From the sublime to the ridiculous in the West Kyle.

As the two sides of the West Kyle of Bute gathered towards us we came to Kilmichael. In the field in front of the cottage there is a chambered cairn called St Michael's grave. St. Michael founded a church near by but this cairn predates the Christian era by about 2,000 years.

Just round the coast from the cairn is the ruin of this abandoned house. It was the ferryman's house for the ferry that ran from Kilmichael on Bute to Blair's ferry on the Cowal side of the kyle. Although the rocks look too inhospitable for landing, there is a little cut with a jetty just to the NW of the house. The ferry was established in 1769 and ran until 1940 when it was closed due to WW2 military operations and exercises in the area. The house was occupied until that time. The ferry man operated the premises as an inn called "The Bottle and Glass Inn". Unfortunately we had arrived well after closing time.

The Kames Hotel on the opposite side of the Kyle  was open but as it was such a glorious day we decided to stay in the sun for our second luncheon. Amazingly a southerly thermal wind picked up and gave...

...us a little assistance past Tighnabruich to Caladh Harbour at the north end of the kyle.

Then at the north end of Bute we passed blow two garishly painted rocks known as the Maids of Bute.

As you can see from this close up from our March trip, they look nothing like "maids". I doubt they will be as long lasting as the chambered cairn at Kilmichael.

After a short paddle through the tidal south channel at the Burnt Islands we arrived back...

...at the ferry terminal at Rhubodach just as the MV Loch Dunvegan was pulling away from the jetty. Our  four day trip from the Kyles of Bute to Loch Fyne and Inchmarnock was now over. Sadly the Scottish summer of 2015 seemed to coincide with those four days and it would be some time before we went on a camping trip again.

We took the Calmac ferry to Bute from Wemyss Bay then drove from Rothesay to Rhubodach. We covered 91km in 3 whole days paddling.

Inchmarnock to the West Kyle.

We left the lovely but low lying isle of Inchmarnock floating on a wide expanse of limpid sea. It was...

...dwarfed by the high mountains of Arran on the far side of the Sound of Bute.

Our passage across the Sound of Inchmarnock was accompanied by a black throated diver which flew round and round us until it lost interest as we...

 ...entered the narrowing...

 ...confines of the...

...West Kyle of Bute.

We took a last look back at Inchmarnock before the last stage of our journey, which would take us on a winding route deep into the mountains where there would be no sign of an open horizon.

Seals and boats on the east coast of Inchmarnock.

As we paddled up the east coast of Inchmarnock we came to the abandoned farm at Midpark. 

On the shore below Midpark lie the sad remains of the wooden ferry MV Dhuirnish. The Dhuirnish was built as a turntable ferry in 1956 for J & A Gardner Ltd. who operated the Taynuilt/Bonawe route across Loch Etive until the service closed in 1966. In 1967 the Bute Ferry Co. Ltd. bought her, removed the turntable and fitted a bow ramp. They operated her on the Colintraive/Rhubodach crossing in the Kyles of Bute where she carried six cars at a time. During the Great Storm on the 14th January 1968 she sank at her mooring in Colintraive. She was raised and re-entered.service the following summer. She remained on the crossing until June 1971. By September 1971 she had had two further owners but it is not known how she ended up on Inchmarnock.

Further north we came to the modern farm buildings and slipway at  Northpark where the MV Marnock was moored. She was built on Bute in 1999 for the Inchmarnock Estate who...

 ...rear a pedigree herd of Highland cattle here.

It was now too hot for our dry suits so we landed near the north of Inchmarnock to disrobe.

 No sooner had we landed than an inquisitive group of about 30 common seals surrounded us.

 The water looked so inviting that I joined them for a quick swim.

This fellow was not for moving, despite the interest shown by his fellow members of  the Welcome to Inchmarnock committee.

 Feeling much cooler we  continued on our way towards...

 ...the north of the island where...

...a large rocky spit  makes a good place to land to explore the north of the island. It was near here where the stone cist containing the 4,000 year old remains of the "Queen of the Inch" were found.

Would the real Sammy Otter of Inchmarnock stand up?

There was still a chill wind from the north as we paddled down the west coast of Inchmarnock towards its...


 ...southerly point. We then turned north into the Sound of Inchmarnock which separates it from its larger neighbour, Bute.

 It was like entering another world. The low sun warmed the rocks and in the lee of the land the water ahead was like...

 ...a millpond.

 I turned the kayak round to get a last view down the Sound towards Arran. I was just turning again when all of a sudden this...

 ...little fellow periscoped up beside me.

He was gone in a second but I hope he was the real Sammy Otter of Inchmarnock and not an imposter.

Caught between midges and reefs on Inchmarnock, a hard place.

Mike and I rose early on Inchmarnock on the last day of our trip round the West Kyle, Loch Fyne and the Sound of Bute.

 Unfortunately so did the midges and we fled to the shore...

 ...where we had left our food and cooking things.

Despite the breeze, the early morning sun and the vast expanse of beach the midges were still biting. A good ploy on a sunny day is just to lie in bed until it is too hot for the midges. However, we had to get going early as the tide was ebbing fast and at low tide the cobbles run out and...

 ...jagged reefs separate the beach from the sea. You can find easier spots to land and camp at all states of the tide at the north and SE of Inchmarnock.

Fortunately the midges hurried our breakfast and packing and we were able to launch while the tide was still well above the reefs

Golden sunset and embers on Inchmarnock.

The sun slowly sank to the NW over the Sound of Bute.

 As it did so the sky slowly turned to gold and...

 ...the ancient layers of sedimentary rock on Inchmarnock were illuminated by a lovely warm light.

 Normally midges are a problem in the West of Scotland summer evenings but a north wind meant...

 ...we enjoyed the sunset undisturbed.

After sunset we experienced an extended twighlight but the temperature dropped even further and so we turned...

...to the glowing embers of our fire and enjoyed the heat of many past summers as night drew round the mountains of Arran.

Sammy the Inchmarnock otter is an imposter!.

Once we had negotiated the reefs exposed by low tide, the upper beach on the west coast of Inchmarnock was a broad expanse of cobbles.

We set up camp at the top of the beach and set to preparing our evening meal.

We had a grandstand view across the Sound of Bute to the rocky ridges of the north Sannox mountains of Arran. The notch of Ceum na Cailich, (the Witch's Step) and the granite tors on the summit of Caisteal Abhail (this means "castle of death" not "stronghold of the ptarmigan" as you may read elsewhere). A yacht was beating up the Sound into the cold northerly wind which also brought the remarkably clear air.

Due to the chill wind we wasted no time in getting the fire and...

 ...the baked potatoes on.

 This must be one of the best views in Scotland and we had it all to ourselves until...

 ...what I thought was Sammy the otter put in an appearance. He ran along the beach from where a little trickle of a burn issued into the sea.

 He made for his favourite fishing...

 ...pool where he caught several sea urchins before...

...heading home again.  What a place, we were just 50km from my house in Glsgow but there was not a sight of human habitation.

I am grateful to Ian and Ben (see comments below) for correctly identifying this animal as a mink. The first unconfirmed sighting of a mink on neighbouring Bute was in 1981 and the first confirmed report was a dead mink at the north of Bute in 1982. Since then numbers have increased. Local naturalist JA Gibson has published an account "Atlas of Bute and Cumbrae vertebrates, 1980". An update Supplementary notes on Bute vertebrates was published in the Buteshire Transactions in 2004. In it Gibson writes about the mink  "I believe it has not yet reached Inchmarnock." and "During a visit to Inchmarnock in 2001 no mink were seen and there was no obvious predation on eider nests." It is sad that the mink is now indeed on Inchmarnock.