Day 5 Thursday – Return to Torr Mor, Sandaig Bay by Andy Bond
LCC Scottish Trip Day 5, Thurs 27th July
Day 5 of our navigation around Knoydart proved to be quite an eventful day, with plenty of weather to soak up and a birthday to celebrate in the evening. We left our Loch Hourn overnight campsite at Poll a ‘Mhuineil around 9:30 in overcast conditions and began the paddle out of Loch Hourn. At first, the group made fast progress heading towards the Sound of Sleat, with wildlife interest en route including a porpoise sighting and an industrial-scale salmon fish farm. Gary and Andy, the two rock climbers in the group, took in the steep sea cliffs on the left bank, looking at the potential for new routes. It has to be said that access to these other than by boat could be very problematic in view of the remoteness and steep, vegetated hillsides. Meanwhile others in the group spotted an otter by the water’s edge.
By this time the weather had worsened, and we endured a spell of almost continuous rain for the next hour or so, with the view across to Skye disappearing into the mist. By around 12:00 the weather had calmed, and we’d made enough progress to warrant an elevenses break on the north coastline of Knoydart, around Slisneach. We hauled the kayaks up onto the rocky beach and enjoyed a fairly relaxed break. The next section saw us heading SW down the Sound of Sleat directly into the prevailing wind. For Andy and Christine, as less experienced paddlers, this is where the excitement began as we paddled in deteriorating conditions with some very lively waves requiring concentration and some determined paddling. The contrast with the previous day’s flat, balmy conditions couldn’t have been greater.
Some respite followed as we found shelter in the bay at Airor and had a brief refuelling stop and for some, the opportunity to top up water supplies, but with wind and light rain no one wanted to hang around for too long. From this point, conditions worsened to steady force 4, with Ian working to keep the group together and pass on advice and encouragement to the less experienced in the group. We had a short breather at Doune and with Ian telling us it was only another 3km, we turned south around the headland of An Fhaochag and paddled the final section into the shelter of Sandaig Bay. Breathing a collective sigh of relief, we crossed the bay and made our camp on the sandy beach south of Torr Mor.
The excitement wasn’t over and in the evening, we helped Catriona celebrate her birthday. Luckily Catriona had the foresight to bring along chocolates and 10yr old malt whisky to help the celebration, perhaps not nutritionally balanced, but a great way to end the day. Catriona will probably also remember her celebrations for the stag which was spotted on the outskirts of our camp and as it built up its confidence, approached the camp, where it remained happily grazing for the rest of the evening.
