The Summer Isles and Tanera Mor

After I had watched the seals and the tour boats had watched me watching the seals, I then headed for the sheltered anchorage on Tanera Mor. It is the largest and only inhabited island in the Summer Isle archipelago. I wasn’t surprised to see the tour boats stopped here too.



The island has its own Post Office which is allowed to make its own postage stamps. The tourists all seemed to head over to that stamping ground for their souvineers, while I continued into the anchorage past the fish farms.



The view over the holding nets, across to the main land and Stac Poly really dominated the scene.



I landed at the old pier which was once the working centre of a busy herring fishing industry.



But the bustling fishing industry has long gone, along with the herring in the surrounding sea.



I walked along a hidden path to the top of a hill overlooking the harbour and tried to imagine what it was like in its hay day.

The sounds of the boats off loading the fish, the noise of the gulls as the fought over the fish that fell as they were off loaded onto the pier, the smell of the fish as they were put on ice in wooden boxes, the laughter of the fish processors and the fishermen as they went about their business. Now it was as silent as the salmon swimming in the fish farm.



I felt a little sad as I went back in my inflatable. I recalled when I was a youngster watching the herring fleet landing their catch at a very busy Ayr harbour. We fought with the seagulls to get the fish that dropped from the nets and tried to supplement our pocket money by selling them to folks in the High Street. We didnt sell many as herring were plentifull. Alas, those days are long gone too.

I crossed the anchorage in silence as I tried to think back. What did salted herring taste like ? What did it look like ? I had just spent the last two weeks living on a diet of Mackerel and Pollack without so much as a whiff of a herring.



My day dreaming stopped as I approached the pier on the main land again. My trip to the summer isles was now over but the memory will linger with me for many a day yet.

The Summer Isles and the seals

It’s a funny feeling, being in the middle of no where, not hearing much noise, and yet you feel as if you are being watched by a hundred pairs of eyes. Then slowly they started to show themselves. What I had presumed were stones in the middle of the seaweed were in fact seals.



I cut the engine and started to row quietly towards a little island. Curiosity got the better of them and they started to follow the inflatable.



There were grey seals, at least I think they were grey as they had roman noses and wide apart nostrils as well as looking a little grey.



Then there were the common seals, they have a more dog shaped forehead and nose with nostrils in a “v” formation.



Once my eyes tuned into the seal shape, I couldn’t help notice that they were everywhere.



I rowed over to a small coral and sandstone beach and landed to watch the seals play.



A couple followed me in the water, as I walked along the beach then turned quickly sending a large wet splash in my direction with a flip of their tails. I climbed to the highest point on the small island and took this photograph looking north east towards the mainland



I then turned and took this photo looking back up the channel between Tanera Mor and Tanera Beg.



That’s when I felt I was being watched all over again, with a different kind of eye. The tour boats had started to arrive.



Just like the seals, once one appeared, they all seemed to appear from everywhere. Their passengers had roman noses and dog shaped foreheads with twitching nostrils too, or perhaps it was just my imagination ?

The Summer Isles and the Arch of Tanera Beg

When I awoke, a steady breeze was blowing onshore from the south. The channel between the mainland and the Summer Isles looked quite peaceful so I blew up my boat and set off on the crossing to Tanera Mor



I took this photograph looking back to the mainland from mid channel. The white houses of Polbain stood out against the dark hillside which was still in early morning shadow.



I then headed down the channel between Tanera Mor and Tanera Beg. I was now heading straight into the wind and waves which splashed over the front of the inflatable. Although I got a little damp I wasn’t too concerned. I was heading for the sandstone arch on the south east side of Tanera Beag. Nearing the rocky point where the arch was, the water looked quite choppy on the exposed south side.



The chop soon had me bouncing about like a little cork when I cleared the island to get a good view of the arch. In fact I started to worry a little as this was the biggest waves I had been in. I waited for a wide trough between them before turning the boat.



I took around a dozen photos of the arch to make sure I got a decent shot that wouldn’t be blurred by the movement of the boat. I’m glad I did as I only got a couple of sharp pictures.



I wasn’t going to attempt entering the arch in case the boat burst on the rocks in the swell. I only had seconds to get my photos as the wind and waves quickly swept me back into the channel.



There was a little sheltered bay in the channel not far from the arch so I pulled over and landed. It was safer to see the arch from the land than by the sea.



I climbed to the highest point on the south of Tanera Beg and looked over the sea to the further away Summer Isles



I knew it would be foolish to even think of crossing that part of the sea so I happily used the zoom lens to get my photographs of Priest Island



Then I used the wide angle lens to capture the sea arch from the landward side.

Achiltibuie and the Summer Isles

I was now on my way to the next stop at Achiltibuie and had plans to go round the Summer Isles in the morning. Rounding the coast from Altandhu, the Summer Isles looked very inviting in the late evening light.



I was delighted to see the wind had dropped by the time I parked on the “green” at Achiltibuie so inflated the boat to see if I could get myself some dinner before darkness fell at 9.30pm. It felt eons had passed since my mussel lunch.



Twice round the bay and I had three mackerel. I could have caught many more but I stop fishing once I have enough to eat. I had them cleaned and cooked before rigamortis had time to stiffen the fish. You cant beat a BBQ’d mackerel cooked straight from the water.




I camped overnight where I had parked to go fishing and was delighted to wake early to a bright sunny morning. There was a fresh breeze blowing but the water looked quite flat at first sight.



However, I was a bit wary as it was an off shore wind which can be very deceptive for a small inflatable. I took a walk around the green to take a photo or two while I decided how windy it actually was. I was beginning to wonder if I still had the balls to go in my small boat



The little village looked very scenic in the early morning light. As I waited, I thought the wind was beginning to freshen a little more.



Looking across the water towards the Summer Isles I saw this boat and it gave a good indication of how the wind was chopping the sea in mid channel. I was now having second thoughts about visiting the Summer Isles today.



I packed everything back into the car and decided to go to the beach at Achnahaird Bay which was on the windward side of the peninsula. That would give me a fair idea of how big the waves would be near the islands.



I found this beautiful stony beach and sat listening to the waves rumbling the stones up and down the shore. The noise slowed my thoughts and felt very soothing to my mind. It was then that I decided to head to Ullapool and visit the Summer Isles on a commercial boat trip. It would be far safer than me trying to see them in my little boat.



As I made my way to Ullapool the sky started to close in around Stac Poly and the wind rose even more.



By the time I arrived in Ullapool, the flags on the pier were all flying straight out. Although the boat trip was advertised to sail at 10am, and it was only 9.45am the ticket office was closed and there was hardly a soul to be seen. The trip was cancelled due to lack of interest.



I couldnt help but feel a little sad when I saw the ferry sitting at the pier. It was due to sail to Stornoway and two weeks before, I had planned to be on it with my American friend for a week wild camping to explore Lewis. Unfortunately, she had to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances at her end.

It was time for me to return home for a couple of days to see my daughters, but I knew I was going to return to visit the Summer Isles, as soon as the weather and my mood settled.