Sea Kayak Shetland
Return to Trip Locations
Papa Stour
The jewel in the crown, but only for the more experienced paddlers in good conditions.
| We set off from Melby, where there is a beach and a
small pier, not to mention a car park and public toilets! Our departure
will be timed to take advantage of slack water in the Sound of Papa.
First landfall might be at Clingri Geo on the southern tip of Papa
where there is a passage to a collapsed cave, with fascinating shapes
in the rock. There are more caves at Mo Geo, then we cross the entrance
to Hamnavoe and pass inside the Swarta Skerry, soon coming to the
Galti Stacks, a playground of caves, arches and passages.
There are few landing sites on the west coast, but we will call in at North Lungi Geo, where we can take a break on a shelving pebble beach. Next is Christie's Hole, a labyrinth of caves leading to a central collapsed chamber, where daylight and water stream in from above - a wonderful place. After Aesha Head we come to the huge skerries of Lyra and Fogla. Lyra Skerry has a broad tunnel running north-south through it, intersecting with a narrower east-west tunnel, but Fogla Skerry is another labyrinth. Now we are at Boardie, the towering headland that marks the north west corner of the island and we can see the lighthouse of the Ve Skerries on the horizon, five miles to the northwest. Boardie is split by a tunnel 300 metres long and passable only by kayak (or very adventurous rowing boat). The north and east coasts of the island, though not as dramatic, have much of interest, including parallel passages through Lamba Ness and a fine sequence of stacks and passages around Breis Holm, near the entrance to Housa Voe. |
Breis Holm
South of Lyra Skerry, Foula in the distance
Looking north across St. Magnus Bay from the entrance to Housa Voe
Inside Christie's Hole |
Title Goes
Here