An Afternoon's Kayaking

With the temperature 15C at 2pm in our shadowed, north-facing back yard, not a cloud in the sky all day, the tide low, and a light southeasterly bringing in just enough of a chop to make paddling exciting, we slid the boats down the beach and set off east from Ormsaigbeg - the photo shows the tip of Glas Eilean, and Ben Hiant in the distance.

We rounded Glas Eilean and Rubha Aird an Iasgaich, the point by the CalMac Pier, and followed the shore below Mingary House, the main house of the Ardnamurchan Estate...

...to our destination, Mingary Castle, the seat of Clan MacIain. From the sea side, the 13th century curtain walls, which are up to 14m high and sit on a sill of basalt, are far more imposing than from the landward approach. Just visible above the walls at top left is a chimney and part of the gable-end of the buildings inside the castle, added during 17th and 18th centuries. Behind, to the right, stands the ridge of Beinn na h-Urchrach, the hill of the cast or throw, the origin of its name described in last Friday's post.

Then back to Ormsaigbeg by a direct route, with the wind and the waves behind us, this picture showing the houses of the township scattered along the shore below the hog's-back ridge called Druim na Gearr Leacainn.

We were out for about two hours, running home with the sun sinking towards the southwest a reminder of how late the year is. But we've kayaked on New Year's Day in almost idyllic conditions, with snow on the mountain tops and the Sound of Mull like a millpond - all it needs is another winter like the last one.