Through the Maze to Ceann a' Mhara

South of the amazing beach that the Tiree surfers call "The Maze" (it is actually Traigh Thodhrasdail) lies the real Maze...

it is an incredible series of skerries and channels which lie to the north of Bharrapol Bay and the imposing headland of Ceann a' Mhara. Inside we were protected from the swell that the surfers were now enjoying...

...but as we emerged into Bharrapol Bay we were reminded of the presence of the surf.

At 103m Ceann a' Mhara is the third highest point on Tiree. Quite a distinction as Tiree only has three high points!

We had timed our arrival for slack water. If we had arrived with the north going tide against a NE wind, then it would have been somewhat bouncier than we experienced.

Once round the headland, we found a rocky cove sheltered from the swell.

It was now time for a well deserved third breakfast!

Up before the surf dudes on Tiree's Maze.

Leaving Hough Bay, we paddled through the skerries that lie off the westernmost point of Tiree, Rubha Chraiginis. The north going tide was still flowing through the channels against us.

We stopped for a rest in this little inlet on the sheltered south side of the point. Unfortunately the beach below the water was very steeply shelving with very slippy boulders. I half fell out of the kayak and it took both David and Phil to recover me. It was the worst wrench to my bad knee since the operation and it could have been serious if it was not for their speedy help. Thanks guys!

From the top of the rise behind the beach we could look back at the way we had come with the Cuillin of Skye in the distance.

21km away to the SSW we could just make out the Skerryvore lighthouse on the horizon.

We now set off in a southerly direction down Tiree's west coast. The NNE wind was cross off at "The Maze" as the surf dudes call Traigh Thodhrasdail. The surf was about 4 feet so there were a lot of boardies emerging from their camper vans for what, for them, was an early morning surf (but we had been paddling for 2.5 hours! David and I whipped up our sails and we could see several dudes rubbing their eyes in disbelief!

It was great fun sailing and paddling along the beach, just beyond the surf zone. Judging by the stares, the surfers had clearly never seen a sea kayak with a sail!

All to soon we left the beautiful Maze beach and the surf dudes behind.

Sea kayaking Tiree's north shore

 Despite a comfortable camp site on the machair of Tiree's north shore, I slept poorly. Partly it was the noise of the F5 wind and surf but mostly it was a grating pain in my bad knee. However, I had finally dozed off by the time the shipping forecast was broadcast at 0530. It was to be F4 NE in the morning rising to F5 NE in the evening.  However, the coastal station report for Tiree was currently only F3 so it was...

...time for an early start. We had the sea kayaks loaded and on the water by 0730! David hadn't ever realized that there were two 7:30's, every 24 hours!

We were soon weaving in and out of the skerries as we paddled west along Tiree's north shore. This was near Barna-Sgeir.

 Rounding the point we came across yet another of Tiree's stunning beaches. this one is Traigh Chornaig.

Away to the north, the Cuillin mountains of Skye and Rum broke the otherwise empty horizon.

The west side of Traigh Chornaig is guarded by extensive skerries.

By the time we reached Rubha na Bo Maoile there were no more crofts by the shore until...

...the rocks were breached by Traigh Bail' a Mhuilinn. Beinn Hough, at only 119m but Tiree's second highest hill, now came in sight.

As we rounded Rubha Boraige Moire, we noticed that the wind was increasing...

...but it was now more a tail wind and it blew us across the wide bay of Traigh Hough. It was only 0900 hours but we had now nearly completed our paddle of Tiree's fantastic north coast, just as the wind kicked in for the day.

Hot spuds at Tiree sundown.

After sunset the temperature plummeted so we gathered some firewood and soon had a warming blaze going.

We had just by chance brought some potatoes which went in the fire...

...and soon we had delicious baked potatoes with butter and salt. Yum!

Tiree sunset

 We sat on the rocks at the edge of our little bay on the north shore of Tiree.

We chatted for ages, basking in the warmth of the summer evening sun...

...until the shadows lengthened...

..and the sun began to set.

The sunset gave a beautiful light to...

...the shells left by the tide.

Discretion is the better part of valour on the north coast of Tiree!

From Vaul Bay on Tiree's north coast we paddled south west along the coast towards Balephetrish Bay. We had hoped to land at the "ringing stone". This is a granodiorite erratic boulder, which was carried here by the ice during the Ice Age. Its rock is geologically recent but it sits on the ancient gneiss of the Tiree foreshore. Fortunately graniodiorite is very hard, because generations of tourists have thrown other rocks at it to make it ring. 4,000 years ago the locals were made of sterner stuff and managed to carve multiple cup marks on its surface. Unfortunately the wind and swell made it impossible to land on the rocky shore.

The wind increased to force 4 and the swell also rose. We had had no sleep the previous night, as we had driven through the night to catch the 05:45 ferry so, with the wind still increasing, we decided to cut short our paddle and look for somewhere to land. Another issue for me was that the pain in my bad knee had become almost unbearable. I had sat too long... through the night in a car then in a kayak morning and afternoon... my knee had now locked up.

We found a narrow sandy inlet to the east of Balephetrish Bay. Its direction and offshore reefs meant it was almost completely sheltered from the north east wind and westerly swell. Even so, I couldn't get out my kayak without the assistance of both David and Phil.... Thanks guys!

After a third luncheon of NSAIDs, COX2 inhibitors, codeine and paracetamol I was able to get going and then we had the tents up and our wet gear out to dry.

We had found our own little piece of paradise!

From the rocks above the tents wee looked out to sea...

...and we were glad we had stopped when we did. Discretion is the better part of valour on the north coast of windy Tiree!

Away with the fairies in Vaul Bay, Tiree.

High above Gunna Sound, cirrus clouds streaming from the north confirmed that we were lying between an intense low pressure system lying over Denmark and a high pressure system lying in mid Atlantic.

It was now time to go. We hoped to cover another 20km and clear the north coast of Tiree before the wind increased in the evening.

 I had hoped to show some more photos of an idyllic Sound of Gunna, like this one 2 years ago. However, the ebb tide was running strongly  through the sound from NW to SE, so we had to eddy hop up the skerries. Once we emerged onto the north coast of Tiree, beyond Urvaig Point we had hoped to find the ebb tide running SW down Tiree before the NE wind. However, there was so much water flowing into Gunna Sound that the ebb tide was being sucked NE up the Tiree coast and into the sound.

So we had a foul tide against both us and the wind. This resulted in some glorious bouncy conditions, which Phil described as somewhat reminiscent of the Mull of Galloway. Unfortunately I couldn't take any photos in the sound but this one was taken after the water flattened off, about half a kilometer beyond the point. You can just see Phil on the right edge, I didn't compose this shot!

Once onto the north coast the wind was from the NE and we fairly shot along to Vaul Bay. Its west coast was sheltered by the extensive reefs and since...

...we hadn't slept at all the night before, we stopped for a welcome second luncheon.  Belief in the fairies was deep rooted in Tiree. There was even a word for it in Tiree Gaelic: "siobhairean" To this day the island is famous for stories about fairies. They often lived in green knolls round the coast and sometimes they would kidnap people, especially children, hence the expression "away with the fairies".

Whoever our new neighbours were, we found ourselves in a sun trap, sheltered from the wind and had a great view to Eigg and Coll.

Soon David was fast asleep and away with the fairies.