Mishnish Hotel

This is part of an occasional series of sea kayaking pubs. Ideally a sea kayaking pub should be able to be seen from where you park your boat. It should not involve an onerous hike. It should be open on your arrival. It should serve ice cold Guinness and a variety of malted amber liquids. It should not be snooty about kayaking attire dripping on the floor. The Mishnish fits the bill perfectly.




The Mishnish is situated right on the front of Tobermory, capital of Mull in the Inner Hebrides. Tobermory is more commonly known to millions of children as Balamory in the synonymous BBC series. I have never watched the programme but I have drunk the Guinness.

The Bad Step

Mike said "isn,t that the beach you reach after traversing the bad step?"

Absolutely right Mike. The Bad Step is the slanting crack over the great slab of gabbro. The first time I came across it, it was getting dark, the wind was howling and it was pouring. Not only that, we had huge, top heavy rucksacks on our backs. It is just about unavoidable on the shore path from Camasunary into Loch Coruisk. There is supposed to be a high level alternative but I have never met any one who has found it.



Here is another shot with a lone scrambler to give scale. It is a fantastic spot.

An Clarsach

An Clarsach, "the harp", is a lovely natural arch at the NE corner of Eileach an Naoimh in the Garvellach Isles at the mouth of the Firth of Lorn. It is composed of tillite which is a metamorphosed glacial boulder clay.

Port Sgaile, Loch nan Leachd, Skye

Many casual visitors to Skye are disappointed by the lack of white sand beaches which are common in other parts of the Hebrides. However, there are hidden gems like Port Sgaile which nestles in a corner of Loch nan Leachd, an arm of Loch Scavaig, to the west of Sgurr na Stri in the Cuillin.



This is a view of Port Sgaile from the summit of Sgurr na Stri. The boat is Bella Jane in which Donald MacKinnon runs trips in from Elgol.

Dunvegan Castle, Skye

Dunvegan Castle is unique in Scotland in that it has been inhabited nearly continuously by the one family, the MacLeods, for over 850 years. It was abandoned for only 80 years after the potato famine in the mid 19th century. It is situated in a sheltered inlet in Loch Dunvegan, which is a deep sea loch on the otherwise exposed north west coast of the Isle of Skye. The rocky knoll upon which it is built was originally an island but now it is linked to the mainland.

During the famine, many Highland chiefs led the good life while evicting their tenants and giving them "free passage" to far off places places such as Nova Scotia. In the case of the MacLeods, the 25th Chief also had had to abandon the ancestral home and lands and took his family to London where he found work as a clerk. It was not until 1929 that his second son returned, as an old man, to Dunvegan.

The 29th Chief, John Macleod died a few days ago. During his life he was criticised for attempting to sell the magnificent Cuillin mountains for £10 million pounds in order to repair the crumbling castle. I thought this rather unfair as, during his stewardship of the Cuillin, mountaineers had enjoyed unrestricted access when many other owners of Scottish mountains had done their best to impede access.

He is succeeded by his son, Hugh Magnus, who is the 30th Chief and now guardian of the Castle and its ancient relic, the Fairy Flag. This is a silk banner of Middle Eastern origin which dates from about 500 AD. Legend has it that it may be waved 3 times to save the Clan in times of trouble. So far it has been waved twice.



The magnificent Cuillin with salt water Loch Scavaig and fresh water Loch Coruisk at its feet. Skye is sea kayaking heaven.

Turnberry: tourneys, tees, castle and lighthouse.

The steady wink of a lighthouse beacon as the winter sun slips into the west is a reassuring sight. The great light of Turnberry stands on a rocky headland that juts into the Firth of Clyde. It is built upon the sad ruins of Turnberry Castle, which dates from the 12th century.



Only the stump of the castle, seen here in front of the lighthouse, now remains. In its day, it was a magnificent stronghold which was built over an inlet of the sea. A portcullis could be lowered after a ship had entered this sea gate. A reconstruction of the castle in its heyday can be seen on the local town of Maybole's website. The castle was probably the birth place of Scotland's King Robert the Bruce in 1274. He was of Norman decent and it is thought that the name Turnberry has Norman French origins: "Tourney Berg" or castle of the tournaments. Nowadays there is not a great deal of jousting but great golf tournaments are held here during the Open Championship. This will next be held at Turnberry in 2009. The lighthouse is situated just behind the 17th tee and, in previous Open Championships, it has featured in a favoured TV vantage point that beams the view of tee and also distant Ailsa Craig to a worldwide audience of golf fans.

Although spring tidal flows in the lower Firth of Clyde are generally less than 1 knot, the waters off Turnberry Point can be quite lively, even in otherwise calm conditions.

Culzean Castle

I have mentioned this before, but a particular pleasure of Scottish paddling is seeing her great maritime castles from a new perspective. The romantic cliff top Culzean Castle was built between 1777 and 1792 by Robert Adam for David Kennedy, 10th Earl of Cassillis. It is built round the original keep walls and the famous oval staircase occupies almost all of the interior of the keep.

The top floor of the round tower forms part of the Eisenhower Suite. This was gifted to General Eisenhower by the Scottish people after WW2. He visited the suite 4 times.



Culzean estate is literally littered with interesting buildings. This is the Dolphin House which was originally the castle laundry. It is built right on the high water mark, on a raised beach at the foot of a cliff. It is now an outdoor education centre.



This is the Gazebo, which is perched at the north east end of the cliffs. Like many buildings at Culzean, such as the Ruined Arch at the main entrance, it was built as a ruin.



Not all the buildings were decorative. Below the Gazebo lies the gas house. Coal gas (or town gas) was discovered by William Murdoch a prolific Scottish inventor, chemist and engineer. Murdoch was born in Ayrshire, not very far from Culzean. The gas house at Culzean was the first in Scotland and lit the castle until 1940. Coal was brought in to the little jetty below the gas house and, even today, you can still find occasional pieces of coal at low tide. Another Scottish inventor, "Tar" John McAdam, invented metalled roads and laid the first stretch of tarmac on the Carrick Hills just north of Culzean.