Anchoring on the West Coast
 
"The best noise in all the world is the rattle of the anchor chain when one comes into harbour at last and lets it go over the bows." Hilaire Belloc, 'On Dropping Anchor’ in ‘On Sailing the Sea’, Rupert Hart-Davis, London, 1951.
 
People worry about anchoring (and so they should), particularly if they come from the marina-strewn south of England, and even sometimes from the Clyde. Don't think you can easily get away with just marinas and moorings in this area, you definitely cannot, and indeed should not if you want to make the best of it.
 
You need a good heavy anchor appropriate to your boat’s size, along with I reckon 50-60 metres of chain (not rope). I used a CQR with no problem for years, others swear by the Rocna, which I now have.  Lay out the chain to 3-4 times the depth at high water, and then motor slowly back on the anchor to ensure it is well dug-in and you have stopped moving (check transits), particularly important in places like Canna harbour which is notorious for kelp (but now there are moorings for the faint hearted). Don't worry too much if you seem to be quite close to the shore, or indeed a rock that emerges at low water. You do have to be closer in here than on the south and east coasts of England. Just make sure you have not got too much chain out so that if the wind or tide changes, you don't go aground.
 
I almost never use a tripping line for fear it will trip itself, or wrap itself round the prop, and so far so good. Very occasionally I have put out a second anchor but so often by the time I decided to do it was too late because it was blowing too hard. Easier to lay out even more chain if there is room to swing (and you have enough chain). Also I seldom if ever use a second anchor.