Small Isles, Summer 2002

Some of you reading this will feel that there is a mistake in the title. Did we have a summer in 2002? Many planned trips were frustrated by poor weather; the coffee shops appear to have been well-supported by marooned kayakers and a lot of home decorating was done as folk went home early.
The key really is in the word 'planned'. This trip did not appear on any calendar; it was thought about at the end of a successful trip to west Mull in July 2001 when three folk - who did not know one another at all before paddling off into the western sun - decided that they would like to go paddling together in 2002.

During the year the FTSE went down; events rocked the USA; there was little snow in Scotland in the wintertime; the first weekend of May was great for paddling and the weather went downhill after that. Some things last through all that - our decision to go paddling from 3rd to 11th August.

Well, it was suggested that the trip went round Ardnamurchan. A few days before, with a reasonable outlook (and having been frustrated in getting to the Small Isles at the start of June) the destination was changed to the Small Isles. A chance meeting with Pete a week before revealed that he was all ready to go - on the 10th of August! Paul also was diagnosed as having brought a giardia infection back from Italy and was a little under the weather. Did this leave me on my own, wondering if I could paddle with a knackered finger sustained during a fall off my bike?

Despite these slight hitches, we met in the Safeway car park in Fort William on Saturday 3rd August. Fully provisioned we headed for Arisaig and had problems getting into a camp site; more problems finding a launch spot and a safe place to leave the vehicles. After looking around, we found somewhere, packed the kayaks and headed out of Arisaig on Sunday afternoon.

There is a problem with open crossings - your destination is there on the horizon, all the time, and it never seems to get any closer. The Sgurr of Eigg looked wonderful, but three hours later it was beginning to lose some of its attraction. A small spurt had us landing in the bay on Eigg and heading for the tea shop just making it before closure. Great cake and coffee and then a short paddle to the camp area.

The cattle on Eigg are well-trained and we were not disturbed during the night. The morning was very quiet as there was a thick blanket of fog surrounding us. After a leisurely breakfast, we reckoned that the layer of fog was thin and so decided to walk up to the top of the Sgurr.

Bright sun was soon the order of the day. On top of the Sgurr we looked out over a sea covered with cotton wool fog, the Cuillin of Rum and Skye showing through. The Ardnamurchan fog horn wailed all the time. Back down, lunch at the café, pack the kayaks and set off in the direction of Muck.

We hoped that we were heading for Muck; visibility at sea level was about 100 metres; engine noises sounded through the fog and boats appeared; a sailing yacht silently passed us (there was wind as well).

The plan was to circumnavigate Muck, calling in at the pier and coffee shop. The pier on Muck looks finished, but the Loch Nevis ferry is unable to berth until the final touches have been made. There is some dispute about who pays for the final touches. Meanwhile the residents of both Muck and Rum can only look at their new pier in frustration as they board the flit boat to take them to the ferry.

The coffee shop made us very welcome and the home-baking was wonderful. Could we fit another visit into our schedule for tomorrow? Again we enquired about camping and were directed to a suitable site in our chosen location. Before getting to the camp site we paddled round the south and west side of the island; didn't see much and had fun avoiding the skerries as they appeared out of the murk just in front of us.

Rum was on the agenda for the next day. Again there was thick mist so accurate compass bearings were taken. There was a slight Atlantic swell and light wind. About 3km from Rum the mist lifted enough to let us see our objective. The weather was settled enough to allow us to paddle up the south west coast of the island, landing at Harris. By this time, the mist had lifted and we enjoyed a pleasant lunch stop and explore of the Mausoleum. It certainly looks out of place in the landscape.

We had thought of camping at Harris and walking the Rum Cuillin from there. However the beach is not very friendly so we decided to move on. This was a good decision as the launch was a wet one and this was with an almost calm sea.

The next couple of nights were spent on Canna / Sanday, camping in the machair above a white sand beach. Here we had the only rain of the trip, and also the only midges. Canna was explored on foot, with the magnetic anomaly of Compass Hill tested. There is no coffee shop on the island (but there might be one by 2004) and the shop opens when the ferry comes in.

The paddle from Canna to Rum was idyllic, which was a good thing as the midges had kept us in the tents for breakfast. The sea was mirror-like; just off Kilmory Bay we watched an otter devouring its breakfast. We had an extended breakfast & lunch stop on the north-east coast; thought about going for a swim but the water was not actually THAT warm.

Armed with midge nets and repellent, we paddled into Kinloch. Amazing, no need for the defences. We camped as close to the water as possible, trying to guess the rise of the spring tide. A short explore and then dinner. A long day ahead, so an early night.

The walking conditions on the Friday were excellent - cool, with a slight breeze, occasional sun. Up we went, over Hallival, Askival (midges on the top), Trollaval (Pete thought he would stay there as the descent looked interesting), Ainshval and finally Sgurr nan Gillean. Pete then descended to Papadil, searching for the old shooting lodge and the dinner service. Paul and I stumbled down to Dibidil and then hit the path back to Kinloch. This path is a reasonably easy walk, but it is 8km at the end of along day. While Paul cooked dinner, I found the energy to head round to the village store for a couple of cans of beer - nectar juice for Pete and myself, nothing for Paul as he was still on anti-biotics.

A light breeze kept the midges away while we packed up the next day. The Loch Nevis passed us as we headed for the Singing Sands on Eigg. After sitting offshore for a while we decided not to land as the sea was dumping quite a bit. This meant that we had another 10km to go to get round to the village, but the call of the tea shop was strong. While waiting for the BLT roll, we listened to MarineCall and this decided our plans. It would be back to Arisaig after lunch as the weather was due to break on the Sunday - rain and F5 from the east. The lads were smiling as this meant I could not drag them to the ceilidh on Eigg that evening!

The islands off Arisaig passed in a flash as we had got the tides right! A lovely way to end a trip.

Well, we were lucky I suppose. All the Small Isles, great coffee shops, the Rum Cuillin and I never wore my heavy weight paddling cag. Oh yes, a midge free Rum!

Does anyone want to know when we plan to paddle next year?

Lynne Walker