Scottish Sea Kayaking Sea Scottish
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Scottish Sea Kayaking At last, here it is… Scotland’s first guidebook for sea kayakers wishing to explore its amazing coastline and magical islands. It brings together a selection of fifty great sea voyages around the mainland of Scotland, Doug Cooper & George Reid from the Mull of Galloway in the SW to St Abb’s Head on the east coast, as well as voyages in the Western Isles, ranging from day trips to three day journeys. Illustrated with superb colour photographs and useful maps throughout, it is a practical guide to help you select and plan trips. It will provide inspiration for future voyages and a souvenir of journeys undertaken. As well as providing essential information on where to start and finish, distances, times and tidal information, the book does much to stimulate and inform our interest in the environment we are passing through. It is full of facts and anecdotes about local history, geology, scenery, seabirds and sea mammals. A fascinating read and an inspirational book. Scottish Sea Kayaking Scottish Sea Kayaking fifty great sea kayak voyages fifty great sea kayak voyages Doug Cooper & George Reid Also available from 35 36 38 39 33 37 Pesda Press 40 27 26 Sea Kayak Navigation 41 The Seamanship Pocketbook Stornoway 32 25 Welsh Sea Kayaking 24 South West Sea Kayaking 22 34 21 The Northern Isles 31 23 Oileáin - A Guide to the Irish Islands 18 43 30 17 44 Kayak Surfing 42 16 Kayak Rolling 29 19 Scottish White Water 15 Inverness 45 English White Water 14 20 Canoe and Kayak Handbook White Water Safety and Rescue 13 ... and many more! 12 46 10 28 11 9 Visit our website: pesdapress.com 6 8 7 SKYAK ADVENTURES Fifeness 47 5 Gordon & Morag Brown 49 13 Camuscross, Isleornsay 48 ISLE OF SKYE, IV43 8QS Glasgow 50 Tel. + 44 (0) 1471 833428 [email protected] 4 www.skyakadventures.com 3 2 Sea Kayak Expeditions Courses and Guiding BCU and ACA Courses Level Five Coach 1 Unique Sea Kayaking Experiences in a World-Class Location Scottish Sea Kayaking fifty great sea kayak voyages Doug Cooper & George Reid Pesda Press www.pesdapress.com First published in Great Britain 2005 by Pesda Press Reprinted with minor updates 2008 Reprinted 2013 Tan y Coed Canol Ceunant Caernarfon Gwynedd LL55 4RN Wales Copyright © 2005 Doug Cooper and George Reid ISBN 0-9547061-2-9 The Authors assert the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Printed in Poland. www.hussarbooks.pl Introduction Scotland has some of the most varied and dramatic coastline in the world. This includes fast tidal streams and calm sea lochs, huge cliffs and sandy beaches, history and culture and an abundance of wildlife. The weather and oceans have been shaping this environment for millions of years and nowadays it offers the last true wilderness of Great Britain. The coastline provides an archipelago of islands guarding the Atlantic coast to the west, remote and dominant cliffs towering above the tidal streams of the north and sea stacks, arches and wildlife fronting the North Sea to the east. The Scottish coastline offers a lifetime of exploration for everyone. This guide is born from a love of this coastal wilderness, and a desire to discover and explore it. The sea kayak is the perfect craft to journey through this amazing environment at close quarters, and in this gives a unique perspective on the surroundings. The authors have paddled the entire Scottish coastline and have had many years of pleasure in discovering the variety it offers. It is from this experience that fifty sea kayaking trips have been chosen. The fifty trips described are not necessarily the ‘best’, but are intended to give a real insight into the variety of kayaking the Scottish coastline offers. The authors are aware that many fantastic areas have been missed out, notably Orkney and Shetland. Our descriptions are not full in each trip and the weather as we know makes the same trip different each time; this should allow the paddler to still have the opportunity to discover things while paddling our trips. In addition to this it is hoped that the trips will provide something for all abilities of sea kayaker, with the trips ranging from sheltered lochs to committing tidal races. The guide is designed to provide all the relevant tidal information and route descriptions to enable the kayaker to head off and enjoy the trip. The kayaker will still need to have the knowledge to interpret this information and use Introduction it wisely in the sea environment, taking into account the appropriate safety considerations. The guide is about more than this though; it also provides an insight into the history, culture and wildlife that makes the Scottish coastline that extra bit special. Resulting from years of kayaking, research and personal experiences this guide will provide the true flavour of what makes up Scottish sea kayaking. 3 Contents Scottish Sea Kayaking................................... 1 Introduction ........................................... 3 Important Notice ....................................... 6 About the Authors ...................................... 7 How to Use the Guide ................................... 8 Scottish Outdoor Access Code ........................... 10 West Coast....................................................... 11 1 Mull of Galloway ...................................... 11 2 Ailsa Craig ........................................... 15 3 Mull of Kintyre ........................................ 19 4 Rhinns of Islay ........................................ 25 5 Garvellachs from Arduaine .............................. 29 6 North Lismore ........................................ 35 7 Iona................................................. 39 8 Treshnish and Staffa ................................... 43 9 Ardnamurchan Point ................................... 49 10 Arisaig .............................................. 53 11 Eigg and Muck from Arisaig ............................. 57 12 Rum and Canna ....................................... 63 13 Loch Coruisk and Soay.................................. 69 14 Wiay Island .......................................... 75 15 Neist Point . 79 16 Dunvegan to Stein ..................................... 83 17 Fladda-chùain......................................... 89 18 Rubha Hunish......................................... 95 Contents 19 Raasay and Rona ..................................... 101 20 Crowlin Islands ...................................... 107 21 Rubha Reidh......................................... 111 22 Priest Island . 115 23 Cailleach Head....................................... 119 24 The Summer Isles .................................... 125 25 Rubha Coigeach ...................................... 129 26 Point of Stoer ........................................ 133 27 Handa Island ........................................ 137 4 Western Isles ................................................... 143 28 Barra Head .......................................... 143 29 Monach Islands ...................................... 151 30 Sound of Harris ...................................... 157 31 Taransay............................................ 161 32 Scarp .............................................. 165 33 Butt of Lewis ........................................ 169 34 Shiant Isles.......................................... 175 North Coast ..................................................... 181 35 Cape Wrath ......................................... 181 36 Whiten Head ........................................ 187 37 Eilean Nan Ron ...................................... 191 38 Strathy Point ........................................ 195 39 Duncansby Head and Stroma ........................... 201 East Coast ...................................................... 205 40 Noss Head .......................................... 205 41 Staxigoe to Lybster ................................... 209 42 Fort George and Chanonry Point ......................... 215 43 Cummingston to Covesea .............................. 219 44 Troup Head.......................................... 223 45 Cruden Bay.......................................... 229 46 Inverbervie to Stonehaven.............................. 233 47 Isle of May .......................................... 239 48 Firth of Forth......................................... 243 49 Bass Rock........................................... 247 Contents 50 St Abb’s Head........................................ 253 Appendices ..................................................... 257 A Coastguard and Emergency Services ..................... 257 B Weather Information .................................. 258 C Pilots............................................... 260 D Mean Tidal Ranges ................................... 260 E Glossary of Gaelic Words .............................. 261 F Recommended Reading................................ 262 G Trip Planning Route Card - User’s Guide ................... 262 H Trip Planning Route Card ............................... 265 I Index............................................... 266 5 Important Notice As with many outdoor activities that take place in remote and potentially hostile environments, technical ability, understanding of the environment and good planning are essential. The sea is one of the most committing environments