It was a beautiful sunny day and we had decided to bivvy out on the island that evening despite protests from Bart the Counsellor who was very keen for a Saturday night out in the bright lights of mainland Portstewart. Our first waypoint was Bull Point and the West Light, known as the Bull. We ferry glided across the sound on the flood tide and crept up on the Bull on the eddy in Church Bay. Bull Point is as spectacular a headland as you will find anywhere in Ireland. As well as the strong tides and frequent heavy swells there are great colonies of seabirds nesting on the cliffs and stacks.
Puffin have a stronghold here and can be seen in great numbers.
Just South and East of the point in Church Bay there is a limestone cave which would make a great camp. This is close to a Neolithic axe factory, Rathlin was once a source of porcellanite, used by stone-age man to make axes. The axes from Brockley on Rathlin have been found all over Britain. A heavy swell was running and the occasional wave broke over shallow water but the consensus was that we should continue. The sea around Rathlin is unpredictable, despite which, as we predicted, we drifted under the East Light in smooth conditions.