Good companions under a Strontium blue sky.

On the third day of our winter adventure we had originally planned to drive to the head of Loch Etive. However, when we had passed the minor road end on the drive north through Glen Coe it was completely blocked by snow. The day's forecast also promised heavy snow by the afternoon. Staff in the hotel told us that the road over to the head of Loch Sunart was clear so we decided to go there!

From Ballachuilish the quickest way involves a ferry across the Corran Narrows. The ebb had already turned and was streaming past the end of the jetty. It can get very rough here with wind against tide!

 The Corran Lighthouse was built in 1860 by Thomas and David Stevenson.It was automated in 1898.

 We had a short wait as the ferry was still at the Ardgour side.

 The main ferry is the MV Corran. She was built in Hull and entered service in 2001. The relief ferry lying at mooring is the MV Maid of Glencoul. She was built in Ardrossan and entered service on the Kylesku route in 1976.  She remained there until the Kylesku bridge was built in 1984 when she was transferred here to the Corran route..

 We drove to the Strontian slipway at the head of Loch Sunart. The element strontium was discovered here.

The day already looked better than forecast. This is the view east up Glen Tarbert to the distant Glen Coe hills from which we had just driven. The summit of the glen is 117m above sea level but at the end of the last Ice Age when sea levels where higher, Loch Sunart connected to Loch Linnhe through Glen Tarbert making what is now the Morvern peninsula an island, in fact one of the Hebrides! In 2010 we paddled round Morvern, shuttling across Glen Tarbert with the cars.

We had taken the chance and texted local paddlers Simon and Liz the previous evening. Ian and I were delighted when they agreed to come. We had not all paddled together since the filming of Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown Volume 2 in 2011.

In no time we were off and right on time...

...the clouds cleared leaving a Strontium blue sky!

I love paddling on the Scottish sea lochs in the winter. Here we were surrounded by snow...

...covered mountains and we would need to paddle 46 km before we reached the open sea!

The view was equally good looking back up the loch.

The bold slopes and ridges of Garbh Bheinn 885m rose high above the head of the loch. Looking at its snowy slopes reminded me of my late friend Dr John Tolmie who died in a climbing accident at the end of March 2014. John and I had been climbing the direct start to the Great Ridge of Garbh Bheinn on 11th August 1999 when all went dark, there was a near total eclipse of the sun!

Although about half my paddling is on my own, I much prefer sharing my time outdoors with like minded folk.

I had a great chat with Simon as he has recently also bought a Canon 5D mk3. I did notice he did not produce it on the water though! Mind you his is not off to Canon UK for repairs! I hope I get it back soon!

Ginger haired locals and abandoned piers.

On Eilean Balnagowan the SE wind had increased and was now F5 gusting to F6. We decided that further progress southward would be futile especially since the tide had now turned and was also running north. We decided to return to Ballachuilish.. Mike thought that the conditions were not ideal for paddle sailing but Ian decided to give it a try. He hoisted his sail in the lee of Balnagowan and set off at a cracking pace. Once out into the full strength of the wind and the tide he decided that perhaps Mike had been right and that discretion was the better part of valour  and dropped his sail.

I shouted to Mike and Ian to keep a lookout for each other and I  hoisted my sail and set off for the headland some 1.1km distant. It was a broad reach with a 3km/hr flood tide running R to L across our path. The water became increasingly confused as we approached the headland as the west going tide, pouring out of the sweep of Cuil Bay, met the main north going flood which had gone up the west side of Eilean Balnagowan. It was superb fun.

I paddle sailed the 1.1km in 5minutes 7 seconds and averaged 12.9km/hr and Mike in the Aries and Ian in the Cetus MV paddled it in 9 minutes 55 seconds and averaged 6.7km/hr.

My Aries was only planing for short distances as the waves were rather short and confused. However, the power of the sail helped me catch just about any wave available, even if only for a short ride. I think the speed difference would have been even greater if we had had more even following seas.

 As we proceeded north we gradually entered the lee of the mountains,  the wind dropped and...

...Ian and Mike got their sails going again.  But soon it was back to...

 ...paddling until we reached...

 ...Rubha nam Moine...

 ...with its distinctive trees. We stopped just round the point where...

 ...we were joined by some ginger haired locals.

We took a diversion into tiny Kentallan Bay the entrance of which is marked by its distinctive pier house above the old pier.
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 The west side of the bay is composed of the steeply wooded slopes of Ardsheal hill. The Bay is a submerged geological fault and at its head...

...there is an old landing place where...

...the sad remains of a flat bottom turntable ferry. These were used on both the Ballachuilish and Corran routes until the mid 1970's. This one had seen better days, though its engine block was still in situ.

 It wasn't just old boats that had seen better days...

We set off home along the east coast of Kentallen Bay passing...

 Ardsheal pier on the way. Steamers used to deliver goods here until the railway from Oban to Ballachilish was built in 1903. At that time a new pier was built beside the Kentallen Railway Station, which is now a hotel. The rock on the north side of Kentallen Bay is an unusual igneous intrusion called Kentallenite.

 We hugged the shore to keep out of the increasingly cold wind and before long...

 ...the Pap of Glencoe reappeared in the east.

 Not much remains of...

 ...the timber part of Ballachuilish Pier but...

 ...the slates of its stone part are still in good shape.

The flood tide now carried us at a good rate of knots as the snow clouds gathered over the Glen Coe mountains.

It was good to see the hotel coming up and we made sure we broke out of the current in order to land at the old ferry slipway.

The Ballachuillish hotel proved really excellent. After a nice warm bath  nothing beats a pint of sports recovery drink by a warm log fire followed by an...

...excellent meal. Mike had mussels to start, Ian had Cullen Skink and I had the vegetarian haggis, neaps and tatties starter. We all had shank of lamb as main course. Yum yum.

All in all another truly excellent day.

Blood on the rocks and a murder at Appin.

 We launched in the pre-dawn light from the slipway near the Ballachulish Hotel.

Above us the steel grey bridge blended into the steel grey sky.

 Below us the ebb tide was kicking out through the narrows at 12km/hr. It was rather surreal travelling backwards at this speed as the land whizzed by. The cloud cover meant that it was a good bit warmer than our first days's trip to Kinlochleven.

A decent easterly wind  sprung up and so the sails were unfurled to help us speed our way into Loch Linnhe. Wind with tide gave fast progress on flat water and...

 ...soon the mountains of Ardgour then...

 ...Morvern dominated our view to the west. As the sun rose, the temperature did rise and it was noticeable how the snow had thinned overnight.

We were paddling down the south east side of Loch Linnhe, past Ardsheal Hill which we had climbed two days before.

 Gradually we encountered a SE headwind so we...

 ...hugged the shore until...

...we came across a sheltered NW facing bay where we...

 ...pulled up our kayaks on some remarkably sharp gravel. It was time for second breakfast. I became aware that one of my fingers was leaking quite a lot of blood but I hadn't felt a thing as my hands were so cold. We had plenty of elastoplasts so for once I did not have to resort to duct tape.

Of course a few drops of my blood on the Appin shore were nothing compared with the real events that surrounded the "Appin Murder" which took place here in 1752, six years after the defeat of the Jacobite Rebellion at Culloden. Colin Campbell, a local laird and Hanoverian agent was travelling along Loch Linnhe collecting taxes from the Stewarts and evicting those who could not pay. Suddenly a shot rang out and he was killed. News travelled fast to London where both the government and the King feared a third Jacobite (Stewart) uprising. The Stewart chief, James of the Glen, was arrested and charged without a shred of evidence. He was sent for trial in Inveraray, the seat of the Campbell clan. The judge was the chief of the Campbell Clan and eleven out of the fifteen jurors were Campbells. Stewart was found guilty and hanged at Ballachuilish. It was one of the blackest days in Scottish legal history.

 We found an idyllic sheltered bank with a...

...great view of the mountains and of...

...the Corran ferry 7.5km to the north.

 After second breakfast, Ian set about making the performance seat in his Cetus mv. The lower tab develops an uncomfortable crease that can be cured by cutting the tab completely off.

With comfortable posture restored we set off again down Loch Linnhe towards the northern end of Cuil Bay. We were momentarily distracted by a large dog otter munching a crab on the rocks.

From the shelter of Rubha Mor we looked across Cuil Bay to our destination Eilean Balnagowan. The wind had got up from the SE to a good F4 gusting F5. It proved to be a lumpy crossing but...

We found excellent shelter to go with the 15y old Dalmore that accompanied first luncheon. Despite its small size, Eilean Balnagowan has four shingle beaches. So it gives a sheltered location whatever direction the wind is blowing from. Neither Ian nor Mike had been before but I had paddled between Port Appin and Glencoe 6 years previously. I was surprised to discover a new pier, road and house on Balnagowan. The house was completed in 2014.