West coast of Scotland - is it cruising friendly?

[GTom]

My experience on the West coast is rather limited but I can say, the 3 days long waiting for a weather window well worth that 15min SUNSHINE on a remote white sand beach, where your dinghy will be the only man-made item and your crew the only people.

The landscape is a dream - which turns into a nightmare above 50kts if you are in a wrong place...

For those of us with limited holidays, its difficult/impossible to schedule. I fully understand those joining the crowds in the 90% sunny Med...

 

[mbroom]

I sometimes wonder if people are dreaming , in their sailing, The vast majority of the West Coast of Scotland is Pristine
white sandy beaches sea lochs and inlets , always voted in the top sailing destinations of the world , it gives you the Atlantic coast , small channels , fast tidal runs , outstanding beauty and great hospitality.
I have since a child sailed up and down this coast and visited the islands camping and climbing and have never seen what you talk about, the main town of Barra , do people not go outside the town, you also mention life is a struggle ,what do you mean , for some this life is a blessing to get away from the Central belt or over crowded parts of England , and most of these little towns are run by many nationalities running bed and breakfasts and other enterprising crafts, prosperity is not defined by the little white painted houses from london owners that have bought up all the property in these English towns you mention.
These so called deprived hamlets of the West Coast will also show some of the nicest people you will meet, this is a remote place little populated and little services , that is why is is unique, if you want to go sailing outside Blackpool that is your choice.
Waste is a common problem in all Sea communities and I would be surprised if the rest of the UK did not suffer this blite Generally the more populate the worst it gets.
What would you rather see when sailing, Dolphins. Orcas, Whales ,Puffins ,Seals, mountains and sea Lochs and little villages , or Rich houses nice cars and a Waitrose for your convenience, one wonders why you go sailing.
Ayr
Millport
Largs
Troon
Oban
Mallaig
Stornaway
Barra
Port Avadie
Tarbert
Crinan
Lamlash (Arran all over)
are some little places you missed(feel free all to add) for nice litte towns with no poverty , burned out cars , neds, etc

Ayr!!!!??? I think it is many years since you were there....

 

[Lon nan Gruagach]

It's not just the West Coast, either. SW Scotland is dying on its feet. My local primary school has half the pupils it had ten years ago and my local secondary, capacity 120, currently has 50 on the roll. Your problems are our problems (of course you have bigger transport issues) and we will all stand or fall together. I reckon good broadband has to be part of the answer - if it wasn't for that I couldn't work as a lecturer from the middle of nowhere.

At risk of having this thread shifted to the lounge, or *gasp* worse.....

You must ask, whats your (comunity's) problem?
So far this year Eigg population is up by 1 (3 moving off, 1 moving on and 2 brand new ones). its a persistent trend. Sure other places are dwindling, but as I said why?
Yes we have broadband, 50% mobile phone coverage (going to 100% of roads if you are with EE this year)

Anyway, back to the thread:
its fantastic round here. Eigg, if you can sail here then the weather aint that bad.....

 

[Motor_Sailor]

. . . .Stornaway, Barra, Port Avadie . . . .

Interesting you should include Portavadie in your list of pristine west coast places. Is that the same one where if you walked a couple of hundred yards along the shore, you came across a completely abandoned village covered in graffiti, standing proud testament to the vain effort to reverse the economic depression of the area?

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Interesting you should include Portavadie in your list of pristine west coast places. Is that the same one where if you walked a couple of hundred yards along the shore, you came across a completely abandoned village covered in graffiti, standing proud testament to the vain effort to reverse the economic depression of the area?

The marina is also totally man-made - you can easily see the boreholes used to blast it out of the rock! It is nevertheless attractive in its own way - just as the slate quarries at Ballachulish and Easdale are.

While we all admire "natural" scenery", there is very little of that in the UK. The natural state of the majority of the UK is either swamp or temperate rain-forest. Our Neolithic and Bronze-Age forebears cleared the forest, and the swamps started being drained by the Romans, and even before being drained they were extensively managed to produce useful products such as thatch, fodder and fish. There is, I understand, a TINY bit of ancient woodland in Scotland - but we are talking about acres. Small areas of the high hills may also be in a "natural" condition - but given the prevalence of sheep and grouse shooting, that's doubtful. In my part of the world, the Norfolk Broads, so often held up as a natural and environmentally sensitive area are in fact the remains of mediaeval peat diggings! And even nature reserves like Wicken Fen are in no sense "natural" - they owe their diversity and interest to long-term human management.

Just because a landscape has changed and evolved is no reason to dislike it. What we call "natural" and "untouched" is nothing of the kind - but it is still beautiful.

 

[mainsail1]

Scotland has a wonderful asset called the West Coast of Scotland that large numbers of tourists, including sailors, feel the need to visit each year.
If you own something special and unique you need to look after it carefully and also define exactly what you want it to be.
At the moment there seems to be a free for all in the name of economic benefit to gradually turn it into just another tatty place which will degenerate into nothing special. There are already lots of places like this so why not concentrate economic activity there? The area South West of Glasgow has been turned into one large onshore wind farm, so why continue to spoil the rest of your country with these? Fish farms could be confined to areas that are not so special.
It may be that the best way forward is for the entire West Coast and Islands to be designated a National Park. If it were a National Park there could be proper strategic planning for the future and all the present issues, including "random rubbish dumps" could be addressed on a larger scale.
And before Scots tell me to keep my nose out of their affairs....I was born and raised in Scotland and have a deep affection for it.

 

[JumbleDuck]

You must ask, whats your (comunity's) problem?
So far this year Eigg population is up by 1 (3 moving off, 1 moving on and 2 brand new ones). its a persistent trend. Sure other places are dwindling, but as I said why?
Yes we have broadband, 50% mobile phone coverage (going to 100% of roads if you are with EE this year)

Broader horizons for young people than ever and very little breadth of opportunity at home. And a vicious circle, because people with families tend not to move into areas with few children.

 

[awol]

Meanwhile, over on the east it will cost £2 more in tourist tax for an overnight stay at Granton (new marina) and Port Edgar.
After all someone has to pay for my countrywide free travel!

 

[ctva]

Meanwhile, over on the east it will cost £2 more in tourist tax for an overnight stay at Granton (new marina) and Port Edgar.
After all someone has to pay for my countrywide free travel!

All the more reason to travel west! :encouragement:

 

[Quandary]

All the more reason to travel west! :encouragement:

Naaah! Chris, don't encourage him, he is is over here often enough as it is.

 

[Railbob]

Interesting you should include Portavadie in your list of pristine west coast places. Is that the same one where if you walked a couple of hundred yards along the shore, you came across a completely abandoned village covered in graffiti, standing proud testament to the vain effort to reverse the economic depression of the area?

Nope, the village was demolished nearly two years ago and planning consent has been approved for a mixture of social housing, private housing and a distillery. Like all things it’s a bit delayed but hopefully will start soon as the local authorities have had to resurface the road.

 

[ctva]

Naaah! Chris, don't encourage him, he is is over here often enough as it is.

Oops, sorry.

it’s really terrible here, midges, rubbish, rain, grumpy old Irishmen....

 

[Motor_Sailor]

Nope . . .

That's why I wrote about it in the past tense.
It was still an eyesore for more than 30 years.
Glad something might be done about it now.

 

[Quandary]

That's why I wrote about it in the past tense.
It was still an eyesore for more than 30 years.
Glad something might be done about it now.

When I first visited Loch Fyne I found it intriguing, a new, never occupied, vacant village, but until the marina opened you could not get close enough to assess the dereliction. I used to sail right around the big buoyed circle in the middle of the Loch as well because it was a prohibited area on my paper chart. The excavated basin which is now the marina was never that tidy in those days either, probably more unsightly than the vacant village. I am not sure that some of the new housing around the marina looks any better.

 

[Kelpie]

The area South West of Glasgow has been turned into one large onshore wind farm, so why continue to spoil the rest of your country with these? Fish farms could be confined to areas that are not so special.

Don't you think the fish farm companies would prefer to operate from places with easier access to transport links and a bigger population from which to recruit staff?
They are based where they are for quite necessary technical and environmental reasons.

 

[JumbleDuck]

They are based where they are for quite necessary technical and environmental reasons.

They are based where they are mainly because people desperate for jobs are less likely to complain about their lochs being killed off by thousands of tonnes of sewage.

 

[moomba]

They are based where they are mainly because people desperate for jobs are less likely to complain about their lochs being killed off by thousands of tonnes of sewage.

Actually the scientific reason for where they are based, and is why Scottish, Norwegian , Chilean and Canadian Salmon are the major producers , is the flow of water in and out of the Lochs , inlets, Fjords , as the fish need deep circulating water that flows in and out bringing in clean water and oxygen and yes removing the waste of the fish , but fish poo in the sea its a fact , and eutrophication will not happen ,as this is why the good flow of water is needed to remove the nutrients.
All large scale manufacturing production causes a waste product , at least the waste is Natural , and sea lice are now being dealt with with more organic processes , which reduces the chemical intake to the water.
Do we have concerns when we use our diesel engine when the wind does not blow , or spilling our Oil when filling our 2 stroke , we need to be able to have balance and , not point fingers , when when we look at our own behavior , we are not so green after all.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Actually the scientific reason for where they are based, and is why Scottish, Norwegian , Chilean and Canadian Salmon are the major producers , is the flow of water in and out of the Lochs , inlets, Fjords , as the fish need deep circulating water that flows in and out bringing in clean water and oxygen and yes removing the waste of the fish , but fish poo in the sea its a fact , and eutrophication will not happen ,as this is why the good flow of water is needed to remove the nutrients.

That's the theory. In practice the number of areas with a powerful enough scour are very limited, even on the west coast, and as a result there are fish farms in places where they do enormous harm to the environment. You think they'd stand for that in Cornwall?

https://www2.gov.scot/uploads/documents/ae01environimpact.pdf

 

[moomba]

That's the theory. In practice the number of areas with a powerful enough scour are very limited, even on the west coast, and as a result there are fish farms in places where they do enormous harm to the environment. You think they'd stand for that in Cornwall?

https://www2.gov.scot/uploads/documents/ae01environimpact.pdf

Do not Disagree but the Impact of Fish farming has still to be studied in Great Depth , the Science is aware that below the cages there is a direct effect of Benthic creatures but on the scale of this it is pretty small in comparison to the whole sea bed around Scotland , but there are further Studies continuing and the data that has been collected so far warrants more investigation
Statistical analysis showed that EmBz had the biggest negative effect on the crustacean
abundance and richness. This effect was detectable below the current EQS, this adds to the
weight of evidence that the current EQS may not be protective of benthic ecology beyond the
100m from the cages.
These results indicate that the impacts of farms may extend beyond their immediate vicinity.
Further work is now required and is ongoing to understand the wider-scale cumulative
impacts.
https://www.sepa.org.uk/media/387055/fish_farm_survey_report.pdf

But I keep repeating this throughout threads about Scotland , there needs to be a balance for the economy and for Jobs and for people to live , there are a lot of retired people on these site and they have lived an gt their pensions and enjoying the fruits of their hard work but their are other generations growing up and they need Jobs and security .
I am a environmentalist and the Good lady does work for Sepia now and then, in fact her latest research is funded by them ,so we are aware of the impacts of industry , but no naive enough to know that Humans are part of this planet too and we must learn to co exist in harmony

 

[steve yates]

It doesn't have to be a theme park, but there is an element of truth in this.

Simply waxing lyrical about the west coast, can lead some first time visitors to be pretty disappointed if they end up in some of the wrong places. It's surely better to at least tell them that is an area which combines stunning beauty with a variety of downsides, including a number of social-economic challenges. Most of the 'drop dead gorgeous' stretches of coastline in the more popular English cruising grounds are usually backed by at least a 'quaint veneer of prosperity', but with the exception of the usual candidates (Tobermory, Plockton, Ullapool, etc), there are loads of places on the west coast where life is a struggle. These often do not prioritise 'the look of the place', and although it is perhaps better than it was, it's still true that there are still bays and anchorages blighted by waste from the fish farm industry, abandoned cars, derelict mobile homes, etc.

Considering the generally vast scales of underpopulation, this really isn't much of a problem. The west coast of scotland is stunning, the northwest even more so! Just think for a second of sailing through the solent on a good day and the extent of man and industrialisation visible to your naked eye, all day long. Even with some rusting tractors, piles of old creels and the odd fridge... there is nothing of the scale of eyesore you are looking at on a regular basis in the south.