With so many of our club trips cancelled in the past two months, I thought it might be worth writing up one of the latest to be postponed with the intention of whetting appetites for some future visit to Islay / Jura. This is all of course fiction, or is it?
Once upon a time at the height of a Spring, the likes of which had not been seen for many a year, a small group of intrepid LSKC members boarded an early morning ferry at Kennacraig, bound for Port Ellen on Islay’s South coast. Given the fictitious nature of the trip, names shall not reflect real members, let’s go with the slightly topical rainbow theme of our times. Boats were carried on to the MV Finlaggan in the usual fluster by none other than our lead paddler Geoffrey and his companions: Zippy (on bike); George (walking – scared of bikes and water); Bungle (paddles an HV but is still a tight squeeze); Rod; Jane; and Freddy.
Once aboard, the group hit the café almost straight away kicking off the usual holiday excitement with a Calmac breakfast and the desire to eat quickly before hitting the deck for views of Gigha and the scenery that would be enjoyed over the coming days.
Soon enough cobwebs were being blown away on the front deck – a breezy place even with the light winds. The narrows of West Loch Tarbert were being left behind with speed increasing and views opening up. Whilst the Paps of Jura often drew the eye further out, the first point of interest was Gigha (another postponed trip), its North coast and one of its sandy bays tantalisingly close.
A mix of conversational snippets discussed the day ahead and the journeys over from the East, but all eyes were fixed on the glassy water and the bird life dotted about with anticipation of anything breaking the surface from below. “Did you see that?” “A porpoise, a dolphin?” The hour until Islay was close enough to appreciate its coastal ruggedness, was enjoyed like this. With that hour passing, the coast revealed itself as having plenty of interest for the morning ahead, both in the rock and island features and in the unusually pretty distilleries nestled there: Ardbeg; Lagavulin; and Laphroaig.
Port Ellen seems to take a while to get into with the boat having to do a slow 180 turn to skirt shallows and skerries, which only made our members keener to get going under their own power. Docked just after 9am, 4 boats, a bike and a pink hiker were all preparing for the full day ahead on the village’s sandy bay. All went East – cyclist Zippy, with time on his side, set off for Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Kiladalton Cross then back to Ardbeg to meet up with the others. George had walked the three miles or so to Ardbeg in this time and was waiting with a table at the distillery’s excellent café for the group. Not long after, our paddlers had arrived too, already having enjoyed two hours of rock hopping and sunshine. The six enjoyed a leisurely lunch outside in the sun with, swallows (or were they swifts?) flitting about overhead going in and out of the warehouses, and there was no rush, as days were already stretching. However, there was a danger of not moving on at all, possibly resulting from the early start and travel from home, or maybe it was the early tasters of Ardbeg.
At this point Zippy headed away from the group for two days, to explore more of the island’s West and North than would be seen by the others and to get a feel for the landings and waters for a future trip. The rest of the group would continue with their paddle East then North intending to meet George later at the coastal bothy, An Cladach, with him walking as much of the coast as possible.
From Ardbeg, there was more interest in skerries and channels as well as a more remote feel with the road being quieter, often inland and eventually petering out at Claggain Bay where the route turned North. Despite the water being like a mirror, some swell added a bit of interest up close to the rocks, but nothing untoward happened and progress was luxuriously slow, necks straining up occasionally to identify/misidentify the eagles and buzzards above. Added wildlife interest in the form of the much-anticipated otters was present too – three separate spotted before the first refreshment landing, and with such a small group everyone got to see them all.
Just north of Claggain Bay there are some low, but steep cliffs with a fort marked on the OS map, a perfect location for one. Too awkward to land here and anyway just ahead was a pleasant looking bay with a building in the middle, Proaig. Turned out it was a bothy (unknown to the members) and looked like a nice place for another time. George was not in sight despite the low and open ground, but he would likely be enjoying the sites along the way including the cross at Kildalton.
Another stop soon after was the lighthouse at McArthur’s Head where an unexpected jetty and landing allowed the group to get out and climb the steep stairs to the light for views and refreshments. This was an amazing vantage point, both for appreciation of the Paps of Jura, now just to the North, the Sound of Jura, and back over the ground covered so far to the South. By now George could be seen, he was actually closer than realised, just hidden in the high ferns. The group decided to wait on him and eat at this high point rather than in the gloom of the bothy, which only lay an hour away.
George arrived, happy to be back in company. He’d enjoyed a nice walk, albeit surprisingly boggy, but was slightly spooked at seeing not one, but two adders – one of which he must have almost stepped on and only saw on turning to go back out the bothy at Proaig. Ticks worried him with all the ferns he had passed through too and sunburn and blisters. A group meal was made and being the first day there was plenty of fresh ingredients to put together two courses – pudding was saved for the bothy.
Still plenty of daylight left but rather than wait for sunset, the group set off on the remaining leg of the day, George taking the high road (no road!) above the cliffs and the paddlers hugging the coast with a note of tidal flow in the Sound further out. It wasn’t long before they were at An Cladach and with the place to themselves started getting organised for the night ahead. George wasn’t far away but by the time he arrived a reasonable pile of firewood had already been collected from the shore.
Sunset was indeed enjoyed, at least the colours of it setting on the Paps across the water and stars soon out. The temperature dropped quickly, but not inside with a decent fire going and soon Rod Jane and Freddie were belting out the tunes with George and Geoffrey smiling polite encouragement but inwardly wondering which dry bag their respective ear plugs were in. “Up Above the Streets and Houses…” was bad enough once, but they seemed to love this and repeated it often.
Next day the continuation of this century’s best Spring spell of weather continued. Breakfast was had outside on the beach with barely a midge present to spoil things. George’s plan for the day was to head inland and pick up the road to give him easier walking to Port Askaig and the ferry to Jura and a bus to Craighouse. The paddlers had settled on a crossing direct to Jura to avoid the strongest flows further up the sound.
Once across on Jura’s side by the island of Am Fraoch Eilean the group lingered a while, taking in the views of Islay’s higher ground (just behind the bothy) and an unexpected feature of the island for most, isn’t Islay flat? Arms could be felt from the previous day’s paddling and carrying but with plenty of daylight, time could be taken to enjoy. Within half an hour of paddling Jura’s coast, two sea eagles were spotted effortlessly gliding above – there could be no doubt now those spotted yesterday were either golden eagles or buzzards. A short distance East brought the group to the turning point North and sight of the Small Isles marking the location of Craighouse. Pace was slowed to arrive at the town in time for a pub lunch (why are more club paddles not centred on cooked lunches?) and a tour of the distillery.
All done by 2pm, the group now had a decent stretch of paddling to get done to get them to Tarbert on Jura’s East coast where they hoped to get the trolley portage to the West coast out the way to start off the third day with no carrying. With that in mind, the Small Isles and ‘headlands’ along the way were joined up direct, with less hugging of the coast. This was no great hardship and allowed for better views of the island than would be available closer in. Plenty of time was left to spare, resulting in as relaxed a portage as can be achieved, but rather than stop here, the group paddled on through the narrowest section of Loch Tarbert to get a clearer sunset view for the evening. Camping on the South side to set up their own and George’s walk for the following day. George too had lunched and toured the distillery in Craighouse before walking the road north to Tarbert, turning West to find the group as planned on the shore, in good time for another group dinner, a long sunset and more singing!
The group awoke to sunlight warming tents and the pleasant sound of birdsong and coastal birds calling from various points of a very still Loch Tarbert. Camping noises soon interrupted the welcome soundtrack, long zips, short zips, groans, gas burners and Ikea bags being rustled.
George had a big day ahead – a traverse of the Paps then back on to Islay to meet with Zippy for a night at the Port Askaig Hotel. With that aim he didn’t hang about for the rest of the group to get organised. They had hours ahead and not too much in distance to cover some interesting coast.
The paddlers launched and spent a while easing into the day’s paddle, aches and pains felt by all after two full days paddling and the efforts of the previous evening’s portage. They hugged the North coast of the loch and rounded the corner until it didn’t feel like much retracing would have to be done, getting as far as Shian Bay. Not quite far enough to see round the bend (there’s always another bend!) but a pleasant spot for a rest with good view of Colonsay to the West and Islay.
Paddling South the group retraced those steps for a while before crossing to Loch Tarbert’s Southern shore for a late lunch and a chance to look at the raised beaches and caves. Everyone was comfortable with a short tidal crossing and with forecast looking good for the day ahead there was no need to head direct to Port Askaig as might otherwise have been the case. Instead, the group paddled for Islay pretty much West after reaching a natural arch marked on the OS map. The tide in the sound was helpful, as had been predicted by Geoffrey’s excellent tidal planning for the weekend, giving a slight push North on the crossing to Rubha a’ Mhail. Some great cliff scenery was enjoyed here and soon the sandy bay of Bagh an Da Dhoruis was reached and with that journey’s end.
A pleasant evening exploring the beach – larger than OS suggests – with countless arches and caves, some marked, others not. Another sunset followed and more bloody music. To the South in Port Askaig George and Zippy were catching up and comparing notes. George had enjoyed a great day on the Paps, barely seeing another soul between leaving the paddlers and arriving at Feolin for the ferry. Zippy had clocked up the miles visiting the heady cliffs of Mull of Oa on the West Coast before camping at Kintra on the island’s Laggan Bay on day 1. The following day he headed to Bowmore, then up to Kilchoman and the stunning Machir Bay beyond. From here he linked up with roads further along with an off-road stretch between. He took in the infamous R(h)inns of Islay at Portnahaven before ending up at the campsite in Port Charlotte. His third day took in some inland scenery as well as a recce of the waters by Loch Gruinart in the North before finishing in Port Askaig. In summary, he could see the waters on the North and West of the island look worthy of a future trip for some paddling but are likely to be committing and need the right conditions and planning, they are also further from both ferry ports so need more than a long weekend.
The final day was shorter for all with a 3pm ferry to get followed by the inevitable drive home. For the paddlers, a straightforward paddle out the bay and East then South into the Sound of Jura, hitching a lift on the stream – a welcome bonus for tired bodies. There was time for stops at both the distilleries of Bunahabhain and Caol Isla whilst separately George and Zippy visited the Finlaggan Centre museum and the Caol Isla distillery on foot.
After such a good trip there is no need to describe the ferry home other than to say it involved each member’s favourite Calmac dish and all looking forward to next time based on the experiences had and Zippy’s observations.
… anyway, back to reality, I hope to rearrange this trip or something similar in future and the point of the walking / cycling stuff was to share with anyone who has not been to either island that there are plenty of things to see and do if weather is limiting the paddling for a day or two.
Graeme.