Catching the tide in the Sound of Islay past a mimetolith in a D cup on Jura

 The south going ebb was still running as we set off across the Sound of Islay towards Jura.

 Not long after we had left Islay the wind...

 ...began to increase from the north but...

 we were able to close reach most of the way across. Away to the SE the mountains of Arran rose above low lying Gigha and the Kintyre peninsula.

 By the time we crossed the Sound the tide had turned and was running  north against the fresh wind.

 Despite the strength of the wind we were soon making...

 ...10km/hr against it due to the power of the north going tide.

 It was an exhilarating ride up the Sound as...

 ...testified by our big grins.

We were not the only ones up early to catch the tide. This yacht motored past us with her main still up but backwinding.

North of Port Askaig the Sound opens up and we could just spot the white Ruvaal lighthouse in the distance.

 The Sound of Islay has several other white landmarks such as the Caol Isla distillery.

 On Jura the quartzite of the Paps rose high above...

 ...a raised beach at the top of dark basalt cliffs.

As we passed the lighthouse at Carragh an t-Sruith (pillar of the current) we could see a team of Northern Lighthouse Board  maintenance workers at the light. They had arrived by RIB from one of the NLB ships which was lying off the south end of the Sound.

 The current was still speeding us north and the...

 ...Paps of Jura made a most magnificent sight as they heaved above the Sound. Perhaps they are the biggest pair of mimetolith we have ever seen? The origin of the name Jura is not clear and there is some disagreement. Some say it is from the Norse word dyrøy (beast) others say it is from the Norse dyr (deer) and others say it is from the Norse jur (udder). I leave it to the reader to decide. As far as I am concerned it's all a storm in a D cup.

 On the Islay side, Ruvaal came ever closer as we passed...

 ...the Bunnahabhain Distillery.

They were still muir burning at the south end of Colonsay and the plume of smoke rose high into the air beyond Ruvall.

 The MV Hebridean Isles ferry was en route from Port Askaig to Colonsay.

 Back on Jura the caves in the cliffs were full of tasty rock doves as...

 ...the peregrine falcon perched on the clifftop would attest.

 Next up came a couple of mimetoliths, the first was a basalt dyke that looked just like an older Queen Victoria wearing a headdress. The next was...

 ...this green pixie.

 It was now time for a rest...

...preferably out the cool north wind...

 ....so we found the ideal spot with our backs to a sheltering dyke where we enjoyed second breakfast.

 We then walked a short distance to  Alt Bun an Eas (burn with the waterfall at its foot) and Ian and...

 Photo by Ian Johnston

...I went for an extremely refreshing dip in its icy waters. Mind you the zing as we dried in the sun afterwards was worth it!

Mike had more sense and simply rinsed the salt off his dry suit!

A busy dawn in the Sound of Islay

We had camped on the SE coast of Islay and high hills to the NW meant we had not enjoyed a sunset. However, we enjoyed a wonderful dawn over...

 ...the sound of Islay with Jura in the distance. Indeed it had turned out to be a very comfortable camp.

I took an early morning walk in the warm dawn light. There was only a slight north wind rippling the Sound of Islay but it was forecast to get up to F4/F5 by mid morning.

I  came across the sad remains of the farmstead of Gleann Choireadail (glen of the corrie of the valley i.e. a boggy hollow).

The inhabitants had probably been cleared  here from more fertile ground inland. Maybe they survived a couple of generations before giving up the struggle for survival and emigrating to more fertile ground in the New World?

We had pitched our tents on what had once been their most fertile ground but all around the ground that was once their livelihood was now just bracken and bog.

While the tents dried in the early morning sunshine we walked back to...

 ...where we had landed the boats and...

 ...soon had breakfast going while we watched...

 ..a succession of ships making their way down the Sound. First was the MV Hebridean Isles, the CalMac ferry enroute between Port Askaig on Islay and Kennacraig on Kintyre. The ferry was followed by...

 ...HMS Blyth M111, a Royal Navy mine warfare vessel which is based in the Clyde. She was also returning from the Joint Warrior exercise.

Next down the Sound was the STS Stavros S Niarchos, which we had seen heading to Colonsay the previous day.

 As she motored down the Sound we made our final preparations to launch but...

...we paused to admire her fine lines under the Paps of Jura.

No room in the bothy and things that might have been...

 At the north end of the Sound of Islay the Ruvall lighthouse stands tall. It was built high so that it could also be seen from the south end of the Sound of Islay (see below). As we were discussing the lighthouse we noticed that the tide had turned in the Sound and it was now time to hitch a ride south.

The Jura coast line continued to amaze. At Alt Bun an Eas (burn with the waterfall at its foot) a deep V gorge has been cut through a raised sea cliff. the gorge is too big to have been cut by the current burn and dates from the days after the Ice Age when a huge torrent of meltwater made its way to the sea and the land rose as the weight of the ice sheet diminished.  The gorge has a series of waterfalls and infinity pools just above the beach.

Tony and I climbed up to these pools on a previous visit and Ian and I noted the possibility of a refreshing shower here the next day.

I never tire of this coastline and have paddled it 10 times now. This might not seem that much but considering how hard it is to get here from Glasgow it is a lot!

 At first the tide carried us gently down the Sound but the spring rate is 5 knots and...

 ...soon we were fair zipping along.

 The bottom of the Sound of Islay is very clean so despite the speed of the current, there are no overfalls and it only becomes rough if the tide is against the wind (as we would experience the following day!)

Although the water was like a millpond we passed the lighthouse at Carragh an t-Sruith (pillar of the current) at a casual 15km/hr!

We hit 16.4km/hr in the narrows between Feolin and Port Askaig where the Jura ferry MV Eilean Dhiura crosses. our destination was An Cladach bothy, which lies beneath the highest summit to the right of the ferry.

South of the narrows there were some great eddies which carried us off course but soon we arrived at...

...An Cladach bothy on the SE Islay shore (where Tony and I had stayed exactly a year ago). Unfortunately it was occupied by two couples and there are only 4 bunks. When we went inside the first woman said "Oh look they are all wet!" The second said "Oh look they are all wearing the same". It was then that I noticed the row of shiny polished boots by the door and a huge supply of food and drink including enough uncrushed loaves for a week. We decided to move on. One of the men followed us out and rather apologetically said he was the Mountain Bothy Association maintenance officer and they were up for a week to maintain the bothy.

Whatever the purpose of their visit, we saw no work clothes or maintenance materials. They had obviously been dropped off by boat rather than making their own way in. Parties using bothies for long term holidays seem to be becoming more common. When Ian and I visited Rum in the winter the warden warned us of two undesirables with bows and arrows who had set up residence in Guirdil bothy for two weeks. Exactly a year previously Tony and I had come across some Glaswegians in Cruib Lodge in Jura when we arrived after sunset. They told us they had been there for 10 days. Fortunately because it was outwith deer shooting season the estate side of the lodge was unlocked and they were in there. So we were able to stay in the MBA side. Another sea kayaking friend came across a man and two alsatian dogs who had been in a non MBA bothy in the Sound of Arisaig for 3 weeks! Whatever, I would only stay a night or two in a bothy as long term residence effectively decreases the number of people who  can take shelter there.

The sun had just set on the shore so we paddled down the rocky coast looking for somewhere to land and set up camp before dark. Mike and I landed in a little rocky inlet and were just about to explore when our VHF radios burst into life. It was the ferry MV Finlaggan warning the "warship in the Sound of Islay" to keep clear while she berthed at Port Askaig.

 The warship very politely assured Finlaggan that there would be no obstruction to berthing.

 The warship proved to be a Royal Navy type 23 frigate, HMS Iron Duke, which was also involved in Joint Warrior. This was her on her way south after live firing exercises at Cape Wrath in which she used her 4.5" front mounted gun. Unfortunately the wash of both vessels trapped Mike and I in the gully for some time and the sun...

 ...had well set before we were able to launch and found somewhere more suitable to set up camp. If you enlarge this photo, you will just see the light from Ruvaal lighthouse 17km away to the NNW up the Sound of Islay. The photo also shows what would have been a glorious sunset when viewed from the little cove between the dykes of Jura, where we had last stopped and were tempted to camp.

 It does not pay to think of what might have been, either golden sunsets or warm bothy fires, instead we concentrated on getting the loaded boats up the beach and setting up...

 ...the tents in the light of the gloaming and a full moon.

Not only had we brought tents we had also brought wood and a bag of charcoal, we soon had a warming fire going. What might have been a very uncomfortable night passed in great comfort, no doubt helped by some generous snifters of malt whisky. Another disaster was realized when I realized I had left the flask of Islay malt (Caol Isla) in the car. Fortunately reserve supplies of Jura and Speyside malts were available!

Rendezvous with a swarm of oxymoronic priapic dykes on the SW coast of Jura

Leaving the mouth of West Loch Tarbert we made our way along the SW shore of Jura towards the northern entrance of the Sound of Islay.

No sooner had we entered the Sound, which is guarded by the Ruvaal Lighthouse on its Islay shore, than this otter popped up right by Mike's bow, what a treat.

As we travelled over the turquoise and ultramarine water of the Sound, the Paps of Jura increasingly...

 ...dominated the landscape, heaving high into the sky above a sea cliff which was now high above the current sea level. Unseen in this photo, there are raised beaches of cobbles above these old cliffs. The land and seascape of Jura is unique, even in a country of such varied geology as Scotland.

The cliffs are broken by a swarm of dykes that march down the hillsides and down into the waters of the Sound.

This particularly fine priapic (if that is not an oxymoron when discussing a dyke) specimen is a potent landmark which can be found to the WNW of Loch na Sgrioba (loch of the furrow).

Jura really is a stunning place to paddle but it was now 14km since we had had a decent stop so we took a break...

...on a little cobbled beach that nestled within a swarm of dykes. We took our second luncheon with our backs to a sun warmed basalt dyke which sheltered us from a cold north wind. We toasted ourselves with a further snifter of Jura Superstion. We had plenty of time as the tide was still running north.

We attempted a little coastal exploration while waiting for the tide to turn.

We managed to get through some arches and ...

...scrambled up some ledges but turned back above these dykes as we were on steep sloping grass that ended above some cliffs.

From our vantage point we spotted a French mine warfare vessel, possibly M642 FS Cassiopée. She was taking part in the Joint Warrior NATO exercise.

Back at the beach, the tide had turned, it was time to set off on the last leg of our journey...