Sea kayaking from Loch Feochan to Loch Etive

A 36km paddle from the south side of Loch Feochan via Oban harbour to Taynuilt pier. It took 2 hours to drive from Glasgow to Taynuilt pier. It took another 1hr 45mins to run the shuttle to Loch Feochan and get on the water.Tidal streams:Loch Feochan narrowsAt low water the norrows almost dry leaving a norrow channel of about 0.3m. As a result the ingoing flood does not begin until the level

The end of a perfect day, in Loch Etive.

We drifted slowly, treasuring the moment and watching the sunset until the last red ember had cooled and there were only ash grey clouds on the western horizon.Turning to the east again, we paddled deep into the confines of the "fjord like" Loch Etive.The mountains and the darkness gradually hemmed us in until we were paddling in pitch darkness. A compass bearing took us back safely to the pier

In the picture: a blaze of glory in Glen Etive

By the time we launched from Achnacloich, on the south shore of Loch Etive, the sun had set. With the approach of night, a layer of cloud flooded the sky from inland and the summit of Ben Cruachan was lost from view.After a while, I turned round to see where Jim W was. I was amazed to see that the sun, which was by now well below the horizon, was illuminating the advancing edge of cloud in a

Last supper at Dun Creagach, Loch Etive

As the sun sank in the west a golden light suffused the wintry mountain scene to the east. Jim W and Jim B were dwarfed by the scale of the landscape.As we paddled on, shapely Ben Cruachan (1126m) came to dominate the horizon but its size belittled the distance still to cover to our destination, which lay at its feet.Second luncheon seemed a long time ago, it was time for a break. We paddled

Of time and tide at the Falls of Lora

We drifted under the bridge at the the Connel Narrows on Loch Etive at 5km/hr.It was 16:13, two hours before the start of the ebb.It was a neap tide and despite the current, it was like a millpond over the shelf of the Falls of Lora.At a spring tide on the flood we might have expected some decent standing waves here. On the ebb on a spring tide, the Falls can be very spectacular as Loch Etive

An icy start at Loch Feochan.

Back at the beginning of March, we took the long road north for another adventure. We left one car at Taynuilt on the southern shore of Loch Etive.We then drove 32 km SW to the southern shore of Loch Feochan. The top 3km of the loch was frozen so we had to launch on the sea sea side of the inner narrows. Our plan was to paddle out into the Firth of Lorn then NE by Oban before entering Loch Etive