Thousands of years in defence of the realm in the Sound of Bute.

When we rounded Garroch Head at the south end of Bute we caught first sight of our destination for our night's camp. Low lying Inchmarnock was still 10km away but already we could make out the light quartzite beach at its south end.

 On the way up the west coast of Bute we passed the Iron Age hill forts at Dunagoil and...

 ...Dunstrone and...

 ...Ardscalpsie. This was clearly a land that was worth defending.

 As we paddled up the Sound of Bute towards Inchmarnock the sun was lowering.....

...when a Type 23 frigate roared down the Sound at her full 28 knots towards the measured mile.Although too far away to identify her number, she is almost certainly HMS St Albans. She was built on the Clyde in 2000 and has just undergone a major refit and is now completing sea trials before re-entering service in the summer of 2014.

Appearances can be deceptive in the Sound of Bute: Clyde bananas and a Cock.

We were not the only ones in the Sound of Bute on that lovely afternoon. MRV Scotia was quartering the area off Garroch Head that was used by boats such as the SS Shieldhall to dump Clyde bananas from 1908 until 1998. For those who think that there is a tropical fruit industry on the Clyde, please follow the SS Shieldhall link to discover the true meaning of the phrase "Clyde bananas". Presumably MRV Scotia  is measuring changes in the chemical composition of the sea bed sediments. It is hard to believe but the sea bed in this...

...beautiful spot has been despoiled by 140 million tons of sewage sludge. From Port Leithne we set off...

...round Garroch Head into the Sound of Bute with...

 ...Arran's rocky ridges soaring into the sky.

The north end of the isle is called the Cock of Arran...

...but for the life of me I cannot think why.

We could always just drink the boats lighter!

 

We set off on our pilgrimage to St Blane's leaving David to mind the kayaks. We last saw David sunbathing in his green underpants on the green sward of Bute. It was quite a sight...

REMOVED PHOTO
Concern for the maintenance of public decency means that the above photo has been removed by the management.

On our return David had fallen asleep and the tide had gone out for miles leaving the heavily laden kayaks high and dry. David still in his green underpants (which matched his deck) was completely unabashed. Clearly David was enjooying the ambience of Port Leithne. He came up with a novel solution...

"We could stay here and enjoy the sun. We could always just drink the boats lighter"...

Our green pilgrimage to Saint Blane's on Bute.

We left our sea kayaks at  Port Leithne and steadily climbed from into the verdant hills at the south end of Bute. A narrow path soon broadened into...

 ...a substantial pilgrim's way as we climbed through a green and pleasant land above the Sound of Bute with the distant Arran mountains beyond. We entered a little wood in a sheltered valley and...

...all of a sudden caught our first sight of the pinkish stones of what is left of St Blane's monastery and church. The setting in a clearing, framed by large deciduous trees, was peaceful and idyllic. An air of calm and serenity pervaded the whole area. Regardless of your religious persuasion, or lack thereof,  I recommend a visit to St Blane's. It will help heal your soul of the scars inflicted by the hurry, injustice, selfishness and greed of a sometimes uncaring world.

It is easy to see why St Catan, the 6th century founder of the religious settlement chose this spot.He was St Blane's uncle. The grounds of St Blane's are enclosed by several walls. We climbed over the first lower one then followed the second higher one round...

 ...to a gate through which we entered the upper church yard itself. The present building dates from the 12th century. The original buildings dating from some time before AD574 would have been made of wood. The monastery was sacked several times by the Vikings after the first raid in AD790. The present nave dates from the time that Viking rule from Norway came to an end and remaining Vikings converted to Christianity.

This is the view from the 12th century nave through a fine carved arch through a wall of shaped blocks to the mostly 14th century chancel beyond. Note the chevron carving on the arch.

The chancel was not constructed of the same quality shaped stone as the nave and now contains several grave slabs.

Leaving the church and entering the upper churchyard there is a fine view to Holy Island, which was also home to an early Celtic church founded by St Molaise (566 - ~640AD)

 The upper graveyard was reserved for monks, priests and men while...

 ...a curved ramp led down to the lower churchyard, which was for women and commoners.

As we made our way back to Port Leithne we reflected on the local and green nature of our pilgrimage. We had travelled only 45 minutes by car and had then paddled our kayaks and walked. Most of today's pilgrims travel by aircraft at great cost to the environment. In contrast in the 4th century Saint Ninian walked from Whithorn in SW Scotland to Rome and back. Now that is a pilgrimage!

Catching sight of the Delectable Mountains as our Pilgrimage to St Blane's progresses.

 At the south end of Little Cumbrae island you come to...

 ...the imaginatively named Gull Point.

 Gulls do congregate on this point but what really catches the eye of the itinerant pilgrim is...

 ...the view of the Delectable Mountains of Arran.

There now follows a short intermission. It was a spring tide and it was about 3 hours after slack at high water. The ebb was streaming down the west coast of Little Cumbrae where it met a light SW wind. A surprising lively sea was kicked up which reminded me of the cost of the Canon 5Dmk3.

We were well across the Firth of Clyde channel between Little Cumbrae and Bute before the sea calmed.

We arrived at Port Leithne on Bute for second luncheon and to embark upon the final part of our Pilgrimage to St Blane's Monastery and Church.

Pilgrims progress and a religious offering on Little Cumbrae.

We landed at Castle Island (which is just off the east coast of the Little Cumbrae) for our second breakfast. There was no one in residence at the house. We rather missed the friendly pack of motley mongrels owned by the last care taker...

...there was now no one to share our sandwiches with.

In the absence of a yardarm, it was clear that (despite the early hour) the sun was well over the castle...

...second breakfast quickly transformed to first luncheon as David cracked open a bottle of Leffe Brune. This dark beer has been brewed by the monks of  Dinant since 1240 for the benefit of those passing through on pilgrimage. As we were clearly on a pilgrimage to St Blane's monastery and church, we saw this as an appropriate religious offering to our thirsty palates.

We sat in the sun while we savoured the dark brew and enjoyed the beauty of our surroundings.

However, pilgrims must progress and so we made our fortified way past the fortifications of the Little Cumbrae Castle.

Temptation in the Tan and a very verdant Little Cumbrae.

We slid across a glassy sea towards...

...the Tan which is that...

...narrow strip of water which separates Little Cumbrae from Great Cumbrae. Beyond the Tan the Arran mountains rose steeply from the sea.

As we cleared Farland Point on Great Cumbrae we were able to look back at the little town of Millport but we were not tempted by its ice cream shops and chip shops and...

...we continued across the Tan towards a...

...very verdant looking...

...Little Cumbrae.

The Tan was uncommonly calm and it was easy...

...to spot the many porpoises that inhabit these waters. In the distance the Arran Ferry MV Caledonian Isles was crossing from Brodick to Ardrossan and Ailsa Craig rose temptingly in splendid isolation on the horizon. So tempting was it that Phil, Tony and I paddled out and camped on the rock just 12 days later.

We could now see our destination for second breakfast...

 
...the Little Cumbrae castle.