Month: July 2013

My girlfriend has come to visit and we spent a lovely couple of days on the beach at Ballantrae – swimming in the sea and warming up and cooking by a fire made from the plentiful dry driftwood.

Yesterday, I crossed from Ballantrae to the Mull of Kintyre.  It was a bit hazy so I was out of sight of land for most of the way (although I could just make out the top of Ailsa Craig as I passed within about 8 miles of it).

Conditions were so calm that at one point, the only ripples I could see on the water were from where insects were landing.

Eventually, Sanda Island came into view and I landed on the beach near Southend.  A long crossing, but it had taken Shana almost as long to drive the long way round.

I waited until high water yesterday before going round the Mull of Galloway – the ‘washing machine’ about which I had been warned, was off.

The conditions were lovely and calm and the caves in the cliffs amplified the calls of the seabirds within.  Clouds of guillemots and razorbills flew past.

After passing more great coastline, I stopped at Portpatrick to stock up on food again.  A few miles after that, I landed at the pretty beach at Knock Bay.  This morning, there was very clean surf at the beach and I surfed a couple of waves before setting off.

The water was very clear and I could see lots of jellyfish (and a few fish) – good to be paddling close to the shore after so many long crossings recently.

After dodging the Stranraer ferries, I landed at Ballantrae – taking a day off tomorrow.

I waited until high water yesterday before going round the Mull of Galloway – the ‘washing machine’ about which I had been warned, was off.

The conditions were lovely and calm and the caves in the cliffs amplified the calls of the seabirds within.  Clouds of guillemots and razorbills flew past.

After passing more great coastline, I stopped at Portpatrick to stock up on food again.  A few miles after that, I landed at the pretty beach at Knock Bay.  This morning, there was very clean surf at the beach and I surfed a couple of waves before setting off.

The water was very clear and I could see lots of jellyfish (and a few fish) – good to be paddling close to the shore after so many long crossings recently.

After dodging the Stranraer ferries, I landed at Ballantrae – taking a day off tomorrow.

Two long crossings today – 10 miles to Burrow Head, then 20 more to the Mull of Galloway.  I had to paddle against the tide for the first couple of hours so I could make full use of the ebb later.

By the time I arrived at Burrow Head, the tide race was running nicely and I was making good progress, but later on a headwind arrived and slowed me down.

Huge gannets were swooping low at me as I passed Big Scare rock, and I had a couple of porpoises for company.  Unfortunately, the tide turned against me just 4 miles short off the Mull of Galloway, but I made it to East Tarbet … eventually.

I’m a bit apprehensive about going round the headland tomorrow as I’ve been told that it is like a washing machine!

After a day off, the forecast looked good for crossing the Solway Firth – initially, progress was slow into a headwind and it was quite choppy, especially as I passed a wind farm, but the wind dropped during the second half off the crossing and the sea became calm.

I saw a huge seal that seemed to be snoozing in the waves, then followed me for a while.  There were also some large gaggles of what looked like ducks circling me for a while, and lots of fish jumping.

I stopped at Brighouse Bay, a lovely sheltered beach.  Tired, but pleased to have finally made it across to Scotland.

Yesterday, I left St. Bees in much calmer weather with a clear view of the Isle of Man to the west.

I had an easy day, stopping for lunch at Whitehaven, then watched a couple of paragliders hill soaring as I paddled into the Solway Firth, and stopped a couple of miles past Maryport.

I’m resting today as strong winds were forecast again, but I’m now in a good position to cross to Scotland when the good weather arrives tomorrow.

I spent a couple of days on Walney Island while some strong winds passed – resting, eating and repairing my timelapse camera with duct tape and some percussive maintenance (not sure how long that will last).

Today, strong winds were forecast again, but the wind had shifted round to southerly, and I couldn’t resist the prospect of a good tailwind for once.

The sea was pretty flat up to Eskmeals range where I stopped for an hour and a half and range control kindly let me go through during a gap in the firing.

After that, the wind and wave height increased a lot, and although the Taran was flying along, I was feeling a bit anxious about landing in those conditions.

I soon arrived at St. Bees, where a large breaking wave hit me and took me towards the beach.  I capsized on the wave (oops), but rolled up and caught another onto the beach.  Enough excitement for one day – not sure if it was the best decision to go out today, but it was a lot of fun.

Some calmer weather is on the way, so I’m hoping to cover some miles later in the week.