"Probably the least visited nudist beach in the known universe"

We set off from Brown Head round the SW corner of Arran. All the time Ailsa Craig was growing on the horizon but we did not spend all the time gazing out to sea.

At Corriecravie I thought of all the hard work of my ancestors who were tenant farmers here from at least the early 1700's until the 1930's. The four top fields are still the greenest on Arran!

SE of Corriecravie, the beach consists of basalt dykes...

...rocks below the water and shingle at the HW mark.

As we approached Cleits Shore patches of sand appeared and...

...it looked an ideal spot for third luncheon.

Cleits Shore is one of the few official naturist beaches in Scotland. The book "Bare Britain" describes it thus... "probably the least visited nudist beach in the known universe.". Whatever, it seemed churlish to leave without making full use of the local facilities, as I am sure my ancestors did.

The clear waters of Brown Head, Arran.

We cut across Drumadoon Bay, which is backed by the village of Blackwaterfoot, and made landfall at...

...Brown Head. The water here was crystal clear but the extensive boulder beach, which lies at the bottom of the headland, extends for 4 kilometres and...

...virtually prevents landing.

However, as it was approaching LW, we found a little strip of sand below the rocks on which to land.

Somehow we had managed to paddle right past this narrow clearing which has been made through the rocks. This was obviously used by our ancestors who wished to launch boats here.

I had spotted an otter as we approached and found this half eaten sea urchin at the edge of the sparkling sea. I went for a swim in the cool clear water then...

 ...dried off in the sun on the grassy machair of a...

...raised beach while Tony went for a walk. The machair was filled with buttercups and would have made a great place to camp but Ailsa Craig (on the horizon) was still some way off and it made sense to carry on round the Arran coast.

Diverse plans, sills and dykes at Drumadoon.

After leaving King's Cave we paddled sailed south on Arran's remote west coast towards...

 ...the great basalt sill known as The Doon. The flat summit was an extensive Iron Age hill fort.As we passed below basalt columns of The Doon...

 ...towards Drumadoon Point, we caught sight of our destination for the following evening....

 ...Ailsa Craig was still 32km distant.

 There was some tide running round Drumadoon Point but...

 ....to its east the clear green water was calm in Drumadoon Bay where we...

...stopped for first luncheon on a convenient basalt dyke on Blackwaterfoot beach. The dunes above the beach gave some shelter from the rather chilly north wind. There was a little further diversity in the weather forecasts. Some were predicting F2-4 northerly the following day others were predicting F4-5 northerly. We decided to go for Ailsa Craig if it turned out to be the former. At F4-5 northerly the 24 km crossing to Ailsa Craig followed by a 16km crossing to Girvan would be a bit out of our comfort zone so we would head north to Brodick instead. We spent some time texting our plans home and to Phil who hoped to paddle solo out to Ailsa Craig the following day and join us for an overnight camp on the rock.

Reflections on freedom in the King's Cave Arran.

Tony and I found ourselves on a very rough beach below the King's Cave on the west coast of Arran.

 It is a popular place with walkers and many have built stone towers.

There are a whole series of caves and arches here and we followed a subterranean route to the entrance of...

 ,,,the King's Cave. On this occasion the large gate was not locked and we entered ...

...the cool darkness of the cave.

Once our eyes had adjusted to the lack of light we were able to get right to the back of the cave and...

 ...see some Victorian and...

 ...early Christian graffiti. This is one of the caves in which Robert the Bruce was supposed to have been inspired by a spider during his long struggle to win Scottish Independence. Robert the Bruce was of Norman rather than Scottish ancestry. Nowhere in the cave did I see the initials R de B or indeed a spider! I don't suppose the proletariat had much say in the Scottish Wars of Independence in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.except when their blood was spilt.

At least no blood was spilt in the recent referendum on Scottish Independence. After a record turnout of 84.59% at the polls, Scots decided by 2,001,926 to 1,617,989 to remain within the United Kingdom. Members of my family and close friends voted on either side of the referendum. I am pleased to say none of us have fallen out over the result. We realize that we are so very fortunate to live in a mature democracy where people have the freedom to vote for who or what they want and respect each other's decisions. Scotland was not always like this. We used to burn people at the stake if they held different opinions and last century in Europe, Germany fell into the clutches of  the Nazi party and the World suffered. I don't suppose people in areas controlled by Islamic State today have much freedom of expression or anything else for that matter. What a troubled World, is it too much to hope for peace and tolerance?

 Tony and I made our way carefully back over the slippery rocks to...

...our waiting kayaks and the blue waters of the Kilbrannan Sound. We were very much enjoying our freedom.

Across the Kilbrannan Sound to the King's Cave.

Tony and I set off on a 10 km crossing of the Kilbrannan Sound from Carradale Bay in Kintyre towards the...

 ...west coast of Arran.

We made landfall on a wooded shore which lies...

 ...just to the north of a sandstone cliff. The cliff rises above a raised beach.

 During and after the last Ice Age the sea level was higher and a dramatic...

...series of caves and arches were cut into the relatively soft rock. The largest is called King's Cave and is one of several rival caves in Scotland and Ireland which lay claim to being the one in which Robert the Bruce was inspired by a spider.

We decided to stop and explore. I was particularly glad that Tony hopped out first. My knees are not too good...

...on slippery green stuff like this.

Plucky paddlers work their way to weather past Pluck Point.

We awoke to a beautiful morning in Saddell Bay. Unfortunately so did the midges and their morning was made by our presence (not to mention blood).

 As a result we did not dally and were on the water below the old castle walls by 07:50.

 Initially we were in the shelter of the lee of Pluck Point but...

 ...as we rounded the point we were me by a north wind which blew straight down...

 ...the Kilbrannan Sound against us.

 We kept going without stopping for a rest as the coastline was rather inhospitable for landing.

Eventually we reached the broad sweep of Carradale Bay. We reckoned we had now got upwind enough...

...to launch the sails for a crossing to the King's Cave on Arran.

Sunset on fire in the Mull of Kintyre.

After we had eaten Tony and I set off to explore the environs of Saddell Bay. We came to the little locked bothy at Port na Gael.

 It was unoccupied but looked sound and dry. We set off from Port na Gael across exceddingly rough ground  to...

...Pluck Point where we soaked up some great views in the sunset.

 The great basalt columns and sill at Drumadoon Point on Arran reflected the rays of the setting sun.

 Further north, the granite ridges of north Arran soared into...

 ...the sky on the far side of the Kilbrannan Sound.

This telephoto photo captures the low sun illuminating the guano splattered cliffs of the bird colonies on Ailsa Craig, now some 39 kilometres to the SE. We hoped to camp there in two days' time.

As the sun set we made our way slowly back over the rough rocks of Pluck Point. The Kintyre peninsula stretched away to the south.

 With the light now fading fast it was...

 ...time to start gathering driftwood from the shore under the grey walls of Saddell Castle. It was built in 1512 for the Bishop of Argyll but belonged to James MacDonald in the 1550's. He had raided English troops in Ireland and the Earl of Sussex retaliated by sacking the castle in 1558. Today the castle can be rented from the Landmark Trust as a holiday home.

If something looks familiar about this beach and Port na Gael cottage, imagine Paul and Linda McCartney and the Campbeltown Pipe Band in the scene. Yes, this is where the video for the Wings hit Mull of Kintyre was shot!

We wasted no time in lighting the fire and soon...

...it was hot enough to put the baked potatoes on and flickering embers went  higher and higher into...

...the darkening sky as the moon rose.

We chatted long into the first night of this great sea kayaking adventure.