Peanmeanach 9-11th May 2026
On Saturday 9th May five members gathered at Alisary on the road between Loch Ailort and Glenuig to paddle the 4km to the bothy at the old settlement of Peanmeanach on the north shore of Lochailort. The water was calm and the sky was blue as they crossed to the Ardnish peninsula where they were met at Peanmeanach with a very low tide. Once all the gear had been taken up to the bothy and the paddlers had settled in, it was still early so they decided they would paddle to the Singing Sands, a beautiful white sandy beach just west of Peanmeanach. As they set off another two members arrived with a friend to join the bothy band, having paddled from their home in Arisaig! After spending an hour at the Singing Sands looking at some interesting animal footprints they returned to the bothy where a very convivial evening was enjoyed by all.
The forecast for Sunday was for wind and rain spreading in during the early afternoon, so it was decided to set off early for Samalaman Island where the carcass of a minke whale had been sighted. The Arisaig contingent had to get back for work commitments, so farewells were said on the beach before the two groups went their separate ways. On the island there wasn’t much of the carcass to be seen except a few ribs and vertebrae, but most interesting of all was the remains of a fin with the metacarpals and phalanges exposed. The return journey to the bothy was under darkening skies and with wind and waves behind. The afternoon was spent exploring the area around the bothy and searching for the mysterious Howf (a shelter or lookout) high on the hill above the bothy before the wind and rain really set in.
Monday morning dawned clear and calm. The bothy was soon swept clean and locked up before the group set off to explore the old settlement of Sloch on the western edge of Ardnish before returning to the take out at Alisary via a lunch stop at a sandy beach below Cooper’s Knowe with views over to Eilean nan Ghobar (Goat Island).
Ardnish is now virtually deserted but has so much history around the deserted settlements of Mullochbuie, Sloch, Peanmeanach and Laggan. It is sobering to think of how hard it must have been to sustain life there, but at one time it was home to over 200 souls, 48 of whom lived in 7 households in Peanmeanach according to the 1841 census. The last resident of Ardnish (Nellie MacQueen) left Peanmeanach in 1943.
A weekend of paddling, exploring, discovering and reminiscing. Huge thanks to all who came along!
Distance paddled over three days….not great, but the weekend added up to much more than kilometres paddled!
Paddlers: Joan, Sheila, Kate, Elizabeth, Jill, Heather, Duncan and Fran
Rescue Day 16th May 2026
The second club outing of the month was another rescue and incident management day based at Samalaman on Saturday 16th May when eleven members gathered at Glenuig Inn and launched on an outgoing tide. The first part of the day was spent trying to extricate paddlers from tricky situations and practising contact tows as well as long and short tows. Prior to the day the coastguard had been informed of the planned activities in case anyone thought the paddlers were really in trouble and called out the lifeboat….this has happened before! After a stop for lunch on Samalaman Island it was getting wet time, and everyone had a turn rescuing and being rescued from the water. There was also much discussion about how to manage a group while a rescue is in progress….particularly important in rough conditions. Back at the Glenuig Inn after loading boats on cars the paddlers were thankful for a hot drink before the journey home.
Paddlers: Mike, Kirsty, Peter, Joan, Ruth, Jill, Gill, Arthur, Bill, Elvire and Iain
Loch Morar 21st May 2026
To round off the month seven paddlers set off on Thursday 21st May from Ceann an t-Saideil bay at the bottom of the Bracara Hill to paddle up Loch Morar to Tarbet and then across the loch to Meoble. It was a cold, breezy, overcast day with the cloud level low over the hills surrounding the loch as they set off for their first stop at Brinacory. On the way they picked up a couple of paint tins found floating in the water and took them home for disposal! The bay below the old Brinacory School was sheltered from the wind ….ideal for a quick hot cuppa before climbing through the oak woods to have a look at the school which has fallen into disrepair and is close to collapsing in places. The track between Bracorina and Tarbet Loch Nevis passes close behind the school, and the paddlers came face to face with a group of Americans who had also stopped to look at the school. It transpired that one of the kayakers had met the Americans at the Land Sea and Island Centre in Arisaig the previous day!
Back on the water the group crossed the loch to Eilean Allmha where it was decided to have a quick lunch and set off back along the south shore and not to carry on to Meoble as planned as the wind was still gusting quite strongly and was forecast to pick up further. Next stop was at Lettermorar to have a look at the last house remaining which like the school at Brinacory is in a state of collapse. The building is constructed of wood and corrugated iron unlike the older ruins which are all of stone. The remains of furniture and even a range cooker can be seen among the ruins…..quite poignant to think of the family who lived there not so long ago in their wood lined rooms pained pink and lilac! Behind the house the entire flat area of the bay is enclosed by a vast stone wall which forms the boundary of the “tup park” and was built with stones taken from the abandoned houses of the settlement of Rhetland just west of Lettermorar after the residents from there set sail for Prince Edward Island in Canada in 1790. Virtually nothing is to be seen of this settlement today. Neither does it figure in the OS map whereas three buildings are marked at Lettermorar which was probably only ever home to one shepherd and his family……Sheep did not need as much tending as the small black cattle of the old days which lived amongst the people of Rhetland.
The group spent the last leg of the trip threading their way through the picturesque pine clad islands at the west end of the loch before heading for the take-out back at Ceann an t-Saideil bay.
Distance paddled: 16km
Paddlers: Ruth, Jill, Joan, Elizabeth, Moira, Duncan and Gregor.
