I enjoyed my trip to Knoydart back in March, and haven’t been out in the kayak for a while, so I combined the two with some paddling in Loch Hourn in late July. Mind you, I can still see the tick bites on my ankles…
I launched on the shoreline at Arnisdale, pretty much the only settlement on the loch apart from a scattered handful of farms.
Out on the loch it was breezier than it looked onshore and I struggled to maintain direction at first. My rudder helped a lot but also indicated my load was distributed poorly along the kayak.
Any excuse for a coffee, so I headed ashore to a quiet stony beach for a brew and to repackage a few things.
Cruising…
I’m obviously not the only one to admire the scenery in some of these lochs. This cruise liner appeared from nowhere and proceeded to do a 20 point turn opposite Arnisdale. I was very glad to be safely out of its way!
Back to more important things, and I soon had a coffee on the go as the water boiled. I’m always surprised just how quickly a mere handful of dry twigs can boil enough for a cuppa!
I just sat in the sunshine and soaked up my surroundings as I drank my coffee and munched a roll.
Back afloat, and I headed up the loch and past the narrows at Barrisdale. I wasn’t too bothered about fishing and just enjoyed a bit of a paddle.
I trolled a toby behind my yak, searching out mackerel for dinner. They weren’t exactly throwing themselves on the hook but I managed three, which was plenty.
A Fine Evening
With time moving along I crossed to the Knoydart shore and worked back towards my campsite. The spot I’d used back in March was now completely overgrown so I grabbed another, just a little way along the shoreline.
Midges appeared almost as soon as I started pitching my trusty old Vango Banshee tent. Spurred into action I got it up in double quick time before getting a small fire underway.
I find that a little smoke goes a long way in deterring the midge menace, and I needed one for dinner anyway. Sushi mackerel has limited appeal to this fisherman! Baby potatoes boiled in seawater, buttered, and served with freshly caught mackerel. Yummy, especially washed down with a nice beer.
I sent the DJI up for a little apres-dinner filming in the afterglow before finishing my beer and disappearing back into the tent for a well-earned snooze.
Striking Camp
Next morning was breezy enough to deter the flying pests, so I had a leisurely breakfast in the sun.
Packing away my tent and loading up the kayak, I headed back onto the loch.
Today I planned to head west, paddling past Arnisdale and towards the entrance to Hourn. This route has quite a few pretty islets and small islands, and plenty of curious seals.
Being in no hurry I stopped ashore for more caffeine and a scan along a stony beach. A road runs along this part of the loch but you barely notice as there’s so little traffic.
Further out, heading towards the Sandaig Isles, the shore gets wilder, steeper and is heavily forested. Extremely beautiful, but not the easiest place to land a kayak.
A Little Shorefishing
I eventually bounced my old Perception Triumph ashore on the rocky beach at Camas nan Ceann. Just as well I’m not too fussed about a few gouges in her hull! Dragging her above the tideline I had a scan around my isolated little kingdom. As you can see from the photo below, my kayak (centre of the image) is rather dwarfed by her surroundings.
I could see a couple of rather sketchy options for my tent, but the forecast was also a little sketchy for tomorrow, so I decided not to stay overnight.
I still had plenty of time for a few casts though, and had done no fishing at all on this trip bar my mackerel foraging yesterday. Loading up my shore rod I hiked to the far end of the bay and cast out a few baits – and got even fewer back! Quite snaggy ground which didn’t offer much more than a couple of crab bites.
Eventually I tore myself away, as I faced an hour or two of paddling back to Arnisdale followed by several hours driving before I made it home. A lovely place and one I’ll be visiting again.
A little footnote to this trip – I did indeed pick up quite a few ticks. All tiny and removed fairly easily, but a reminder to be watchful, as I could really do without Lyme’s disease or other fun and games.
What a great looking trip. & you’ve covered a good few miles too, well done. Some good images there too, great stuff.
Hi Ash, I think that’s the longest single day paddle I’ve done so far, which possibly speaks volumes about my skills and fitness! It’s definitely a very attractive loch and I was happy to focus on my surroundings and relegate my fishing rods for once.
Great post – wonderful weather for that trip, makes the scenery all the more spectacular. Interesting size scale of ‘threats’ from cruise liners to ticks!
I’ve seen little boutique style cruise ships, maybe 50-60 feet long, on many occasions but never a full size beast. I presume they were keeping a good lookout for small boats and kayakers but I certainly wouldn’t want it breathing down my neck as I paddled across the loch!