And On To Colonsay

Thirty kms south from our launching at Duror and the first job in Oban was to visit ‘Sea Kayak Oban’ to see if they sold trolley wheels. They didn’t, but they did have a swanky kayak trolley with removable wheels that will fit our trolley. So two days into the trip, the kayak is full of food and we have two trolleys and one set of (very expensive) wheels. 

Whilst packing the boat on the slip way in Oban a boat running tourist fishing trips pulled along side, the skipper started chatting then offered us some mackerel. Delicious, thank you, that’s dinner sorted for this evening!

Whilst on the subject of gear, after five days paddling we love our new dry suits. Kokatat - lighter, more breathable and more comfortable in so many ways than our old UK made Typhoon suits. Whether it’s due to their breathability or the lighter material, we’re not sure, but we don’t seem to overheat even in hot (for Scotland) calm conditions. 

In the current era of women specific outdoor gear, such as gaiters, packs, and sleeping mats, what bullshit, Lynne’s drysuit is truly women specific.  With a drop seat it is so much easier than trying to manipulate a ‘She Wee’ through the male orientated front ‘comfort’ zip! 

The last five days alone have amply demonstrated the fantastic variety of weather and conditions experienced when paddling in Scotland. We’ve had hours of hot sun and mirror calm, kilometres wide stretches of water so disturbed by the tidal flow that the boils, upwellings and mini whirlpools make it look like it’s simmering gently whilst moving along at 3-4 knots. We’ve had drizzle and absolute torrential rain as well as many rain types in between.  To add to the fun the forecasts seem to be a work of fiction. Gentle northerlies were forecast the day we left Oban heading south with the tide to Jura ... it blew south westerly at 10-15kn+ from mid morning onwards, and while at Craighouse the wind came from every point of the compass over about an hour. 

Oh and did I mention the spectacular coastal vistas with a backdrop of mountains?

The Jura Hotel on the waterfront at Craighouse provides camping on luscious grass within metres of the kayak pulled up on the shingle beach, as well as hot showers and of course all the usual pub food and drink. 

We had a feed in the pub and went to bed early, our unfit bodies feeling a bit worn out after a few days paddling on top of a few late nights at Liz and Arthur’s.

Just behind Jura Hotel is the Jura distillery. We had planned to stock up with a bottle of malt whisky there and as it turned out our arrival was timely, the usual nip each to toast our safe arrival ashore had emptied our small hip flask. 

The distillery shop didn’t open until 10 so it was a lazy morning with multiple cuppas enjoying the glorious morning of hot sun and clear blue skies with just a hint of a breeze to keep the midges away.

We tasted a couple of the more moderately priced whiskies from an absolute plethora of choice up to bottles costing £400+!! The one we chose, a 10year old was named ‘Journey’ which seemed appropriate. And it’s delicious. 

The tide was completely wrong for us in Sound of Islay, the southerly flow beginning about the time we left Craighouse so by the time we got there it would be in full flow against us. To add to the fun a Northerly wind was forecast to pick up at about midday. All went ok, staying close to the Jura shore the flow wasn’t too bad, we even had the occasional counter current to help us on our way. As the Sound narrowed we hit what we thought was the major flow and decided to cross to the Islay shore and made reasonable progress until about halfway across we discovered the true current. Suddenly forward progress stopped and paddling hard we had no option but to ferry glide across, heading for a bay were we hoped there’d be a counter current that would help us continue north towards Port Askaig. No such luck! The current was flowing fast right up against the rocky shore, coupled with the headwind we were barely making any forward progress. 

So ashore in a tiny bay out of the current for an hour so until the flow had visibly lessened then on to camp a few kms north of the Bunnahabhain Distillery. 

The forecast for the next three days was strong NE, too strong for the 10km crossing to Colonsay and then the 20km crossing to Mull. But as the wind died away that evening we decided if it was still calm in the morning we’d try to continue on to Colonsay. 

At 6am the next morning the sun was well and truly up and the Sound of Islay like a mill pond. The northerly did pick up later but not too much to hinder forward progress on the crossing from Islay so we landed on Oronsay about 11. Oronsay and Colonsay are joined at low tide by a large expanse of sand dotted with rocky skerries. As it was an hour or so from high tide there was plenty of water for us to negotiate the maze of skerries and pop out on the west coast of Colonsay. Wilder and more rugged than the east coast and worth the diversion despite the messy rebound seas, for the cliffs were festooned with galleries of nests and the water and offshore rocks teemed with thousands of razorbills and guillemots. 

As we chose a spot for the tent amongst the plethora of opportunities at Kiloran Bay on the NW coast of Colonsay we decided that of all the places we’ve paddled, Scotland consistently provides the very best sites. 

The machair https://www.nature.scot/landscapes-and-habitats/habitat-types/coast-and-seas/coastal-habitats/machair that is common behind the beaches and dunes of the West Coast consists of grass cropped so tight it wouldn’t be out of place on a golf course but thickly dotted with white daisies and yellow buttercups provides wonderful camping. We chose an elevated spot, a bit exposed to the wind but better views and no midges!

We’ll be here for a couple of days as the NE continues to blow, but it is forecast to abate on Thursday and give us perfect conditions to cross to Mull on Friday.