8/8/2019 Jura 2008

1/10

Jura, S outh E nd2008

Maps: O.S. Landranger, Sheet

55, Lochgilphead &

surrounding area.O.S. Landranger, Sheet

60, Islay

O.S. Landranger, Sheet

61, Jura and Colonsay.

O.S. Landranger, Sheet

62, North Kintyre.

Photofile: CC 08 ..Those in party: Ron and Ross

Young, Neil Hammond, Gerry

Clifford and self.

Leaving a day before the rest of

the group allowed Ron and I to

scout for a campsite close to the

Kennacraig pier at West LochTarbert (820 625) and we would

relay this to those following.

After much searching we

resigned ourselves to revert to

Plan A, that is, to camp at the

commercial site near Tayinloan

(695 483).

Our plans had been

finalised on the Wednesday

previous in Lauders Bar over a

meal and a sherbet. It being

Rons earnest desire to re-visit

Shian Bay (525 875) he had

proposed that we leave fromCarsaig Bay (735 877), as we

knew of campsites there, and to

head directly west to Jura then

south following the coast to

Loch na Mile(545 710) where

we proposed our first camp. Onprevious trips down the west

coast no suitable sites had been

seen before this. (Later, looking

from the road, Lagg Bay (598

785) near the old Telford pier a

number of good-looking sites

were seen). This was a push of

approximately 30+ Km., 20

miles. The day following

would entail a 25Km paddle to

Port Askaig (430 693) or, if no

campsites there on to

Whitefarland Bay (442 710).The day after we would have a

shift of 10Km or so to Rhubha

AMhail where we would some

time to allow Neil and Ross to

paddle over to Oronsay and

Colonsay. Upon their return we

would retrace our steps. This

meant that the Auld-Yins

would have canoed about

120Km. While the young Turks

would have covered something

more than 150Km. On planning

this trip we believe that it wasthe same map that Ron had used

when he said that it was only

8/8/2019 Jura 2008

2/10

about 10 to 12 miles from the

Finnart oil terminal to the head

of the Gairloch. (26+miles !) as

only sites were specified at that

stage. On being informed of thedistances later and the fact that

a sea-virgin with a 10-12Km

maximum was joining us, plans

needed to be altered. Thus we

found ourselves pitching our

tent in Tayinloan.

We retraced our steps to time

the journey to the pier and

survey the West Loch Hotels

food and drink. Ff8. (special

commendation). Then back to

the tent to await the arrival of

the rest of the party and toprepare for a very early start the

following day.

Saturday0530. Roused, packed and on

the road by 0600 to Kennacraig

and the ferry.

5 minutes after boarding we

formed the queue for breakfastin the ships dining room. Full

Scottish breakfast for 5.oo.

Ff7, V.F.M. 9.

Disembarking at Port Ellen

(Islay) some 2 hours later we

arranged to meet at the coffee

shop in Bowmore as Gerry hadto purchase additional gas

cylinders. (Twice the Glasgow

price!).

Duly met and refreshed at the

wee caf in Bowmore (home

baking) we headed N.E. on the

A846 towards Port Askaig

before turning onto a non-

numbered road that by-passed

Caol Ila distillery then north to

Bunnahabhainn Distillery

where, Gerry informed us, was

a good leaving beach and sites

for tents. In the event neitherwas the case and since the

Sound was running at full spate,

we again changed our plans and

headed back to Port Askaig

where we embarked on another

ferry that took us to Feolin (440

693). Once landed we made our

way north to Whitefarland Bay.

Here we left the cars after

packing the boats.

The tide was approaching

slack water but a strong N.W.

wind made the water difficult

and our passage was slow.

Being in a borrowed and, forthe first time, a round bilged

boat I found the going a mite

testing to say the least. All my

attention was focused on

staying upright in probably only

metre-high waves and I

separated from the rest of the

group. I was suddenly aware ofRoss, who had steamed up from

8/8/2019 Jura 2008

3/10

behind, shouting that I should

rejoin the group as Gerry had

capsized. After a bit of a

struggle I managed to turn and

rejoin the group who, by this

time, were mostly ashore.

Gerry was sitting rolling a

cigarette non the worse for his

immersion thanks in no small

measure to the fact that he was

wearing a dry-suit. This had an

affect on both Ron and I as wehad, for many years, poo-pooed

the idea of canoeing in a wet-

suit and had never contemplated

dry-suits due to their heavy

construction and the imagined

boiling-up while wearing

them. Chins were thoughtfullystroked as brains were put in

gear. Could we have been

wrong all these years?

Certainly materials had moved

on somewhat in the half century

since we had first ventured on

the water, and we realised that,

especially, at our age a suit like

Gerrys could be most

beneficial. The minimal thermal

shock on entering the water, the

maintenance of body heat and

the additional buoyancy was alltoo obvious. By now the

energy levels were getting a bit

low and a small repast was

taken before once again we set

off northwards following the

coastline. The further wetravelled the less effect the, now

slackening, tide had on the

waves and progress was a little

easier and we arrived without

further incident at a large-ish

bay north of Rhubha Aoineadh

an Reithe. Not far travelled in

the boats but long in the days

journey. And were glad to get

the tents up and our heads

down.

Days travel: 6km, 31/2 miles

SundayGood weather but still some

lumpy seas, or was I getting

used to the boat, as we headed

North. Not much in the way of

camp or landing sites seen,

quite an inhospitable shoreespecially in anything north of

west. An interesting shore with

a nice sea arch at 468 782.

As we turned the corner at

Rubha Lang-aoinidh and made

our easting we were largely

sheltered from the wind but the

seas followed us in

8/8/2019 Jura 2008

4/10

Off and now heading north-

eastwards we tracked along

close to the shore with the

mountains of Beinn a Chaolais,

Beinn an Oir and Beinn

Shiantaidh rising majestically

on our right. A rocky shore with

few landing spots and little in

the way of good camping

ground seen from the water still

lumpy water and quite cool.

Ron had expressed a desire to

visit Shian Bay For one lasttime and so we made our camp

later that day at 525 803, I

believe, to enable a two day

sortie to be undertaken if the

weather and the will allowed.

There appeared to be a number

of possible sites along this

(rocky) coast.

Days travel; 10km., 8miles

Monday

After much deliberation about

the time it would take off what

we had left of the holiday, the

possibility of being stormbound

and the canoeing capabilities of

Gerry who had only recently

taken up canoeing and who had

never been on salt water before.

He had coped admirably well so

far but doubts remained as to

his abilities. We therefore

decided not to venture north to

Shian Bay but to head directly

to Loch Tarbert. There are

some historians believe that this

loch was the one visited by St.

Columba when he wanted toget away from it all. We were

soon to find out why he would

have chosen this locale.

Entering Loch Tarbert the

cliffs quickly closed in on either

side and silence crept out togreet us. Passing through the

narrows we were aware of the

ebb tide as it played with our

boats. Then into the upper loch,

sandy beaches and several

islands on our port side were

magical in the sunshine.

Fishing was tried withoutsuccess The final leg through

the channel into the very

innermost reaches of the loch

was most enjoyably and

inspiring. It was almost like

canoeing through a deep defile

of a river. All the goodemotions stirred by the beauty

of the landscape was soon

turned to almost despair as we

tried to gain dry land. The tide

was well out and we had quite a

distance to carry to carry our

boats and gear over the mud.

This sucked shoes off feet as wesank almost to our knees and

gave off a stench at every stride.

8/8/2019 Jura 2008

5/10

Sea shells buried in the silt cut

exposed skin and legs were

covered in slime. A lazy river

oozed its way into the loch and

was barely sufficient for

washing and not at all suitable

for drinking.

Ron and I made our camp on

the north side of this burn. A

few sites here. The others

elected to pitch near the small

boat landing / standing area.

This is certainly not the nicestcampsite on the west coast.

A quick survey of the road led

us to the conclusion that

transportation of the canoes to

Tarbert bay would be difficult.

A scheme was devised that two

would leave and drive to the

starting point, retrieve the cars

and then return. This would

enable transportation of all the

gear and boats. Gerry and Ross

set off hoping to get a lift back

to Feolin ferry where they

would walk the couple of miles

to the cars. In the event theyhad to take a taxi from

Craighouse- at no little expense.

To complete their expedition

they thoughtfully surveyed the

bar of the Craighouse Hotel

before returning.

The weather became overcast

as night drew on and we soonretired.

Days travel: 10 Km., 8

Miles

Tuesday

Awoke to a fine day and after

breakfast we loaded our kit and

canoes on the cars and set off

for Craighouse. The east side

of Jura is a good bit softer and

more campsites are available.

One of the best is at Craighouse

between the pub and the shore.Here we pitched and then did a

bit of exploring. There is a

general store that sells

newspapers, if ordered in

advance, bread, baked on the

premises, wines and beers and

the usual foodstuffs located a

hundred metres or so from the

(free) campsite. The hotel bar

took an early hit as we were

dehydrated and needed a drop

of soap and water. There are

showers available at reasonablerates and after a quick ablution

we were ready to face the

cosmopolitan society that

thronged in their thousands

through the town. Well, maybe

not thousands.

It would have been a

dereliction of duty had the bar

8/8/2019 Jura 2008

6/10

not been surveyed that evening.

Quite a nice little set-up with

two or three wee lounge bars

where food was served along

with a fair range of beers. A

nice happy crowd of customers

many of whom appeared to be

of the outdoor persuasion

served by a reasonably efficient

and pleasant staff. Time flew

on beer fuelled wings til we

took our leave near midnight

and plodded the few metres tothe tents. My recently

purchased toaster was put to the

test and it was not long before

Neil and Gerry were drawn by

their noses and demanded their

share of toast and cheese. This

proved so popular that it was

some time later that they left for

their own beds and left the

world to darkness and to me.

Wednesday

We were met by many stony

faces this morning. Perhaps it

had something to do with thevolume of the chatter and

laughter of the previous

evening. We should have been

quieter Ill admit.

After breakfast we spent some

time waiting on the store

opening and even more time

waiting on the bread beingbaked. Returning to the tents

we took our boats the few yards

to the beach and readied

ourselves for a paddle round the

bay. What a pleasure it was

too. Our course took us first to

Eilean nan Gabhar then along

its western shore where we

crossed over to E.nan Coinean

with the small vessel stranded

high and dry, its mast still

proudly standing. Here we met

numerous seals, some of the

youngest coming really closefor an inspection of us. Im

sure I could detect some

playfulness in their eyes.

Probably from an unheard

command from an older sister

they sank noiselessly out of

sight only to resurface a safer

distance away. No chance of

catching fish here!

Our course was north passing

east of Pladda then S.W. and

back to the campsite. We were a

little surprised by the amount

of movement in the water

around the Small Isles.

A previous campsite at

Leargybreck 545 712 still

looked appealing but didnt

have the amenities of our

present site.

A tour of the very smalldistillery was taken and the

produce sampled.

8/8/2019 Jura 2008

7/10

A visit to the bar later that

evening was arranged to discuss

the plan for the morrow.

Days travel: 6km, 4miles

.Thursday

We left reasonably early our

course taking us to the pier,

where most proceeded to paddle

between the piers for a bit of

fun, S.E through the skerries

then S.W. after Rhubha na

Caillich. A nice pleasantcoastline and we had the benefit

of an ebb tide until we turned

the corner and began our

westward heading as the tide

began to turn. All calculated by

Neil to a nicety. Our companion

had been taking lessons in tidal

prediction and these at any rate

were bang on. Unfortunately

Gerry and the other two were

late in leaving the campsite and

Ron and I were carried a

considerable distance by the

tide before the rest of the party

got afloat. We took a leisurelypaddle rate expecting the others

to soon catch up but Gerry was

unable to get up a reasonable

speed so Ron and I began to

draw apart from Neil and Ross

who were coaxing him along..

A very pretty stretch here as

we dodged between the islands

and skerries landing for a brew-

up on the beach south of Jura

House and awaited the arrival

of out friends. After what

seemed a long time they hove

into view and with somedifficulty made it to shore,

Gerry showing signs of fatigue.

This was in no doubt due to his

lack of fitness and to the ever

increasing movement of the

water. Nominally the tide

should have been helping us

westwards but as the tide

increased its flood so did the

water stream running close to

the shore which was in the

opposite direction. After a few

moments in discussion it wasagreed that Ron and I should

press on to Feolin Ferry, pick

up a car and return to meet the

others as they continued and

render assistance if required.

Returning in Rons car we

stopped off at the viewpoint

after having driven to Jura

House an found that that had

been the only site where we

could see any distance along the

shore. Some time later we did

spot them making slow passageand as they came into hailing

distance we called them in.

8/8/2019 Jura 2008

8/10

Gerry was all for continuing but

looked pooped and when we

indicated the tide race and

overfalls at the powhich had

only become noticeable in thetwo or three minutes since they

had put in, it was decided that

Gerry would land and we would

return him to his car so that he

could pick up his own boat.

The previous evening hadbrought heavy showers and

fairly strong winds and the

signs were that we were going

to have the same that evening.

There is space available for a

couple or three tents near the

ferry terminal building and wehad surveyed the place on our

first return as we changed into

dry clothes. It has electric

lighting, two toilet cubicles,

wash basins and enough space

on the floor for six to eight

people. So we waited for the

departure of the last ferry beforemoving in. One of the nicest

dosses on the West Coast!

Days travel 19-20 km, 12-13

miles

FridayWe were wakened early as,

what seemed, vast numbers of

cars and passengers arrived to

catch the first ferry. We

werent in so much of a rush so

we, rather leisurely, made ready

to leave.

Canoes loaded and lashed we

drove the few metres to the

ferry and crossed to Port Askaig

where cars were refuelled and

the odd chocolate bar purchased

before we made our way

towards a nice little brewery I

know of said Ron. The beeris really wonderful, I brought

some home with me , last time I

was here So said the Pied

Piper of Falkirk, and we all

followed on.

The brewery is located in a

refurbished shed in the grounds

of what had been a large-ish

farm steading, now given over

to art and craft shops and the

like *** ***. We partook of a

coffee and cream sponge in a

small cafe as we sat in the sun

waiting on the brewery to open.

We didnt want the tour, weonly wanted the tasting

segment!

Selections boxed and loaded we

set off for Port Charlotte

where, Gerry had informed us,

was a great campsite. So we all

followed the Pied Piper of

Larkhall to a very nice Councilrun campsite situated just

8/8/2019 Jura 2008

9/10

south of the village. Good

showers,pleasant restaurant caf

and seating areas. Not too badly

priced either

.

Later that evening we spent a

very pleasant hour or two in the

lounge of the Hotel. As we

were leaving Gerry, Ross and

Neil bowled up but the elder

sailors headed off to their well

earned rest.

SaturdaySurfing was the plan for the

day and mid morning we set off

for Machir Bay 205 630 on the

west side of the island. The

conditions were very good and

the rest of the squad had great

fun in the waves. I declined as I

was experiencing pain in my leg

brought on by hauling Gerrys

boat when landing on Jura.

(This worsened over the next

few days and eventually led me

to be admitted to hospital). Ahuge crescent beach with some

rocky spots but a great venue

for surfing.

Returned to the tents and

prepared for our early leaving to

catch the ferry to return us to

our nearest and dearest on themorrow.

SundayAn uneventful journey home.

Lessons to be learned1 Transportation of the boats

and cars by ferry was

expensive.

2 Being able to get to the cars

from where we landed by canoe

was a great bonus.

3 Time of arrival at the head of

Loch Tarbert must be at high

tide.4 A dry suit gives the wearer a

much better chance of survival

after a capsize.

5 Staying close to one another

enabled a fast rescue to be made

6 The folding toaster was a

great success.

Verdict.

A good trip, perhaps better

begun from the top end of Jura

but there would then be the

problem of ferrying the boats

over to Tarbert Bay. Trollies

required!

Not the place to bring a novice.There is a counter tide running

at about one knot close inshore

on the S end of Jura in the

Sound of Islay.

The weather and the company

made for a good weeks

enjoyment.

Total distance was only 52kmbut stretching never the less.

8/8/2019 Jura 2008

10/10