time caused a surprising amount of surge inside the caves, making surveying incredibly difficult.
We surveyed two caves in Loch Eriboll, both beginning as large cracks in the cliff wall forming deep gullies which narrowed and ascended at around 100 metres in. Near the entrance the sunlight quickly faded. The water was beautifully clear and turning around to look back provided spectacular views to the entrance, with the steep walls rising up to the shimmering, iridescent bluegreen ripples on the surface.
LOCH LAXFORD Following this success we pressed on enthusiastically, still cautiously optimistic that we’ d get to elusive St. Kilda that week. Meanwhile, we steamed around Cape Wrath and started down the west coast of Scotland to the next contingency location, Loch Laxford.
Loch Laxford is more a series of rocky inlets, small islands and waterways than a distinctive sea loch. This remote section of Scotland’ s northwest coast has a fascinating, slightly otherworldly landscape. The sparse, seemingly inhospitable rocky peaks and outcrops give a distinct feeling of isolation, which is quite rare in the UK.
Weather reports grew worse and more than five-metre swells, created by winds far out in the Atlantic, dashed our remianing hopes of getting to St. Kilda by the end of the week, so we shifted the focus of the survey.
I felt a renewed vigour. We had made it at last
Rocky reefs are a designated habitat of the Loch Laxford SAC and, as such, are part of the Site Condition Monitoring programme. These incredibly diverse habitats provide shelter to corals, sponges, sea squirts, fish, crabs and lobsters. We dived along a transect line recording all marine life, estimating abundance, taking still and video images and collecting specimens. The transect started on the shore where another team conducted an intertidal survey.
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