Loch Sween (Where?)
Loch Sween.
Where? That’s the usual reaction of paddlers to the name. I have tried in vain to convince others of the possibilities of a paddling to this out of the way gem of a place. My big chance came last week. Plans of a slog down Loch Erict gave way to a more mellow proposal of three days of paddling along the shores of Loch Sween. For once we did not have a “grand plan”. Chilling was the name of the game.
Wednesday night. Jim and I leave sunny Wigan. I normally would paddle solo for a trip like this to give more space and versatility. For this trip we had decided to take Jim’s Old Town 176 – “The Mother Ship” and to paddle tandem. We thought we would be able to cover more ground and would feel the benefit of the higher gunwales if things got rough. At midnight we arrive at our destination: a Forestry Car park just north of Caol Scotnish. Barrels out into the rain and the luxury of an already inflated airbed in the back of the estate.
Thursday. After a leisurely breakfast we launch from the slipway by the jetty in Tayvallich and leave the car in the space opposite the shop. The weather is dull but dry as we leave the perfectly sheltered harbour and cut across the mouth of Scotnish on route to the Fairy Isles.This is a really incredible place, an a rea of shallow banks and lagoons. The perfect place for a canoe to explore. Lots of seals here a place with a real remote, almost Canadian feel to it with densely forested banks. Millions of dark starfishes and sizable crabs here. The wind was still lightish and we were able to make leisurely but steady progress around the inlets at the head of the loch. An Osprey or two here and a nest you would be daft to miss. The last time I saw a nest like that Raquel Welsh was in it! Hugging the East coast of the Loch we passed Eilean Loain and headed south. The coast is interesting and rocky and offers several good landing sites. We were a little concerned that we had not passed one decent camping site, not that we were looking for one yet, but to see one would have been comforting. We arrived at a prominent inlet 744830 and had a mid afternoon brew. One of our objectives for the trip had been to have a look at the Ulva Islands. We had discussed the need for calm conditions to cross the loch, particularly since we were on our own. The wind seemed to have dropped and so at around 3:45pm we cut across the loch to what appeared to be a deserted building on the west shore. Maybe there would be some good flat ground for a campsite. If this sounds vague It is because I had left my map in the car. Hee haw! Still I have a good memory for maps and had been studying this one for the last four years at least. Typically as we cut across, the islands out to sea disappeared. We suspected a squall but it did not materialise and we were able to gain the shelter behind Taynish Island without any problems. This channel into the upper loch is more like a river than the sea and when we arrived there we found a brisk tidal flow opposing us. Some eddy hopping enabled us to get through this into the mouth of the upper loch but the weather was starting to get showery and so we turned tail and begain to look for a campsite in earnest. In most places the ground is simply too rocky and uneven. We had high hopes for Taynish Island but the best it had to offer was a soggy site at the side of the bay on its northmost point. From there we spotted a bay on the West Shore of the loch further North. (732835) This proved to be acceptable, but in rough seas it might be exciting! This had been a great day’s paddling. A nice meal, a good fire, wine and a couple of slugs of Captain Morgan’s before sleep.
Friday: The following morning was fairly miserable and after a long breakfast under the tarp we set off. We had decided to leave our camp up and to travel light for the day. The weather took up instantly and we enjoyed a great paddle down the East side of Taynish Island. The scenery down here is excellent with short cliffs which fall steeplu into the sea. The geology looks different down here: some sort of pillow lava?? We stopped for may photos and then entered the inlet which “separates” the Island of Danna from the mainland. At highwater springs it is possible to porage over a causeway into the rather more exposed Loch Na Cille. It was neither High water nor Spring Tide and so we had to make do with a tour round the wildly beautiful inlet. The ground within the upper reaches of the inlet is mud rather than sand and is not very pleasant for walking on. Vast numbers of s.ea birds were present and the sun shone.
We did not want to go further out towards the open sea on our own and so turned and drifted back down towards Taynish Island fishing as we went. We caught a selection of young mackerel but nothing big enough to eat and so we threw them back. I had been given what appeared to be a nice short boat rod. It duly snapped as soon as any weight was placed on it – even the weight of the lure – much to the amusement of Jim who was using a hand line.
We entered the Southern inlet behind Taynish Island and again battled up against the tide into the upper loch – Linne Mhuirich. The wind was against us as we paddled up to the head of the loch which promised the chance of a nice sail back. This loch is very beautiful especially in the misty, squally conditions we had for some of the time. At the head of the loch we rigged the down wind sail and set off back. Of course the wind had turned more westerly which made the first part of the sail difficult. As we entered the channel we found the tide against us again! The sail was now doing its job and we were able to sail down into Loch Sween against the tide. This channel is crammed with fist when the tide is running. Salmon I think. But due to the dense weed we were unable to avail ourselves of one and so it was stir fry, more wine and another few shots of Captain Morgan’s that rounded off another excellent day’s paddling.
Saturday.
The plan was to camp on the official Campsite at Tayvallich that night and so we had the day to do it. The wind had freshened from the South West overnight and the forecast was for it to get fresher. We packed quickly and portaged the boat and the gear to the sea – it was low water. We drifted North –sailing would have been much too fast with one eye out to sea to look for changes in the weather. This time we caught a few fish worthy of the barbeque. The weather came fine for half an hour and then began to deteriorate. Looking back up the loch, the Cormac Islands had disappeared and the sky was darker. The wind stiffened and bigger but still manageable waves began to roll in. Time to push on! Soon we were in the tranquillity of Tayvallich harbour. Job done.
We would recommend this area to anyone. It is fairly sheltered for an open boat, much to see, good fishing and very beautiful. Campsites are more difficult to find than on other Scottish Lochs we have paddled.
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Originally Posted by MagiKelly
