October Kayak Adventure pt 3, Loch Hourn, Scotland, 22/26-10-11

Part 3 of my Adventure takes place at Loch Hourn in the Highlands of Scotland. This is about as remote as you can get in the British Isles.


Ye Pow’rs, wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o’ fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu’ prayer
Gie her a haggis!

Address to a haggis by Robert Burns


Saturday 2030
My week at castle Loz with Gareth, Wal and Loz ended this morning and now I have headed North. As I will be on my own for the next few days I have decided to write a diary as I go along.
I am now at Kinloch Hourn at the head of Loch Hourn. The rain is pounding on the car roof and it is dark. The journey up from Crinan was easy enough. First I stopped at Oban to stock up on provisions for the week and and try to repair the 'Mango Minger' as I had broken one of the built in rod tubes. Oban sea kayaks had one but it didn't fit. So I did a temporary repair with some dow corning marine sealant from a chandlers. Its not strong enough to hold a rod but it is water tight.
After Oban I carried on heading North. The scenery was stunning, but because of the heavy rain and low cloud difficult to see. I am sure that on a clearer day it would have been even better. Just past Invergarry I turned left onto the single track road that leads to the head of Loch Hourn. The scenery here can only be described as epic. Every burn and river was a roar of foaming white water. All the mountains and hill sides streaked with threads of silver water cascading down. Holy cow it had rained this week!
Tonight I will sleep in the car but in the morning if conditions permit I will paddle and camp on Loch Hourn itself... I can't wait.








Sunday 1730 hr
I woke before dawn and noticed the rain had stopped and I could see the moon. I rolled over for another hour then got up and started getting ready in the pre-dawn gloom. It was a slow business interspersed with mugs of hot tea and a full English breakfast. I tried to trolley the 'Mango Minger' I could hardly get the bow off the ground! I repacked and removed some stuff. It still weighed a ton and I had doubts as to whether it would float. I got to the slip and dragged the yak to the waters edge, I was amazed to see it float in just a few inches of water. I got in, it still floated, I took it for a short paddle to see how the stability was. Not bad; a bit wallowey in the water but seemed safe enough. So I set off down the Loch. The panorama that opens up as you round the the first corner is terrific. The wind was strong and gusty from behind so I hardly had to paddle at all. I looked at several spots to camp before settling on a place by the water below Druim Fada. Trouble was all the dry bits were rocky and all the flat bits were boggy! I shooed off the deer and pitched my tent the best I could. Time to fish. I started with big baited hokies and had a few Mackerel around mid water. The bottom was around 100ft and fairly level down the centre of the loch and I was hoping to find Spurdog. I used to the drogue to slow down my drift in the strong wind. Not much luck with that tactic, so I dropped the hook in 35ft of water hoping for a Thornback or something. It was starting to rain and the mountains were beginning to disappear in the murk. I headed back to base camp and got out of my drysuit before it got too heavy. Now it is nearly dark and the rain is falling steadily onto the tent. It's going to be a long night.







Monday 0900
The rain is still falling onto the tent. During the night the wind got up and I could here it swooshing through the trees on the mountain beside me. A deer called near the tent. A sort of half way between a moo and a cough. It gave me quite a start. The tent is holding up really well ( a Coleman pictor X2 ) I shall have to put up a review.
Monday 1900
I have just had dinner, meat balls and spaghetti. The rain stopped at 1000 so a had a quick cup of tea and launched. I drifted over the deep water and eventually managed a Mackerel. I find feathering boring so armed with fresh bait I headed for shallower water and anchored in 45ft. Sport was slow, all I managed was a few Thornbacks, some whiting and loads of crabs. I took some photos of Ladhar Bheinn in the changing light. It was the most picturesque anchorage I have ever had and made up for the lack of fish.
I wonder if all the fresh water entering the Loch has put the fish off. There's loads of seals here, they must be eating something. The weather improved through the day with the sun making a few brief appearances. Tomorrow I shall head back to the head of the Loch. I expect it to be a bit of a slog against the wind.







Tuesday 0900
The wind got quite strong during the night, it has eased now. It is forecast to ease a little more in the day. For anybody up this way BBC radio Scotland does a very good forecast after the 1900 news. My plan today is to fish a while this morning, then pack up and make my way up the Loch on the flood tide in the afternoon.
Tuesday 1910
I am back in my car at the head of the Loch. I pretty much stuck to my plan. I started by catching a few Mackerel for bait then heading back to base camp and having some rice pudding and a mug of tea. I packed up, put on some big hokies and headed up the Loch. Every time I spotted an interesting feature on the echo sounder I would chuck out the drogue and have a fish. First up were Pollack I managed to catch a 5 inch one on a 6 'o baited hokie. I paddled over to the South side to look at the Bothy. This looked a better place to camp with some flat grass above the high water mark. I set off again and fished some deeper water 100-125ft I was still hoping for Spurdog but only managed whiting. There are loads of features in the Loch, deep flat areas, rock pinnacles and drop-offs in amongst the islands and narrows. I spent more time fishing than paddling, just sitting with a rod taking in the scenery. I got buzzed by a jet, very loud after so much quiet! I had a small Cod and a Dogfish to add to my Loch caught tally.
The last half mile was a slog against a stiff breeze, eventually the little slip got closer and I was back where I had started two days ago. Back at the car I had a strip down wash before putting on a tin of beef broth. As it got dusk an Eagle was riding the the wind high above me, a fitting end to my visit to Loch Hourn. Tomorrow the long drive home.























So that was my October Kayak Adventure. The drive home was Ok speciality the first part through the Great Glen and Glen Coe I stopped to take plenty of pictures in the photogenic weather conditions. In retrospect I should have stayed another day or two in the highlands as the weather was improving all the time. But I think I was feeling a bit 'fished out' after being out on the water every day for nearly two weeks.
For those interested the fuel bill for the car came to £131 for the trip.

Beautiful Scenery and  Great Reports! I really liked the line in one of your posts about having a "chin wag".