Little Cumbrae island is now private. At £5 each, that'll be £35 then.

As we pulled into our usual spot between Little Cumbrae and Castle Island a new sign greeted our arrival. It had appeared since our last visit in the spring.

"Private Island. 

Landing Fee Applies £5 per person 

Island Manager : 07900886689 

No Littering No Fires Permitted". 

A man (who I had not seen on previous visits) made his way down to the shore to meet us with a pack of five barking dogs (the dogs are very friendly). He was standing underneath the sign and two of us approached him and attempted to engage in conversation by admiring the new pup, which had been born since our last visit. He remained uncommunicative and we did not offer to pay.

We retired to our usual picnic spot on the shore below the castle and the man watched us for about 10 minutes before making his way back to the houses on Little Cumbrae. As we have never made a habit of paying landing fees, I wrote to the North Ayrshire Access Officer enquiring about the legality of the sign and demand for money. I will update when I get a reply.

The lee of Little Cumbrae.

 Once we had rounded the south end of the Little Cumbrae we found ourselves...

 ...in its wind shadow. The view behind us stretched from the skerries of the Little Cumbrae over...

 ...the Sound of Bute to the mountains of Arran beyond.

Ahead lay the ancient stones of Little Cumbrae castle. It looked like the ideal place for a peaceful stop and second luncheon...

The two towers of Little Cumbrae.

Situated on a raised beach on the west coast of Little Cumbrae...

...the beautiful 1793 lighthouse stands in a magnificent position though sadly, its lantern house been empty since 1997...

...when it was replaced by the small concrete box which stands below it.

Whatever, it was a magnificent situation and I let the...

 ...others get ahead of me to savour the remoteness of the place alone for a while...

...before hoisting my sail to catch up.

A tan in weak winter sunshine.

A fair wind meant those with sails enjoyed some excellent paddle sailing down the west coast of Great Cumbrae.

Gradually the south end of Bute opened up and revealed an...

...unobstructed view to Arran...

...as we approached the south end...

 ...of Great Cumbrae.

In the weak winter sunshine, our little group set off across the waters of the Tan, the channel which divides the Great and the Little Cumbrae Islands.

As we approached the bold outline of the Little Cumbrae, its dark shaded cliffs contrasted with the lighter hues of Holy Island and Arran beyond.

Two shades of grey.

We rounded the north end of Big Cumbrae to be met by an incredible panorama of mountain and sea. Simon and...

 ...Alison have only recently taking up sea kayaking but they were both amazed by the incredible view over the south end of Bute to the distant mountains of Arran beyond.

One by one we set off in a southerly direction...

 ...along the west coast of the Big Cumbrae.

Colin's new Etain looked great with its subtle grey deck.

Unfortunately clouds of a less subtle grey gathered and obscured the sunshine just as we landed on a beach of pink sand for first luncheon.

Cue the Cumbraes!

Sunday dawned sunny with a chilly NW wind. The mountains of Arran rose above the Great Cumbrae Island but the recent snow had melted.

 Phil, Mike, Andrew, Colin,...

 ...Alison, Simon and I set off from Largs Yacht Haven...

 ...across the Largs Channel towards...

...the north end of the big Cumbrae. But first we had to wait in a queue. The ferry from Largs had beaten us to it and both the local sailing school and ourselves had to wait for the MV Loch Shira to clear the jetty.

Flirting with the maidens of Maidenhead Bay.

 At last the forecast NE breeze kicked in as...

 ...we rounded Barwin Point past the reefs and...

 ...rocky maidens that guard Maidenhead Bay.

We made such good time that we were able to land on Maidens beach and get packed up well before sunset.

Another fine trip on Ayrshire's Carrick coast.