Canoeing Loch Laxford

Canoe & Wild Camping Expedition

Following straight on from our trip to Suilven; we drove to our next destination, Loch Laxford; parking and launching at a boat house, not far beyond Laxford Bridge. The tide was out but it was still only a short carry to the water’s edge. We loaded up again, having re-supplied our barrel with food and fuel and set off down the loch to what seemed to be from the map, an ideal camping spot. From the head of the loch heading out to sea, it soon widens and islands appear out of the rocky coastline. As we snuck around one island seals silently dipped into the water, only to re-appear behind us, watching as we slowly glided through the water. We entered a lovely bay, Lochan na Fionndalach Bige and found that what had seemed a good campsite on the map was on too much of a slope and the ground was too rough for a comfortable night.

Seals resisting the urge to swim as we passed by

It didn’t take long to paddle back to a grassy spit above a shingle beach where the grass was short and the ground flat; ideal. This is just south east of Laxford Bay; a clearly identified inlet on the map. We set up camp, got dinner on and relaxed in our surroundings. A Buzzard circled above, Oyster Catchers noisily patrolled the beach below and Sandpipers hopped about the craggy hillside which was tempting us to climb it. We had long enough to relax with a class of wine and a shot of whisky before retiring.

 



Our campsite with the scramble beside

The next morning we packed up camp, loaded the canoe and set off to explore the outer reaches of the loch. Again we snuck up on the seals, this time a couple of brave characters remained on the rocks as we silently swept by. We paddled back into Lochan na Fionndalach Bige and a plethora of birdlife awaited us. Greylag Geese abound, most, noisily taking off in their breeding pairs as we advanced into their space; circling, waiting for us to move out. A couple already had their brood and couldn’t fly away as we approached. Instead they ducked their heads down and seemed to try and blend into the background as they led their youngsters away inland, hoping they hadn’t been spotted.

Looking down on our campsite from the top of the scramble

Herons would watch us, well camouflaged against the rocks and weed. When they too decided it was time to move, they would gracefully take off, reminding us of Pterodactyls every time. Oyster Catchers were everywhere; we were alerted to their presence by their persistent squawking. It is always a pleasure to watch them in flight; in pairs they instinctively know what the other is going to do and move in a flash of black and white, like a well-choreographed dance duo.

Looking out to sea from the top of the scramble

The tide was too low for us to make it out back into the main channel at the far end of the lochan but by the time we had made it around to the other side of the narrow gap there was enough water for us to get through. We followed the coast westwards, thinking that we would see more of interest if we stayed in close. At the outlet of a small stream in Bagh na Fionndalach Moire was again a menagerie of wildlife. Flocks of Greylag Geese took off, calling in alarm at our approach. A heron could not wait for us to get any closer and moved off to a quieter spot; Sandpipers dipped amongst the weed and our first otter of the trip made a brief appearance diving and surfacing a couple of times, just to confirm that it was an otter that we had seen.

 

Rocky shoreline typical of Loch Laxford

Moving out of this bay and heading further out of Loch Laxford were more islands; the tide was dropping and weed covered rocks were appearing out of the sea. Another otter appeared; this one seemed not to care about our presence and continued to potter over the rocks, going about its business. We stopped for lunch at a stream in Fanagmore Bay, the last bay on the way out to sea; before crossing the open loch mouth to go and explore Loch Dughaill. The conditions were perfect, little wind and just a gentle swell entering the loch from the north Atlantic. We took a route that passed by the islands and around Ardmore Point where gentle waves were breaking on the headland. We stopped to stretch our legs on a flat piece of shore before continuing around Loch Dughaill. If it had been necessary I’m sure we could have portaged the few hundred metres into Ardmore and Loch a’ Chadh-Fi but as it was the sea was even quieter; it being high water now. We paddled back along the south shore of Loch Laxford, following the indents and islands, rounded Eilean an Eireannaich and headed into a beautiful cove to search for a campsite.

Our comfortable camp

The campsite was amongst ruins, about 100 metres from the sea and probably at a height of about 20 metres. The outlook was stunning and judging by the remains of all the mussel shells there may well be an otter feeding site in the bay below. We set up the tent and the shelter but then noticed loads of tiny nymph ticks crawling all over our hands and wellies, from the long grass. There was no way we would be able to relax here tonight. We are used to tick larvae getting under our skin and we check each other thoroughly when we think there have been ticks around. We reluctantly dismantled our camp, dragged everything back down to the water, drowned the ticks on our wellies and once again set off back to our original campsite on the shingle spit. At least we knew that was comfortable and relatively tick free. Although a little late, we yet again enjoyed our night at camp, this time being treated to a sunset over the mouth of the loch which we enjoyed with the usual red wine, whisky & camp fire.

 

Sunset from our campsite

We planned a final day on the loch and decided to leave our camp standing. We had explored most of the loch and new that this would be the best campsite that we would find. We set off back to Eilean an Eireannaich and entered into Loch a’ Chadh-Fi and Ardmore, home of the late John Ridgeway’s Adventure School. There was no wind to speak of and it was a glorious day on the water. We stopped on a tidal island for lunch and later continued our exploration of the loch. For such a remote area there are a surprising number of dwellings. The Adventure School had a large number of kayaks and it looked as if the staff were preparing for the start of the season. We had a little doze as we idly floated back out of the loch back into Loch Laxford. We explored the remaining islands on the northern shore and then had an early finish back at camp. Again we enjoyed the evening, watching the sun go down; watching a seal, watching us. We had seen all that Loch Laxford and its neighbours had to offer and it would be time to move on in the morning.

 




Chilling by Ardmore

Before leaving we scrambled up the steep slopes to the north of our camp; a pleasant scramble, hard enough but not too exposed. We took in the views around us; from the Atlantic, including all of the islands that we had explored and looking inland to Ben Stack, the conical, rocky mountain that we would summit in a couple of days. Throughout our trip around Loch Laxford, each time we returned to our camp site, our eyes had been drawn to the steep and rocky slopes of Ben Stack standing guard at the head of the loch. It turned out to be an interesting little mountain to climb, with fantastic views including the north shore of Scotland. That is another tale to tell.



Me! Loch Laxford with Ben Stack behind

Summit Ridge of Ben Stack