The Outer Light of Holy Island: Scotland's Forbidden Island.

The Outer Light of Holy Island was built by David A and Charles Stevenson in 1905. Its white light flashes twice every 20 seconds and was a familiar night time sight to me some 50 years ago when I grew up in Ayrshire, on the other side of the Firth of Clyde. However, its apparent constancy is but a transient flash compared to the ancient rocks upon which it is built.


This view of the lighthouse is one the monks at the Samye Ling Buddhist community on the island would prefer pelagic sea kayakers not to see. They post NO LANDING signs and expect you to to report to them at one landing spot on the north of the island so that you can be instructed on how to behave on your visit.

Tony and I were fortunate to meet no monks and went on our way undisturbed. We paddled on below the eastern cliffs of Holy Island, which bear witness to the geological forces that created the Earth. The old red sandstone at the base of the cliffs is 400 million years old and was formed when Holy Island was part of the Old Red continent, which was then situated on the equator. In comparison our own species is a mere 200,000 years old yet we think we own the Earth. We pondered on the nature of it all. We wondered why the monks seem so possessive of this wonderful island, which was a Holy Island to Christians for 1200 years before they bought it. What is their intention or motivation for wishing to close the island? What is the nature of their attachment to the land? Are they aware that whatever their motive they are not above the Scottish Land Reform Act?

Whatever, Tony and I concluded that the way to enlightenment through sea kayaking was for us closer to the truth than the way of any organised religion that seeks ownership and control. The ancient rocks of Holy Island will outlast mankind and then all of human enlightenment will be less substantive than a single grain of old red sandstone.

We paddled on and for the rest of our trip observed Scotland's Forbidden Island of Holy Island only from the sanctuary of the sea. This blog is the only (transient) evidence of our visit and passing.

17/08/2007

Solway sea fog and sunshine

We were right on the edge of Solway sea fog and sunshine on Saturday.


We headed west from Fleet Bay towards Ravenshall point.


There was an amazing orange glow on the horizon.


We decided to turn back at Ravenshall arch as the tide was getting low and we did not fancy a 3km carry back over the Solway sands!


We returned via Murray's Isles where we stopped for lunch and to compare notes about the Rockpool Menai 18 and the Valley Nordkapp LV.

06/10/2007

Scottish Access problem, is Holy Island closed?

NO LANDING

Following my post of yesterday about our pleasant visit to Holy Island Chris has replied as follows with details of a very different experience:

Hi Douglas,

interesting, as always, to read of your adventures-especially Holy Island as Barbara and I had a very disappointing experience there a few weeks ago while padding with two friends.

We had opted to camp (very, very discretely) at the north tip of the island - arriving quite late. Being aware of the island and it's community, we were continually careful to do nothing to offend anyone. One of our party even collected four bags of rubbish from our vicinity to take away and dispose of.

We were aware that several young people - probably attending one of the commercial courses held at the monastry - had seen us and so were not surprised to be visited by one of the monks who spoke to one of our group. Unfortunately, I was busy with our meal and so didn't hear the exchange until the monk had left.

Assuming this had been of the nature of asking where we had come from, where we were going, had we had a good day etc I was dismayed to discover that my friend was quite upset at the aggressive and unpleasant manner in which he had been informed that we were unwelcome and, had it still been light, we would have been ordered off the island then and there.

Initially saddened at this contradiction to my assumed understanding of the monk's Buddhist philosophy; my thoughts turned to our rights to actually be there and to wild camp and whether we had inadvertently failed to honour the responsibilities that go with that right.

I could find no reason to support this.

We had kept well clear to avoid intrusion into the community there; had tried to leave the place better than we had found it; had refrained from building a fire and had behaved with respect for the island, it's community and it's wildlife.

Upon arriving home, I immediately emailed the monastry via their commercial email address and put our case explaining our disappointment and wondering whether, had we been prepared to pay the B&B fee to stay, we would have been treated in a similar way.

I also questioned the legality of their stand outlawing our right to camp and especially their signs banning access to the area below the high water mark.

I have had no reply to my email - again disappointing as I would dearly have liked to try and explain our philosophy of peaceful co-existance to them.

Long response - I apologise, but thought I'd share this experience on Holy Island as a thankfully rare example and so different to many other, welcoming people we've met on our sea-kayaking adventures.

Be warned if you choose to camp on Holy Island - we were also "threatened" with the possibility of wild ponies attacking us!

Thanks for an interesting and informative Blog.

Kind regards

Chris

My reply to Chris is as follows:

Chris thanks very much for this reply.

When Tony and I visited and saw the NO LANDING sign our first comment was "this lot haven't heard of the Land Reform Act." We landed just about 100m along the coast from the sign and as we saw no monks and enjoyed unrestricted access to the hill, we relaxed.

However, your experience has rekindled our worst fears.

I assume that you were not camping in the immediate area of the buildings or on enclosed cultivated land and so under the land reform act you have a legal right to wild camp providing you do so in small numbers and do not stay for more than three nights.

The religious beliefs of the landowners have nothing to do with this right under Scottish law.

I would strongly suggest that you report the aggressive and illegal behaviour of this so called monk to both the local authority:

"Local authority powers: Local authorities have been given new powers within the Act to assert access rights."

and to Scottish Natural Heritage

and to your MSP

and to the Scottish Canoe Association

I have a good mind to head for Holy Island on our next camping trip.

I also believe that landowners now have a responsibility about allowing threatening and dangerous animals to roam free. What I can say is that Tony and I wandered through a very laid back and peaceful herd of Eriskay ponies who had clearly reached a higher state of Buddhist consciousness than this particular monk!

Chris go for your rights! I will help in any way I can.

Douglas

The current owners of Holy Island are the Ropka Trust
email office@holyisland.org

17/08/2007

Holy Island of two faiths, Arran

From the SW tip of Holy Island we looked across Lamlash Bay to Lamlash village backed by the distant hills of Arran.


When we arrived at the Holy Island Inner Lighthouse the "No landing closed retreat" notice did not bode well for our visit to the island. It has a rich tradition of peaceful meditation dating from the the time of the hermit monk St Molais in the sixth century to the Samye Ling monks of today.


However, the closed area was just the immediate vicinity of the lighthouse buildings.


Good paths, followed by a mild scramble, allowed exploration to the highpoint of the island. If you are looking for the Inn of the Sixth Happiness you will not find it on Holy Island. Those seeking that sort of enlightenment would be better to head for Lamlash.

We enjoyed our visit to this stunningly beautiful and peaceful island.

NB please see the comments for a very different experience of visiting Holy Island.

17/08/2007

Stacks of coves on the Solway

Near the caves there are sea stacks and rocky channels.


Further along the coast, towards Fleet Bay, there are islands and sandy coves.


We stopped here for lunch and to compare notes about the Rockpool Menai 18 and the Valley Nordkapp RM before the ebb tide left us stranded.

29/09/2007

Solway caves

A Solway cave.


Leaving Little Ross Sound we turned eastwards round the base of Fox Craig. We rested in an eddy out of the main flow of the ebb tide. Looking back we caught a final sight of the Little Ross lighthouse between the skerries at the base of the cliff.


The coastline between here and Fleet Bay has lots of opportunities for rockhopping but is often unapproachable due to strong tides and swell. We were lucky we had a north east wind. The Nordkapp RM is a fantastic boat with all the performance of its composite sibling. I have written a review in the current issue of Ocean Paddler issue 3 and will post it here once the next issue is published.


This beautiful cave is just a little further east than Dove cave.

29/09/2007

A nine metre tide in Little Ross Sound

This last weekend saw 9.1m spring tides in the Solway so Tony and I drove down to Dhoon shore on Kirkcudbright Bay in the Solway. The Valley Nordkapp RM was dwarfed by the Rockpool Menai 18.


The ebb tide began to pick up as we approached Little Ross Island. Tony enjoyed the Menai 18.


We ferry glided across to the island for a spot of lunch. The Little Ross light was built by Alan Stevenson in 1843. The light flashes white every 5 seconds. In 1960 there were two keepers on the island and one murdered the other. (Thanks to Andy for the link.)


After lunch we swapped boats and went for a play in the tide race in Little Ross Sound.

29/09/2007

Holy Island of the fifth precept.

The sharp thinkers among you might wonder what on Earth thirsty kayakers like Tony and I got up to on the Holy Island of the fifth precept....


We ascended to a higher plane.

Fair wind for crossing Whiting Bay.

After leaving Dippen Head we rounded Largybeg Point.


We then had the magnificent prospect of Whiting Bay backed by distant Goatfell and, nearer to hand, the dark outline of our next destination, Holy Island. We were headed for the inner lighthouse on Holy Island. It was built in 1877 by David and Thomas Stevenson. With a force 4 wind and the tide behind us our speed was usually between 8 and 10 km/hr. Perfect paddling conditions!

Dippen Head, Arran

Leaving Kildonan we headed NE to Dippen Head. A raised beach runs round almost all of Arran.


At Dippen Head Tertiary basalt cliffs are broken by a waterfall and clothed by a beautiful, mixed deciduous woodland. Peregrine falcons swoop on their prey from ledges hidden by the tops of the trees. There is an ancient fort at Dippen. The centuries have eroded it so that it is all but indistinguishable from the surrounding rocks.

17/08/07

Ocean Paddler magazine #3

Oh look! We're in this one!

Ocean Paddler Issue 3 will soon arrive....

070817

Tha pathadh searb orm!

Paddling round Pladda was hard work. The staff of seakayakphoto.com are not hardened athletes, with the stamina for great ocean crossings or circumnavigations of continents. Tony and I are exponents of the gentler activity of "sea kayaking lite". It was now 1210 and I had been up since 4am to drive 85 miles from the Solway to Ardrossan to catch the 7am ferry to Arran.

I was feeling a bit tired. On the ferry I had intended to breakfast on porridge but the chap in front of me was cyclist with not a hint of excess flesh to strain his Lycra. He ordered porridge. I thought to myself, I am not a cyclist, I am a hardened sea kayaker! Sea kayakers eat big breakfasts, so I ordered the full trucker's special, all 4,500 calories of it.

I was just thinking that a little rest might be a good idea when all of a sudden Tony cried "Tha pathadh searb orm!" That took my mind off my black pudding which was still somewhere high above my diaphragm. I knew things must be pretty serious. Tony has little of the Gaelic and its use is limited to situations in extremis.


Seconds later we found ourselves ashore by the prominent white building, which we had been using as a transit mark to cross the seething tides of the Sound of Pladda.


No one could have been more surprised than we two, to discover it was the Kildonan Hotel, complete with pub and sea food restaurant. Our paddling wear proved no barrier to admission. The efficient and polite East European staff not only poured our pints of ice cold Guinness but invited us to be seated till the heads had settled. They then carried our refreshments to the table after the glasses had been topped up to the brim.


The hotel has recently been refurbished. The formal restaurant is within the modern timber and glass extension at the front of the hotel and is named "The Stone Garden" after this part of the hotel grounds.

Oh, in case you have less of the Gaelic than either Tony or myself, "Tha pathadh searb orm!" may be loosely translated as: "There is a bitter thirst on me!"

Health warning: in the UK, bags of peanuts now carry this message: "Warning this product may contain nuts." In the same vein, be warned that the consumption of alcohol while sea kayaking may seriously risk your own and others' well being and safety.

17/08/07

Of lighthouses and family trees.

Pladda lighthouse has two towers. It was built in the days before lighthouses had flashing lights to aid their identification. Its two towers helped to make it stand out from the other great lights at the mouth of the Firth of Clyde.


After leaving Bennan Head we turned eastwards again towards the little isle of Pladda which lies off the southern tip of Arran. It is often cut off from its larger neighbour by the strong tides and winds which accelerate round this corner of Arran. We were carried round the island by this race on its southern tip, below the lighthouse.


The light was built in 1790 by Thomas Smith. His apprentice was his stepson, Robert Stevenson, who also became his son in law. Robertson Stevenson was to be the first of a dynasty of seven Stevenson lighthouse engineers. An eighth male descendant was Robert Louis Stevenson, the author. RL Stevenson started training as an engineer but was forced to give up due to ill health.


The Pladda light is white and has three flashes every 30s.


From the south of Pladda you can see volcanic plug of Ailsa Craig on the horizon. Its lighthouse was built nearly 100 years later, in 1886, by Robert's son Thomas Stevenson and Thomas's nephew David A Stevenson. That's quite a family tree, you might need to be a geneticist to understand it.

17/08/07

The Black Cave of Bennan Head, Arran

Leaving Kildonan on the south of Arran, Tony and I were actually headed for Brodick on the east coast. We decided to take a little detour first.


We paddled 3km to the west into a stiff force 4 wind. We were rewarded by the magnificent sight of the Black Cave of Bennan Head and its attendant waterfall. Some call it the Monster Cave. We saw no monsters.

17/08/07

Sea dogs #2

At Kildonan on the south coast of Arran, a number of rocky dykes run at right angles to the coast out into the Sound of Pladda. They are composed of volcanic intrusions which forced their way through the bed rock of older sandstones and shales. Over time these softer rocks have eroded leaving long fingers of volcanic rock which are known as the Arran tertiary dyke swarm.

You an also see the little island of Pladda and the more distant Ailsa Craig. Both have fine lighthouses built by the Livingstone dynasty.


Bob is Tony's dog and is a very powerful swimmer. As Tony and I paddled out past the end of one of the dykes, Bob came racing along and leaped into the water from the very end. He clearly preferred the look of my Nordkapp LV to Tony's Rockpool Alaw Bach. He made straight for my back deck and managed to climb on as I braced madly.

Bob is a very clever dog but he knows nothing about geology and plutonic activity.

17/08/07

Sea dogs #1

Rory, the Border terrier, likes the Aleut Sea II. He can come along.


He keeps a sharp lookout. He barks 3 times if he spots a picnic beach to port and 4 times for one to starboard. If he spots a sea kayaking pub he barks seven times, regardless whether it lies to port or starboard. He enjoys a small bowl of Guinness with his biscuits. So far he likes the Solway but has not been through the Grey Dogs yet.


31/07/07 one of the many faces of sea kayaking!

Red rock sunset on Erraid

As the sun slowly moved towards the northwest, the granite rocks of Erraid glowed red above the white shell sand beaches.


Finally the sun sank behind the grey gneiss of Iona and the sky above turned to fire. Far below, in the gathering darkness, our boats gently kissed the sands of Fidden and the Ross of Mull.

David Balfour's Bay Erraid

We set off from Fidden on the Ross of Mull to circumnavigate the island of Erraid. It was late evening in July and the thunder clouds of earlier in the day had moved SW over the distant Scottish mainland. After the rain, the sky was clear and bright as we wended our way through the skerries.


We stopped at Traigh Gheal on the island's SW coast. The white shell sand and red granite contrasted with the turquoise of the shallow waters. Robert Louis Stevenson, the author, spent time here while his father was constructing the remote lighthouses at Skerryvore and Dubh Artach (which lie far to the west and south west). In his novel "Kidnapped" the hero, David Balfour, was shipwrecked on this beach.