An evening paddle in the lee of Dun.

The forecast was not looking promising, the wind was due to increase 5-6 from the NE, imminently. We launched from the Cuma at 6pm...

...and made for the Dun Gap in beautiful evening sunshine.

The wind and the tide were whistling through the Dun Gap as I looked back past Giasgeir, in mid channel, to Oisebhal (293m) on Hirta.

Mostly it was sheltered in the lee of Dun but there were some vicious

Ardnave Sunset, Islay.

There was quite a swell running up the gravel beach below the chapel on Nave Island. I landed while Phil sat offshore. The island was overgrown with nettles and thistles so we decided to camp in a more sheltered spot on Islay with some closely cropped grass! We found the ideal spot with a white sand beach near Ardnave Point. It was protected from swell by a series of offshore reefs and Nave

The western cliffs of Ailsa Craig.

On our recent trip to Ailsa Craig, we spent time under the western cliffs and the Water Cave before rounding Stranny Point. Unfortunately the cacophony of the birds' calls and the smell of their guano does not come across in this video.

Running before the wind, below the sill.

Leaving Kildonan on the fourth day of our trip round Arran we hoisted our sails then paddled along a wild coastline. The scenery was dominated by an extensive tertiary sill, which extended...

...all the way to Dippen Head where we were...

...dwarfed by the scale of the cliffs.

Once round Dippen Head, we caught our first sight of Holy Island since the first day of our trip. We continued to sail

A big cave and big appetites at Kildonan, Arran

From the sadly deserted beach at Cleit Shore we sped past huge boulder beaches until a dramatic change in the landscape announced our arrival at Bennan Head, which marks the southern tip of Arran.

Just offshore lies Pladda which is the second biggest of Arran's three satellite isles: Holy Island, then Pladda, then tiny Hamilton Isle.

We were sailing and paddling  at 9-10km per hour and David

If it was good enough for a Royal to kip down, it'll be good enough for us!

By the time we arrived at Dougarie estate boathouse, it was 18:25 and pouring with rain.

 We continued south and thankfully the rain stopped an hour later.

We now set across the broad expanse of Machrie Bay. We were bound for the headland below Torr Righ Mor, still some 6km distant.

As we approached the headland, the setting sun lit it in a last blaze of sunshine.

From the rocks below Torr

Death in Ardlamont.

We paddled towards the mouth of Loch Fyne along a raised beach until we came to...

...Kilbride Bay. The sad remains of a dead whale lay beached on the shore. The smell of death hung so heavy in the air that we could not approach closer to investigate its species. We paddled over huge detatched ribs with flesh still attached, that lay under the clear waters below its final resting place.

The

Clear seas full of sprats, off Ardlamont Point

The Cowal peninsula has some really great bays. This is Kilbride Bay, which was very atmospheric with the mist lying low over the hills and forests.

Off Rhuba na Peileig the sea was boiling with large shoals of sprats.

 Just round the point, we came across this lovely...

...beach of cobbles.

 It was now time for our first luncheon.

We sat on these wonderful whorled rocks. I found a very nice

The Devil's bridge of Burrow Head.

Due to lost time on the shuttle, we had started a little later than planned. We still needed to meet the tidal window at Burrow Head and so we skipped first luncheon,  carrying on towards the Head.

Close to the head, a strong counter eddy forms in the last 2 hours of both the flood and the ebb, particularly so at springs. This means that "slack water" close under the rocks occurs when the main

Touching the past on the way to Burrow Head.

At Bloody Neuk, about 4km short of Burrow Head, we came across the wreck of the SV Chile, which came to grief here in WW1.

Although she was a sailing vessel, she had steam powered winches...
to work her rigging.
There is nothing quite like touching the wreck of a once great ship...
...as mental preparation for rounding a distant headland, with a notorious tide race.

We were so far south that there was almost a whiff of civilisation in the air.

At the end of January we drove far to the south, into the recesses of Galloway's remote Machars peninsula.

The winter sun struggled into the sky above the distant Burrow Head, a mysterious headland, which is isolated by the swirling tides that scour the Irish Sea.

We convened at the little harbour of Port William. Our arrival did not go unnoticed, the local sea kayaker braved the minus 5 degree

Rolling along the Carrick coast at Dunure.

On a calm afternoon David, Phil and I nipped down to Dunure. I haven't rolled my kayak for nearly 2 years, since I dislocated my knee in an accident. I ripped a lot of the medial ligaments round the knee and the patella and the thought of using my knee in a rolling kayak has not been a pleasant prospect since the operation nearly a year ago..

The surroundings at Dunure were so serene that I

A close encounter of the Bres kind en route to Lady Isle.

I set off from Culzean Bay at a very acceptable rare of knots. Sadly Tony's progress was only half of a very acceptable rate of knots. (BTW don't you just love that special "Vaseline on the lens" effect you get with waterproof cameras like the Pentax Optio?)

 The only decent thing to do was to stow the sail and let Tony catch up!

Although the town of Ayr was on the horizon, the coastline south

Tight ropes on Slack Heugh.

The SW coast of Meikle Ross has steep cliffs extending from Fox Craig along to Slack Heugh.

They are a magnet for rock climbers as there are a whole range of routes right up to E numbers.

We still had a little tidal assistance, though we were now out of the main ebb flow from the Solway. We soon found ourselves at Manxman's Rock...

...then the westcoast of Barlocco Isle. Phil tried to cross

"Did you see those three madmen at Seafield?".

After the recent snows, the Ayrshire coast was one of the few places in Scotland not to be under a blanket of snow. Even the Arran mountains seemed to have escaped with a light dusting. However, a chill northerly breeze kept the temperature down to minus two Celsius.

Phil, Jim and I had left shuttle cars at Maidens and then driven back to Seafield at Ayr for a trip past three of the four castles

Who's been sitting in my chair?

From Cara House, we made our way slowly up the spine of the Island towards the Mull of Cara. We looked back northwards over the blooming heather of Cara to a magnificent view encompassing, Jura, the Sound of Jura, Gigha, the Sound of Gigha and Kintyre.To the NW the Paps of Jura dominated the skyline while......to the NE the dazzling strip of sand, where we had luncheon the previous day,

Barnacles and ice creams on the east coast of Gigha.

After launching we made our way down through the reefs and skerries on Gigha's east coast.Donald in his little inflatable had to keep further offshore but was rewarded with the sight of an otter on an outlying reef.The east coast of Gigha is much more gentle than the exposed west and has rich farm land rising towards the summit slopes of Creag Bhan, 100m, which is the island's highest point.It is

Goat bhuna and the Mull of Cara

From the Boathouse on Gigha, we made our way south through a series of skerries. The Mull of Kintyre and the pointed summit of Cara lay beyond the skerries.We soon picked up a convoy of curious common seals who followed us through the channels. (Thanks to Will for identification.)Phil and I in the kayaks got through shallow gaps that Donald could not risk with his outboard motor.After crossing

Guirasdeal, a miniature Scarba!

On leaving Lunga we approached the fair isle of Guirasdeal and Scarba beyond. It is like a miniature Scarba. One wonders what sort of cataclysmic geological events shaped this wonderful little isle.We often take a break on its steep cobble beach but I knew my knee could not stand a landing there. At this point we had to decide whether to return to the Sound of Jura via the Grey Dogs (over

Slack water in the Sound of Jura.

We left Glasgow at 07:00 and it was 09:10 when we finally drove down to the slipway in the little village of Crinan in Argyll. Across the Sound of Jura, the horizon was blocked by Jura to the south and Scarba to the north. Hidden between them lies the great Gulf of Corryvreckan through which surge some of the most powerful tides on Earth.All was calm as we left Crinan on the last of the ebb