Sea Kayaking in North West Scotland

As the end of the winter season in the Alps approaches, I look forward to getting home to Scotland. It's good to get back into the flat and get begin to get organised for the summer guiding work. Before that gets under way I like to escape to the North West of Scotland and there is no better time to be there than May and June. The days are stretching, there are few people there and the hoards of midgies have yet to start savaging the population.

I have joined a sea kayaking trip organised by Sam Weir at www.kayakscotland.co.uk several times over the last few years and this year he was going the Summer Isles just north of Ullapool. We had tried to get there a couple of years ago but the weather had not co-operated and we had gone to the sea lochs for more sheltered paddling.

We were a group of 10 including 2 leaders and we gathered on the beach near Achiltibuie to load the boats and get organised for the 4 day trip. The first paddle across the bay to the main island on Tanera Mor was a bit of a baptism of fire or should that be waves because the sea was coming at us from the SE which meant is was on our beam and made the the first mile or so entertaining and a little wobbly for those of us ( me) who were out of practice. We all made it safely and made good use of the little cafe with tea, coffee and excellent chocolate brownies! Suitably revived we.headed north to begin an anti clockwise tour of the island. With the wind behind us and soon in the shelter of the island it was a much more comfortable ride and we could relax, enjoy the scenery and look for wildlife. Our campsite for the next 2 nights was in a little bay on the SW corner of Tanera Mor and while the terrain was not perfect ie not much flat ground, it was fine and we quickly got the tents up and kettle on.

Once tea had been consumed I dug the collapsible fishing rod out of the kayak and scrambled along the rocks for a cast or two. Before long I had a good sized pollock which provided a fine late supper. One of the rules of beach camping is that you have to build a fire, so being law abiding folks we complied and soon had a fine blaze going. One of the team had the fore-site to bring some tinfoil and a lemon so the fish was cleaned, seasoned, wrapped in foil and chucked on the fire. 15 minutes later we enjoyed the freshest fish possible and very good it was too. Along with the wine and a final dram of Old Pultney or Talisker it was a happy group that stumbled off to their sleeping bags.

The next day the wind was a little stronger than the forecast had predicted, so we spent the day exploring the inlets, islands and skerries between Tanera Mor and Tanera Beg where we could avoid the worst of the waves.

That evening we caught another pollock, drank more wine and whisky and a good time was once again had by all.

Day three dawned sunny again and light winds meant that we could venture further afield. Round the west side of Tanera Mor where we met another group of camping kayakers and after reaching the north end of the island we “skerry hopped” to lunch on a rocky beach. As we approached the beach we came close to a small islet on which a good number of seals were sunning themselves. There were several young seal pups so we gave them a wide berth but the sounds or songs they sang made for quite a spooky lunch. It's a otherworldly sound but certainly adds to the atmosphere!

Lunch over and as the tide had dropped there was an entertaining drag of the boats across seaweedy rocks to get afloat again and off toward another island. The rock achitecture is spectacular with large cliffs, natural arches and caves to explore. We were accompanied by the eerie call of either the black throated or great northern diver which carried over the water and echoed off the crags. An otter was spotted, but not by me!

A final push to Reiff bay gave us relaxing laze in the sun perched on a little crag above the sandy beach looking back south over our route and islands shimmering in the sun.

Our final paddle of the day took us to the new campsite at Polbain and dinner in the Am Furan Bar. The campsite is just opposite the hotel and is brand new. They were complaining that they need more rain to halp the grass grow on the tent area but once that happens it will be a welcome addition to the area.

Day 4 dawned bright, clear and calm. Plan A was initiated and we headed off to paddle round Rubha Coigach. It's quite an exposed headland and calm weather is preferable particularly for those less experienced, so we were pretty lucky. The coastline is very spectacular and there are many crags used by climbers. This means that there are very few stopping places and once you get round the headland its a fair old way till you can safely get out of the boat.

It was a little lumpy as we went round the point but it quickly calmed again and gave a lovely paddle along the north coast. Lunch was taken in a rocky cove and then the final section to the old pier at Achnahaird.

A great few days and I hope to more later in the year.