Sea Kayaking round Mull

July 18th - 23rd

Five paddlers from NESKy, 150 kms in 5 days round Islands of Mull / Staff & Iona. Completed the adventure by landing craft & RIB but that's jumping ahead too far..


Monday July 18th, meeting at Oban ferry to get across to Craignure and meet Andy for our 5 boat trip.  Weather mixed and not altogether in our favour as we paddled north up the Sound of Oban. Stops at Fishnish and Tobermory.  Long steady drag across Salen Bay. Landed next to Tobermory Lighthouse cottages for camp (Rubha nan Gail).  32 kms.

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Tuesday, 38 kms

Paddled round north coast of Mull with lunch at Port na Ba, heading south in the afternoon with a stop at the big beach in Calgary Bay for ice cream.  Forecast for Treshnish route not good so transited across mouth of Loch Tuath for overnight on Gomitra. Beautiful conditionals for paddling but thunder & lightning later.

Jim brought along a 20ft race boat !

Coll or Tiree in the background

Calgary Bay

Wednesday, 30 kms

Needed an updated forecast so went east along coastline of Ulva and then into Ulva Ferry for a hot soup lunch.  Headed back out west right past Little Colonsay and out to Staffa.  A circle of Staffa to see the caves and a good stroll to see Fingal’s Cave and then to talk to the Puffins

Andy, Donald & Anne heading to Ulva Ferry

We heard a panpipe in Fingal's...

A schooner of Dutchmen anchored in the bay for the evening too

Thursday, 16 kms

Headed SSW on 9 km open crossing to Iona and into the sound, landed to visit Abbey etc.  Much later in the afternoon paddled on a bit south and into public site at Fidden Farm (Stugan Dubh, Mull).  Torrential rain that night.

Friday, 33 kms

Paddled along the south coast (Ross of Mull) with a quick stop at Erraid Beach (said to be the inspiration for the book “Treasure Island”) then lunch at Ardalanish Beach.  Took in the arches just before Malcolm’s Point and finished paddling at Carsaig Bay due to the threatening forecast.  Picked up by arranged Landing Craft from Seafari Ltd for trip across to Easedale Island then RIB to Oban to get cars.

Andy shows us the way up the ramp

Credit to Donald Thomson for contributing some photos and keeping us straight.

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Coast-to-coast "both ways"

June 16th - 20th

Used the sea kayak to get from the Beauly Firth across Scotland via Lochs Ness, Oich & Lochy, and the Caledonian Canal to finish up at Corran Ferry at the west end of Loch Linnhe.  Had a night in the bunkhouse at Inchree with a good steak dinner and then used the Jekyll full suss to cycle off-road back again to above Inverness.  So 255 kms in total with 115 on the water (2.5 days) and 140 over the hills (1.5 days).

Rough campsites on the banks of  Ness are pretty rough.... the portages are nearly all OK but couldn't have done this without a trolley,.... wouldn't want to try the paddle bit against the wind.... AND bike-wise;-  the high route above Fort Augustus is a series of push-ups with the down-hills interrupted by big gullies.  The best down hill section is actually the last 10 kms at the north end.

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Heading across Beauly Firth from Bunchrew launch site facing the Kessock Bridge but actually aiming for the lagoon just past the sea loch entrance to get under the mainline railway.

 Always pick a pontoon with a ramp and never a flight of steps...

Entering Loch Ness proper at the Bona Lighthouse

Watching the tourists on Urquhart Castle taking pictures of me.

Moy Bridge camp

Neptune's Staircase at Fort William (Corpach) at breakfast time on the 3rd day.

And down in salt water again on Loch Linnhe

Corran light, must dodge the ferry...

Paddling leg completed (east to west) on beach at C/Club site, Bunree/Inchree.

Going west to east now on a bike;  early hours up through Fort William, this is the outflow of the river Lochy near the old castle.

North west of Loch Lochy on the fireroad above Clunes.

Then the tougher stuff began.  The high route is nice once I got up high and the rain stopped.  Poorly designed climb and loose surface made it a grind for mtb-ers.

This things appears somewhere at the top of a climb near Drumnadrochit but can't remember exactly where or why its there at all!  I think it was called the "sight-catcher".

Enjoyed the final downhill stretch after going round Abriachan so much I simply didn't stop to take photos, until the end at Inverness Castle where there is this marker stone.  Did the final few kms back to Bunchrew to pick up the car.