Monday 20th July: Drummore - Portpatrick

Up at the crack of dawn to catch slack water at the Mull.

I was ready to go by 0830, and had time to phone chartroom-online.com and order charts of the Firth of Clyde, to be sent poste restante to Portpatrick. That was a relief, as the Clyde has fast ferry traffic out of Stranraer, and submarine activity; and Kintyre has fast tidal streams.



Set off, and enjoyed a placid paddle in the morning sunshine and in the lee of the land. There is much evidence of early habitation here, in the form of earthworks; the Mull must have been a prime defensible site in prehistoric times.

The forecast was for winds W F4-5 backing S or SE 3-4, and the first bit was certainly true, so I was feeling a bit apprehensive about what I might meet on the other side.


From Luce Bay, the Mull looks like any other headland,








but dodging under the lines of the early morning anglers, and starting to round the headland, it begins to reveal its full magnificence. It is truly one of the grandest and most beautiful sights of the trip so far.

It also lives up to its reputation for tidal streams and sea state. I was rounding it in the last hour of the flood, according to the published information, but in reality the ebb stream was already setting west, close inshore along the south coast of the Mull.

By this stage, the clapotis was getting pretty lively: not as big a sea state as off the Lizard, nor as chaotic as Wylfa Head, but just enough to set me up with a big silly grin for the next hour...

Further round the headland, the cliff scenery mellows, but remains achingly beautiful, for mile upon mile.
By this stage, the wind was backing into the south, per forecast, although the promised reduction in wind strength never really arrived. Still, it was fun eating up the miles with the conditions helping me along, and once again I was really grateful for that new skeg.

Eventually, the castle ruins just south of Portpatrick hove into sight, and I paddled, gratefully, into the calm of the picturesque harbour.
There is a choice of campsites, all about 1km up the hill out of the village.