www.scottishanchorages.co.uk Scottish anchorages: Firth of Lorne March 2013 I am never exactly sure where the Firth of Lorne starts and finishes, but let's say it starts at Crinan or thereabouts, from where it stretches north to Loch Linnhe, so it includes Oban but maybe not Dunstaffnage - so that is how it is going to be in this guide. Of course in a sense it includes at least the south east coast of Mull but that is described separately. The whole area is steeped in ancient Scottish history what with the monks from Ireland and the first Kings who made their capital at Dunadd near Crinan. Ardentrive Bay This bay is filled up with the pontoons and moorings of Oban Marina. I have never stopped off here but I am told the facilities are very good, albeit you need the free water taxi to get across to Oban itself. The Marina's own Waypoint Bar and Grill is a good seafood restaurant so you don't have to go across to Oban to eat out (ph 01631 565333). Mind you it is in a tent so sit near one of the heaters. In times long past this bay was regarded as the best anchorage hereabouts. From here you can basically take in the same places as from Oitir Mhor Bay, but you have to pay for the privilege of course. The walk between the two takes you through a rather nice farmyard, great for kids with hens, ducks, pigs and highland cattle. The spelling of this place varies, some call it Ardantrive Bay, particularly irritating for someone like me who has enough trouble with ordinary spelling. Ardencaple bay This bay may not be as totally enclosed but it is much quieter than Puilladobhrain. Indeed anchored just east of Ardfad point one can see all the many masts in Puilladobhrain and wonder what makes the human race cluster together. On Ardfad point there are several rocky outcrops on one of which - the one with the ash tree - is the very ruined remains of Ardfad castle, more like a fortified house. Another McDougall construction. A bit further to the west is Ardencaple House, a rather fine late 18th Century Lairds house. It was once lived in by Mrs Frances Shand Kydd, Princess Diana's mother, but now James Taylor lives there He runs the surrounding sporting estate which is also into conservation - there has been a lot of deciduous tree planting, and new wild life ponds in front of the house. It is rather private with a big sign 'No access by vehicle or on foot" and a lot of fences (to keep the animals away from the young trees). Please check the website for latest information 1 © Copyright Scottish Anchorages 2013 www.scottishanchorages.co.uk The whole place is awash with wild flowers, and seals haul themselves out on the small skerries to stare at you. This is a good spot for children to be let loose in the dinghy; lots of little islands to row around and land on. Bagh Ban This anchorage is easy to miss as you sail to and fro concentrating on the tide at the Dorus Mor. Although there is nothing special to do ashore, and there is a lot of litter around the bay, there are great views from the anchorage to Scarba and the Corryvreckan. So maybe here you don’t have to bother to inflate the inflatable, just sit back with the gin and tonic. Bagh Gleann a Mhaoil The bay itself does not have much to offer other than remoteness and a rather broken down cottage. But the walk north to Kilmory Lodge is terrific, high up above the Sound of Luing, almost as though you are in an aeroplane with views across to Mull, Easdale, Luing, Loch Melfort, Shuna, Crinan and Kintyre. A truly spectacular walk. You pick up a Land Rover track just above the cottage and head north up the hill to the right. Everyone who has sailed through the Sound of Luing must have noticed Kilmory Lodge, so obvious up on the hill, the only inhabitable house on the island as far as I can see. Close up it is bigger than it appears from the sea with extensive steadings, and it seems very well maintained and appointed. Presumably the owners come here from time to time but I have never seen a soul moving on Scarba on the many occasions I have sailed by. It is essentially uninhabited. There is a ruined 14th Century chapel and burial ground down by the shore below Kilmory Lodge I have not visited - Cille Mhoire an Caibel. Bar nam boc Rather a good spot this, in an easterly wind. Trouble was when I was there the wind was so strong I couldn't get ashore safely enough to explore. However, I know there is a lovely walk on a track round to the Kerrera Tea Garden described under the Little Horseshoe Bay anchorage - about a mile. And there is a pretty good view to the west which majors on sunsets. Belnahua After 30 or more years sailing straight past this tiny misshapen island I finally anchored there one sunny early spring day. It is certainly fascinating - and thought provoking - to wander around the ruined workers' cottages and the great manmade lake in the middle from which the slate roofs of so many Scottish homes came. It is difficult to imagine that 150 people once lived here, and without any source of water which had to be shipped in from Lunga. The working, and living, conditions must have been terrible. No more slate mining now of course, it all vanished after the first world war. Instead of wearing out Please check the website for latest information 2 © Copyright Scottish Anchorages 2013 www.scottishanchorages.co.uk the young slate miners in Scotland we are probably doing much the same to the even younger slate miners in China. Off the slate beach on the east side you will find the best skimming stones in Scotland. In 1936 a Latvian ship heading from Liverpool to Blythe to pick up coal to take to Riga was wrecked here in a storm, the Helena Faulbaums. The SOS message was picked up in Northern Ireland but as the telephone lines had been blown down the BBC was asked to broadcast a message for the Islay lifeboat. Four survivors were eventually found by the lifeboat on the by then uninhabited island, and later 15 bodies were washed up on Luing. Rather poignantly, a personal connection is still kept up between Luing and Latvia. Blackmill Bay This is a slightly sad place because once it was a hive of activity with steamers from the Clyde to Inverness calling at the now very ruined pier to take on passengers, animals and - not surprisingly - loads of slate. Puffers came too, carrying coal for the island. The ticket office still remains, now I guess a fisherman's store. But it is a good spot to search out a Luing cow or two, the breed which as the name implies was started here - in the 1950s, a cross between Highland and Shorthorn cattle. Camus a’Mhor-Fhir There are two quite separate anchorages on Lunga and this is by far the most dramatic, and it is very easy to get into and out of. It is an amazing bay, almost completely blocked off from the open sea by the great lump of Scarba. Anchored here gives one the feeling of being surrounded by rocky mountains which are green in the summer and purple with heather in the autumn, although nowhere is very high. Nonetheless, terrific for the Inner Hebrides. The name is very apt - the bay of the giant. There is a stony beach which invites a barbeque although driftwood is hard to find, at low tide there is sand enough for sandcastles. Unfortunately there is far too much plastic litter thrown up here to the high water mark, and no one to cart it away. And just maybe there are otters in the steep burn that comes down to the bay. It is not easy walking around Lunga, but not impossible. There are no paths, and in the summer the bracken is very thick. It is of course possible to walk to the Little Corryvreckan (the Grey Dogs Channel) but this is easier from Pol nan Corran. I am not sure if at low tide you can get across to the islands in the north - possibly not, and nor whether there is anything special to see and do if you can - probably not. By and large Lunga is a place for scenery and views of the other islands. I have never found it, but there is a well at Tobar a Challuim-Chille (the well of St. Columba's church) north west of Bidean na h-Iolaire (the highest point) which was once used by the slate miners on Belnahua. Please check the website for latest information 3 © Copyright Scottish Anchorages 2013 www.scottishanchorages.co.uk The island is owned by the Torquil Johnson-Ferguson family who run the Rubha Fiola adventure centre, a not inexpensive place to dump your children for a week or two in their holidays. Lunga is used for grazing animals and I don't think there are any permanent inhabitants notwithstanding the few houses at Poll nan Corran. Crinan Even the dire architecture and roof top excrescences of the several times rebuilt Crinan Hotel cannot detract from the charm of the canal basin, but beware midges under the trees.