Indulgence

 Just for the benefit of my daughter, her Rockpool Isel.

I wish I fitted in it better!

Kiloran Bay, Isle of Colonsay

 Kiloran Bay can catch magnificent surf and, as is often the case in this part of the world, there won't be many of you on or in the water!

If the surf is high then I found the best place to land the kayak was at the southern end of the beach where the stream enters the sea, although with rocks close by and challenging surf, good judgement is needed. If it is too difficult to land then there is a more sheltered north facing beach about 300m west: not too sure how you climb the cliff though! Failing that there is a small south-westerley facing bay round the headland north of Kiloran Bay.

 The bay is backed by an impressive dune face with machair behind, which is managed to provide a foraging area for the rare chough, at their most northerly breeding area in Europe. Corncrakes rattle away nearby while dune gentian and Irish ladies tresses are amongst the rarer flowers in the vicinity. In 1881 a viking ship burial site was found in the dunes. The artefacts can be seen at the National Museum in Edinburgh.  

When on the west coast it is always tempting to "do the sunsets".

I rather like Kiloran Bay.

Thirty Years After

At pretty close to midnight on the 12th August 1981, thirty years ago, Mrs Smith and I met for the first time just on the other side of that headland. We were both Assistant Leaders on a Schools Hebridean Society expedition, her to lead kayaking, me climbing and both with some marine biology and ecology thrown in. My recollection was that the opening greeting was something of a Dr Livingstone / Stanley moment. The island is Colonsay and although we've visited many if not quite all of the other inhabited Hebridean islands since, we had never been back to Colonsay until June this year.  

 The changes have largely been subtle. Certainly part of where we camped is now beach. The island also has this developing whale sculpture. The artist Julian Meredith started this 183m long beast on a raised beach and visitors are invited to continue to fill the outline with stones.

Then there are the beaches...... according to a Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Repot No. 048, "The Beaches of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland", four of the top twenty beaches in Scotland are on Colonsay. This is one of them, Kiloran Bay. OK, the report is largely subjective but I could easily add a couple more to the four!

Oh, and guess what we had with us! My objective, perhaps not shared with Mrs Smith, was to kayak from/to the said four beaches. This is Kiloran Bay and I launched and paddled solo here in large surf and significant swell. There are no on the water shots and Mrs Smith stayed in the cottage, so there are no paddling photos from the land either. The kayak is my daughter's Rockpool Isel, which was superb in the very challenging surf but a little cramped for me. Landing was very interesting! 

Loch Moidart revisited - pt.2

photo: Angela Smith

It isn't often I spend a day on the water and don't take a photo from my kayak, but this was one of those days. Loch Moidart is my favourite sea loch and I'd decided  to be absorbed by the experience rather than fiddling with a camera.

photo: Angela Smith

When we got back to Dorlin the tide was advancing quickly across the sands, however earlier on out at the mouth of the loch the tide was so low the only way to get in to the lagoon had been to approach from the open sea.

photo: Angela Smith

The birds gathering as the evening closed in.



photo: Angela Smith

This confiding deer had been standing in the middle of the road and been very reluctant to cede its ground to my car with two kayaks aimed at it on the roof.



OK, my only photo of the day but Fiona does rather like her Isel!

The Isel has landed

So the Isel has finally arrived!

Picked it up from Rockpool on Saturday morning and then launched from Cemaes Bay...

and whizzed around to Porth Llanlleiana. Rocky landing!

The previous week-end I did a similar trip, but carried on to PorthWen.

Unfortunately there was a bit of a chop so not many on the water photos.

The remains of the old life-boat station below Wylfa Power Station

Yachties make their escape

Rockpool Isel

We've been looking at smaller sea kayaks for Fiona for sometime, who, over the last couple of years, has paddled perhaps four or five different boats but none of them have been quite right. Today it was the turn of the Rockpool Isel, which we collected from the workshop in Holyhead and launched at Porth Dafarch. "Isel" means low, and it is! Look at the depth of the back of the boat compared to the paddle float.

In the time honoured tradition of teenagers, my daughter is reluctant to have her photgraph taken, so I've not trashed her street cred by publishing any here. Suffice to say that at sea, in the low winter sun, the boat and my daughter were in pretty good harmony once we had moved the seat and footplate position around a bit and at the second or third time of asking her she had put her pogies on! The boat has beautiful lines and even I fit in it. Very responsive, picks up surf easily and edges well. A good little boat.

On the cliffs out towards Penrhyn Mawr we came across this enormous scaffolding structure tethered to the rocks. Is it a camera platform from which to film rare birds on the nest? It ought to be demolished IMHO.