imagine Paul and Linda McCartney and the Campbeltown Pipe Band in the scene. Yes, this is where the video for the Wings hit Mull of Kintyre was shot!

We wasted no time in lighting the fire and soon...

...it was hot enough to put the baked potatoes on and flickering embers went  higher and higher into...

...the darkening sky as the moon rose.

We chatted long into the first night of this great sea kayaking adventure.

Out of the saddle at Saddell Bay.

We were well tired by paddling into the headwind that blew at us straight from our destination...

...at Saddell Bay which we finally arrived at just before sunset.

Saddell House is now in the care of the Landmark Trust. It was originally built in 1774 by Colonel Donald Campbell as a more comfortable abode than the existing Saddell castle at the south end of the bay.

After a long hard paddle it was a relief to get out of the saddle onto the sands of Saddell Bay.

It was a delight to pitch our tents on sweet smelling machair, laced with clover.

We even managed to enjoy our dinner and Guinness before the sun set. Our Kintyre, Arran, Ailsa Craig, Ayrshire trip was well underway.

Heads down into the wind on the Kilbrannan Sound.

Once Tony and I left Campbeltown Loch and turned our bows north towards the Kilbrannan Sound we found that the wind became increasingly a head wind. We paddle sailed close hauled for some time but...

...it soon came round to hit us right on the nose and we had to drop sails and get our heads down for...

...a stiff paddle into the wind.

At Ballymenach we passed the remains of a WW2 antiaircraft gun emplacement that defended Campbeltown Loch and Machrihanish Air Base.

It was a relief to catch our breath on a cobbled shore at Black Bay but rather worryingly, our goal, Ailsa Craig, was becoming more and more distant and was now little more than a slight blip on the horizon.

We gained a little shelter as we approached Kildonand Point and Island Ross. Some potential campsites in this area proved to be inaccessible at low tide so we continued up the Kilbrannan Sound which was becoming narrower as the coast of Arran drew closer.

Rounding the point we found ourselves back in the teeth of the wind. There was still no break in the dark rocks but fortunately we spotted the inviting sweep of the sands at Saddell Bay which was still 5 km away beyond Ugadale Point. It was getting late so there was nothing for it but to get our heads down again and make what progress we could against the wind.