The south west coast of Dun, St Kilda archipelago.

We emerged from the darkness and enclosure of the caves of Dun and found ourselves once more with the empty Atlantic horizon to the south west.


We paddled under Dun's sheer cliffs and made for the stack of Sgeir Cul an Rudha.


Above us thickening cirrus clouds announced the arrival of a front and the promise of wind by morning.


We were still in awe of the sheer scale of the rock architecture of these islands.


Squalls of wind gusted between the stack and Dun.


We rounded the great headland of Giumachsgor and there before us, lay the portal of the Great Arch of Dun!

02/06/2008

The Riddle of Dun: subterranean sea kayaking!

We emerged from the cave on the Hirta side of the Dun Gap in the St Kilda archipelago. Our eyes adjusted to the light and now focussed on Hirta's smaller neighbour, the island of Dun.


We made good progress down the NE coast of Dun. The isolated stack of Levenish lay far out on the horizon. "This won't take long" we thought. The time was now 8pm, well past our dining hour.


Then Murty showed us the most amazing series of caves.


Each cave linked to another and we soon lost all sense of direction and time as we threaded our way through the maze of caverns.


This is probably the most amazing marine cave system in the British Isles!


It has been created by some of the most violent seas that hit the Britain's coasts.


We were so incredibly lucky to be here on a day which was calm enough to allow us to enter.


All thoughts of our evening meal were forgotten.


Each of us was lost in our thoughts as we drifted silently through the caves and arches in awe of nature's creation.


Eventually we emerged on the SW side of Dun, now knowing that it is an island riddled with caves.



02/06/2008

The Dun gap, St Kilda

As we neared the end of our circumnavigation of Hirta we entered the narrow Dun gap which separates Hirta from its near neighbour Dun. Many sea kayaking trips never have the opportunity to go through here due to the huge swells which normally drive relentlessly through the gap. We were indeed privileged.


Once we were under the cliffs of Dun we could see the stack of Giasgeir with the hill of Oiseval, 293m, which forms the far side of Village Bay. A male eider duck came flying through at high speed.


Eiders are Britain's largest ducks. And are sometimes called "Whoo Whoo" birds on account of their mating calls in late winter and early spring.


As we emerged from the gap we turned sharp left before Giasgeir.


Murty knew of a large cave that led to a tunnel that would take us out into Village Bay on the far side. Sea kayaking doesn't get much better than this.

02/06/2008

The great cave of Rubha Mhuirich, St Kilda

Continuing our circumnavigation of Hirta in the St Kilda archipelago, we came across the great cave of Rubha Mhuirich.


This huge cave is about 100m deep running straight into the cliffs. The MV Cuma was dwarfed by its scale


The light extended right to the back of the cave where there was a sandy beach. We could not land because of the amplification of the swells in the narrowing walls. One can only imagine the force of the ocean's fury in an Atlantic storm!

02/06/2008

The coral island of Loch nan Ceall, Arisaig

We continued on our way through the skerries of Loch nan Ceall as the wind began to pick up.


We came across another island and took a further break.


Photo JLW

The whole beach was composed of coral sand.


The "coral" is actually the bleached skeletons of the red algae, Lithothamnium calcareum.

14/09/2008

Eigg shells at Arisaig

We returned to the reefs that guard the mouth of Loch nan Ceall at Arisaig.


The sentinel Sgurr of Eigg acted as a reference point as we lost ourselves in the maze of channels.


Huge expanses of shell sand were exposed by the spring low tide.


We lost ourselves looking for shells.


The beaches here are composed of the fragments of shells of billions of sea creatures that have lived here. The odd shapes in the bottom left are Scottish "coral". The "coral" is actually the bleached skeletons of the red algae, Lithothamnium calcareum.

14/09/2008

Praise the dawn but be prepared to leave paradise.

Dawn broke with a red sky, a warning for sailors.


A freshening SE wind blew into our bay.


We prepared to leave our paradise in the Sound of Arisaig....


...and continued on our adventures.

24/09/2008