01.06.23 - Home to Largs

We knew that this journey wasn't going to be straight forward as we had to go a day earlier than planned due to the rail strike on the 2nd August. Unfortunately our train to Peterborough was delayed due to being held up by a freight train so we missed our 9.48am connection at Peterborough. The station LNER guy tried to get us on the 10.18am but that had no bike spaces. He told us to go to the travel center as they would be able to check if there are any spaces on the 11.18am. There was a bit of a queue at the travel center but when I got through to one of the guys there I explained that we've been delayed and missed our connection and asked him if they were any bike spaces on the 11:18 and he said I'll have a look but oh no there's nothing on the 11.18am and I was getting to the point of thinking that if there's no space on the next train that we're going to end up staying in Peterborough. Anyway he managed to find space on the 12.18am and he said I yes there's actually four spaces. I said "brilliant , can we book them please?" He said no problem, all booked. As we had about an hour and a half to wait for that train we decided that we would try to get a cup of coffee or cup of tea. I spoke to an LNER guy at the station about leaving our bikes on the station platform but he said unfortunately we couldn't leave our bikes on the platform because there wasn't much room. He said there's a Waitrose just outside and it has a cafe. So we pushed the bikes out of the station and went over to Waitrose.

As it was a long time since we had had our toast at home we decided to have one of their breakfasts. As we were eating it we realised that we would be getting into Largs quite late. So we took the opportunity to buy something for our evening meal while we were in Waitrose. After being suitably refreshed we headed back to the station and waited on the platform for the 12.18am to come in. Fortunately we knew where the cycle carriage would be because the guy who had tried to get us on the previous one told us it was just by the ladies toilets. While we waited there the same LNER guy came through again and said you managed to get onto this one I said yeah hopefully. And at that moment the train pulled in and he said I'll just go in and check. He came back out and said there was space but you will need to take all your bags off. Which we did and got the bikes on. Well the bike storage is two bike cupboards which is the best way of describing them. You have to lift the bikes up and hook the front wheel over a hook, well unfortunately they're not big enough for our big touring bikes and we just managed to get one of them into one of the cupboards and fortunately the other one was free so we put the other one in there and just hoped that nobody else would get on with bikes.

When we got to Doncaster there was a guy with a gravel bike who got on and with a little bit of jiggery pokery we managed to get his bike into the cupboard upside down hanging from his rear wheel. He was a nice guy who was doing a charity ride he was going up to Durham to meet some friends and they're were going to do the charity ride from there. When we got to York there was another cyclist who got on with a mountain bike with bikepacking kit. He took one look at the cupboard and said that there was no way he was going to try and get his bike in there as it had wide handlebars and fat tyres. He said he didn't like hanging them off hooks anyway and decided to leave it in the corridor. He said that he was happy to stay with it and happy to argue it out if the train staff got arsey about it. He was going up to Scotland to do some bike packing routes or going up to do the Highland 500 he hadn’t decided. I took some photographs of the silly bike cupboards and posted them on the Cycle Touring Festival Facebook page. It was really interesting reading all the anecdotes from everybody else and how everybody else was saying how useless they were and how unfit for purpose they are. With comments like ‘how anybody can call that design because it's absolutely stupid there's no way you can get four bikes easily in there’. Some lady pointed out that she's only 155 cm height and even with all the panniers off she struggled to get her bike up and onto the hooks. It is absolutely ridiculous, they want you to be green and use your bicycles and we were trying to be good and not take the car up to Scotland and that is why we booked the train but they don't exactly make it easy for you. Unfortunately we are old enough to remember the old days when trains had large guards vans where you could wheel probably 20 or 30 bikes onto them. If they still had guard vans there wouldn’t have been a problem. It seems like things are going backwards these days. The guy had got off at Durham and when we got to Newcastle another guy got on with a road bike and I showed him that he could get his bike by hanging it from his rear wheel. When we got to Waverley station the train terminated there so we had plenty of time to get all the bags off and the bikes off as well. Then once we've got the bags and panniers all loaded back on the bikes we headed down the platform to catch a train to Glasgow Central where we'd pick up the train to Largs.

But as we had come in a different time I wasn’t exactly sure when our connections were so I went to the travel Center. The lassie there said we could catch the 4.30pm to Glasgow Queen Street. It was 4.20pm so I ran out to where Frank was and told her we had to get to platform 10. To get to platform 10 you had to go up a lift to get to a walkway over the train lines and then use another lift to get down to platform 10. Only one slight problem: the lift going down to platform 10 you just couldn't get a bike in. We decided that the only way to go down to platform 10 would be to go down the stairs but then we said if we've got down the stairs and then found that we had missed the train we would have to then lift the bikes all the way up so we decided that it would be better to wait for later to train and hope that it went from a different platform. When we looked on the list the next train to Largs was at 16.58pm, it was just listed but no platform shown so we asked one of the Scotrail guys and they said that it would probably be platform 14 and pointed us in the direction of platform 14 and told us to wait by the matrix signs. Fortunately this didn’t involve going over any walkways or using any lifts. We got over to where platform 14 was and waited. It did in fact turn out to be platform 14 and we got the train. Fortunately we got on without any problem as it was one of those trains where you can just walk the bikes on complete with your panniers and park them in the cycle bay. Why can’t all cycle trains be like that?

Well the train ride through to Glasgow Central wasn't too bad it didn't seem to take that long. I know we stopped at all the stations along the way but we got there just before six o'clock. We then looked for our train to Largs and the Matrix boards were saying that there was one going at 1845 but again it didn't tell you which platform. We talked to one of the Scotrail staff and she said that just go and wait over there by The Matrix board it'll come up which platform is a it will either be platform 9 10 11 or 12 something like that anyway after a 20 minutes wait there it eventually came up the board and we got down the platform and boarded the train. Again it was a nice easy walk on with the bikes complete with their panniers. It was a lovely evening and it was a nice train ride to Largs but obviously it was starting to get a little bit late and it looked like we were going to get to Largs at about eight o'clock. Looking at my map I realised that the train line would be passing close to where our campsite was and that we would be better off getting off at the station at Fairlie as it would be a shorter ride that getting off at Largs. This we duly did and we were at our campsite just after 8.15pm and we camped up for the night.

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02.06.2 - Largs to Ettrick Bay

After some breakfast and with the tent packed up we were ready to start our Scottish adventure. We cycled down to Largs part the way along on a cycle path until we got to the outskirts where we then followed the main road into the town. Largs is very much a seaside town still popular with Glaswegians, with several ice cream parlors and a wide esplanade. We soon found the ferry terminal and as the ferry had just left we had 15 minutes until the next one so there was just enough time for me to nip around the corner to the co-op to pick up something for our lunch. I was back just in time as they were just loading the ferry to Cumbrae. The ferry only takes about 10 minutes and we were soon at the landing slip on the island. Cumbrae is a beautiful little island with a lovely road that goes all around its coast. We decided to go clockwise around the island and we were soon seeing Eider ducks and Oystercatchers on the shoreline and good views across to the mainland. At a viewpoint we stopped and there was a guy who was repairing a tandem for a couple of ladies. Their chain had come off and the guys hands were all covered in black oil. We gave him some wet wipes to clean them for which he was very grateful. We stopped for lunch on a nice bench overlooking Millport Bay and chatted to a guy who was on holiday from South Africa. We continued on along the B896 to the west side of the island and past loads of people on hire bikes who were obviously cycling around the island like us. We stopped at a memorial for the lost service men of the island. At Fintry Bay we stopped for a drink, which was most welcome as it was getting quite warm. We were then soon back to the ferry slipway having circumnavigated the island. We had timed our arrival just right as there was a ferry just coming into the slipway.

Whilst on the ferry back to Largs we chatted to a nice couple on the ferry who were on e-bikes one of which was a fat bike. Largs is a seaside town but is quite a nice place with a wide promenade and we passed several ice cream parlors. Our only route to Wemyss Bay was by the main road, the A78. There was a fair amount of traffic on it and it was quite twisty. The cars were actually very courteous and appreciated us with two toots when we pulled off the road to let them pass. We got to Wemyss Bay just after four o'clock and bought our tickets for the ferry which was due to depart at 17.10. As we had a bit of time to wait for the ferry we decided to go into the station cafe and get a drink and wow Wemyss Bay station is absolutely beautiful. I've seen photographs of it when it was in its Victorian heyday but it is still absolutely beautiful now. It is such a brilliant example of stunning Victorian architecture. The only problem with the building is that it has a glass roof and as the cafe owner said it does rather act like a greenhouse and it was hot in there. Probably in normal Scottish weather it would be fine but with this current heat wave we've got here in Scotland it was hot, even our takeaway teas didn't seem to cool and we realized that it was probably cooler outside so we took the tea outside while we waited for the ferry.

The ferry was on time and it was a nice ride across to Rothesay with beautiful views of the islands and the mountains of Arran behind. On arrival at Rothesay we quickly found the Co-op. Frank popped in to get something for our evening meal whilst I waited outside with the bikes. I got chatting to a guy who was also touring and he said he was having difficulty carrying enough water with him in the very warm weather and he was wondering where to camp tonight. I explained that we hoped to go to the campsite in the town and he said he might try to go there as well. After leaving the Co-op we realised that it was going to be uphill to this campsite and the route suggested was up what they call the serpentine. We took one look at it and decided that's not gonna happen as it was just too steep a climb so we decided to go the long way around it. The first bit was okay but then we hit quite a steep hill and literally had to get off the bikes and push it was just too steep. After a lot of pushing it eventually leveled out and we got to the campsite. We went to the reception which said it was only open between two and four pm unfortunately it was just before 6.00pm. We had a look on the website for a telephone number and tried the telephone number and got an answer message which said that the best way to contact them was via email or book on the website. We tried to do that but found that you have to book at least two days in advance! There were no other campers around to ask and all the facilities were locked so we thought the only thing we had to do was to find somewhere to wild camp.

After looking at the map one of the best places looked like St Ninian's Bay so we decided that if we filled up with water from the tap on the campsite site we'd head off that way. Luckily it was good weather and it wasn't too late in the day. As it was the other side of the island guess what it was over the tops so there was a bit of a stiff hill to climb but once we had got over the other side it wasn't too bad. When we got down to St Ninians Bay it was what I thought might happen. The place where we thought might give us a wild camping spot there was several camper vans and nowhere really else to camp so we had to look at the map again. There was another bay a little bit further along so we decided to head there. There was a little car park before the cycle path with a couple of camper vans in it but fortunately the cycle path that went along the side of the bay had been blocked off so no vehicles could get through. It was getting sort of late by about eight o'clock, but we managed to actually find a bit of ground just to the left of the foot path that we could get the tent on. Unfortunately the wind was dropping and midges started to come out so we had to get the tent up in a hurry to get away from the midges. As soon as we had pitched the tent and locked up the bikes we dived into the tent to get away from the midges. We were just so shattered we decided that we wouldn't have a meal, just make some sandwiches and have a cup of tea. As soon as our heads had hit the pillow we were fast asleep.

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03.06.23 - Ettricks Bay to Glendaruel

I was awake at about 5 o'clock and decided that when it came to about 20 minutes past I needed the loo and thought probably if I was gonna do it now was the best time before all the dog walkers get up. It was a good thing I did because right enough a little later on some dog walkers did come past. Unfortunately the midges were about so we had some breakfast in the tent and then packed the tent up as much as we could. We did one of the quickest pack ups we must have done for a while as we were just getting eaten alive by the little so-and-so's and just as we were packing the tent up this woman came along with a dog and she wanted a conversation but realized that little midges were bad and that wasn't a good idea. Anyway it got us underway quite early as I think we were away just before 7.00am. We headed along the cycle path that took us through to what was a tea shop which apparently used to be the terminus of a tramway that used to come over there from Kames Bay. The tram lines are gone but the track bed is still there and it's now a walkway. We did think about cycling along it but the B875 was actually okay and there was very little traffic and it was a little better for the climb up over the top. Along the B875 we passed the Etterick Smithy with this amazing horse sculpture made out of horseshoes. When we got to the top there was a lovely old Ruined church at Cnoc an Rath (in Gaelic - Hill of Good Fortune) where we stopped and took a few photographs. Then it was a nice ride down to Kames Bay.

It was an absolutely beautiful day and there was hardly a ripple on the water. We then turned left and went up the main road and along the side of the water. It was a fairly level road although there were one or two hills to pull up but it didn't take us that long to get to the Colintraive ferry and we caught the 9:40am ferry which crosses the Kyles of Bute. When we got across the ferry I noticed a sign saying that there was a village shop and post office so we popped up to find it. It was a good move because we managed to get one or two things that we needed for lunch and for our evening meal. Right next door to the post office was a hotel and Frank needed a drink so we stopped there and had a cup of tea and some Aran milis (shortbread). We then headed down along the A866 there was very little traffic and there was a little bit of a hill initially to get up to the turning onto the B886. I'm quite glad we took this as it meant that we did not have to go over the big hill. It was quite a nice little road though it was a little bit up and down so it was like interval training. It was quite a narrow road and there were little bits of downhill which you wanted to try and speed down to get up the next bit but because the road surface wasn't very good and we had to be a bit wary as it had a lot of loose shingle and potholes. It was a nice little route which took us through trees alongside Loch Riddon. Part way along I noticed a picnic table just by the side of the loch and there was a guy with a strimmer. So I stopped and got chatting to him. He was called Gordon and I asked him if we could use his picnic table to have some lunch. He said well actually it doesn't belong to me as I am just cutting the grass for the owner but I am sure that the owner won't mind. So we sat there and made a drink and ate our sandwiches. It was a beautiful little spot with nice views up and down the Loch. As left we asked Gordon to thank the owner for the use of her picnic table.

We headed off along the B866 road and soon came to the junction of the main road the A886 where we turned left and headed towards Tighnabruaich. When we had been chatting to Gordon he told us about the fact that there's quite a big hill that takes you up and over to Tighnabruaich which was where we were heading. But as we chatted on the radios both of us were feeling quite tired and the heat of the day was getting to us. The weather for this time of year is quite unusual for Scotland as it was about 29 degrees. We saw a sign that there was another campsite only about four or five miles further on at Glendaruel. We decided that as we had got plenty of time as we still had two days in hand because we had originally planned to stay for three days on Bute. We stopped and rang the campsite to check that they had availability. I spoke to a lovely lady who said that they had plenty of room and that she was off site at the moment but the gate was open and explained where we could pitch. When we got to Clachan of Glendaruel we noticed a sign saying ‘Ancient monument the Stones of Glendaruel’. We decided to stop and have a look at them. We were glad that we did. They were at a lovely church and in a little Lapidarium at the bottom of the church yard separate to the church building. They were ten beautiful carved gravestones, some of which were very weathered but you could see that they must have been impressive when they were first carved. We then headed off to the campsite and when we got there it was a lovely site with excellent facilities. We got an opportunity to have a nice shower which was very welcome after having wild camped the night before. The campsite had a nice outdoor covered seating area where we were able to cook our evening meal on the picnic benches. It was a lovely evening but unfortunately as it got later in the evening the midges came out so we had to get ourselves into the tent and out of the way the little buggers.

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04.06.23 - Glencarduel

We needed a little bit of a rest today as Frank's shoulder was playing up so we decided to stay put at the campsite and have a look around the grounds of the old Glencarduel House. Apparently the Glencarduel House was built in 1903 to design by William Leiper and bought in 1905 by the London surgeon William Harrison Cripps (uncle of Stafford Cripps, the former Chancellor). Unfortunately it burnt down in March 1970 and was knocked down later that year. We had a nice walk up to the old Campbell mausoleum and then a walk up through what were obviously the old formal rhododendron gardens to a lovely little waterfall and then on to the old gates that had originally been the start of an avenue of trees that went to the big house. The gates are said to have been built to resemble the Residency Gate, at Lucknow to commemorate the Relief of the Siege of Lucknow which had been led by General Sir Colin Campbell.

05.06.23 - Glencarduel to West Tarbert

Suitably rested we packed the tent up and went over to the shelter and had some breakfast. We set off just after 10.30am and went through the back of the campsite past the gates that were the original entrance to the house which were modeled on the gates of Lucknow in India. It was a very pleasant ride down into the Clachan of Glendaruel where we went past the old boat again and then got back onto the main road. A few miles down the road we took the right turn that would take us along the A8003 which is part of the National Cycle Route 75 over the big hill climb below Beinn Bhreac to Tighnabruaich. Just as we made the turning five cyclists came past us. They were obviously credit card touring as they only had very light panniers.

The first part along the route was in the river valley so it was nice and flat but then the climbing started. Initially it wasn't too bad at first but then it started to get steeper. We were then down to first gear and it was a real slog in the heat. I stopped at one point to wait for Frank where there was a small downhill section but to be honest I wish I had just kept on going as once you have stopped it's not so easy to get going again. I managed to keep going and both of us managed to keep going for most of the climb but in the heat which was 29 degrees it was really hard work and at one point it kicked up fairly steep and I just ran out of legs and lungs I had to pull in to a small stopping place to get my breath back. The only problem with stopping is trying to get going on the steep Hill. So I had to push a small part until it was slightly less steep and then I managed to get back on and finish the climb. By the time we got to the viewpoint near the top we were both absolutely bushed. It was a combination of the steepness of the Hill and the heat. It took us a while to get our breath back as we took shelter behind some bushes to get out of the sun. It was a while before we both felt normal and we could go and have a look at the view which was absolutely stunning looking down Kintyre and onto Bute with Arran in the background. When we set off again we thought it was all going to be downhill but the viewpoint wasn't quite at the top so it was a little bit more to go but it wasn't too bad and eventually we were heading down to Tighnabruaich. Unfortunately the road surface wasn't that good so it wasn't easy to just let the bikes run as you had to watch out for the potholes. We got to the bottom of the hill and then we turned left into Tighnabruaich and came across the other cyclists that we'd met earlier and they were pleased to see that we'd made it.

There are several shops in Tighnabruaich and we found a nice little tea room where we had some very tasty Cajun chicken sandwiches and a lovely cup of tea. Unfortunately it was a little bit too comfortable and Frank was starting to stiffen up so we had to get going again. As we passed through Tighnabruaich we spotted their Shinty field, one of these days I will get a chance to watch a game of Shinty or Iomain as it is known in gaelic. There is one annoying thing when you drop down to sea level you know that you've got to climb out again and there certainly was a climb out of Tighnabruaich. When we got to the top of that climb there was a little bit of a downhill slope but we could see in the distance another big hill and it looked fairly steep. We were both hoping that it wasn't the hill we had to climb. But as we came to a junction at Millhouse we found out that unfortunately it was as the sign said that it was the road to Portavadie. Well this one was a bit of a killer after the big climb up over to Tighnabruaich. It was a single track road with passing places and there were several cars going up and down so it was a bit annoying trying to get through the single track bits before you got to a passing place if there was a car coming up or coming down the hill. It was seriously steep and at one point Frank had to push her bike as she had to stop for a car and just couldn't get going again. Eventually we got to the top and it was a good ride down the other side.

When we got to the road to the Tarbert ferry it was a concrete road and a little rough in places. When we got to the ferry terminal we didn't have too long to wait for the ferry to come in as they run every 30 minutes. It was a smooth crossing and we got into Tarbert at 5.30pm which was a bit later than we had hoped. We had intended to head over to Claonaig to catch the ferry to Arran. However when we looked at the distance and the big hill that we would have to gone over we realised that we wouldn't get there in time for the 19.00pm ferry. As there was no campsite near Tarbert our only option was to find a B&B. We managed to find a room in a place in West Tarbert which was only a couple of miles out of Tarbert and fortunately it was on our route. We tried to find somewhere to have a meal in Tarbert but everywhere was shut so we ended up buying some pasta salads to eat in the hotel.

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06.06.23 - West Tarbert to Lochranza on the Isle of Arran

We had a comfortable night at the hotel and it was good to have a nice cooked breakfast to start the day. We were away just after 9.30am and as it always seems to be the case it was uphill straight away which is always hard work as you don't have a chance to warm the legs up. It was a busy bit of road but fortunately it had a path on our side so we elected to use it rather than hold up the traffic. Whilst I was waiting at the top the cycling group who we had met yesterday came up. They had obviously stayed in Tarbert last night. One of them stopped and had a quick chat. They were going onto the island Arran like us. We soon got to our turn off which was the B8001 that would take us to Claonaig and the ferry to Arran. The first part wasn't too bad but we met a party of cyclists coming down. I said hello to them as they sped past. One of them said that we were in for a treat in a sarcastic tone. And boy did it start to kick up and we were soon down to bottom gear and it was a horrible hill climb on a single track road with passing places. To make matters worse some bloke in a range rover was coming down the hill at a narrow bit that I was struggling up and didn't stop at the passing place but just kept on coming squeezing pass me and he didn't like it when I shouted at him that he was an idiot as he was supposed to have pulled into the passing place. The driver of the range rover had a go at Frank who was coming up behind me saying that I didn't know the rules of the road and that I should have pulled in for him and complained that I had called him an idiot. Frank gave him short shift telling him that he was an idiot as he was coming down the hill and he should have pulled in! What is it about some drivers!

Fortunately we didn't have any more idiots to cope with and we eventually got to the top and it thankfully leveled out. As we headed along the B8001 there were good views across to Arran and to our right of the Freasdail wind farm. When we got down to Claonaig ferry terminal we met up with the group of five cyclists and had a chat. They had one night on Arran and were then catching the ferry from Brodick to Ardrossan. We bought our tickets on the ferry which took a little time as the ferry guy apologised to us as CalMac had introduced a new ticket system and I think that they were having a few issues with it. The ferry didn’t take too long and we were soon landing at Lochranza. The party of 5 cyclists turned right as they were going to the cafe and we turned left but they soon sped past us as apparently the cafe was closed. Lochranza has a big castle that dominates the shore of the loch and is situated on a peninsula extending into beautiful Loch Ranza. We stopped to have a look at it. Unfortunately it is mainly a ruin and uninhabited but it is in the care of Historic Scotland who are doing some repairs. The castle dates from the 13th century when it was owned by the MacSweens. It is believed to have been used by Robert the Bruce in 1306 when he returned from Ireland to claim the Scottish throne.

As we left the castle and headed around the loch to the campsite we passed the village hall with a sign that said ‘ Zero Waste cafe here today’. As we hadn’t had any lunch we decided to stop at the cafe where we had some great soup with crusty bread. The cafe was run by Arran Eco savvy which is an organisation that aims to deliver environmental projects to benefit the Arran community. They work to increase sustainability, working towards zero waste for Arran. It was a short ride to the campsite where we were soon booked in and directed to pitch in a certain area away from the camper vans. Soon after we had just got the tent up and I was brewing up on the picnic bench in the area a Dutch couple who were touring turned up and we got chatting. They were doing a tour from a Dutch guide. They had come from Glasgow and were heading up to Oban and then on to Inverness. The Dutch obviously like their coffee as they had their own little handheld coffee machine! Later on after they had come back from having a shower there was a shriek from the Dutch lassie, as some crows had taken all their bacon whilst they were away. They must have left it outside the tent. They were going to be left with just beans for tea. We had bought some sausages in a packet and there were more than enough for 4 so we gave them some of ours for which they were most grateful.

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07.06.23 - Lochranza

After all the hills of the last few days we decided that we needed a bit of a quieter day so decided to leave the tent where it was and go without all the panniers as we knew that the next days ride would involve a few hills, so you could call it a bit of a rest day. We headed back into Lochranza and stopped at the cafe that we had heard so much about from the cyclists that we had met yesterday. It is not so much a cafe as there is nowhere inside that you can sit but a place that sells hot drinks and sandwiches with a few tables and chairs outside. But boy do they sell rather brilliant sandwiches made with homemade crusty bread and a wonderful selection of fillings. We got ours and our drinks and went and found a bench overlooking the loch as all the tables and chairs were full as it is so popular. After that we had a leisurely cycle round to Catacol Bay and got some good views of some of Arran’s mountains. We continued around the bay and along the coastal road until we had had enough and then returned the way we had come back to the campsite. Unfortunately there isn’t a shop in Lochranza, there used to be one but I think the pandemic put paid to it. There also aren’t many places that you can get a meal as the one restaurant is currently closed and up for sale. Fortunately the campsite has a small shop with a few items that you can make reasonable meals from. The campsite site is very nice and the facilities are good but it is a shame about the midges if you camp near to the stream. Our advice is if you camp there ask if you can camp away from the stream area.

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08.06.23 - Lochranza to Lamlash

We were away reasonably early from the campsite and passed the Arran Distillery as we headed out along the A841. It didn't take long before we were starting to climb up Glen Chalmadale. It was hard work getting up the hill and we managed to get to the top without too many stops. Fortunately it was a little overcast so it wasn't too hot. It was a good ride down the other side and we passed several cyclists coming up on electric bikes and you kind of wonder if they have the right idea lol. We were soon back down to sea level at the little village of Sannox and continued along the east coast of Arran, after the last hill it was thankfully easy level riding. We passed through the village of Corrie with its wee harbour and there was seal sculpture in the waters edge which caused me a double take as originally I thought it was real. After a quick stop near the Corrie Hotel to admire the view we stopped a little further on at the Mara Fish Bar & Deli in Corrie for some lunch and it was very pleasant sitting outside eating fish tacos. The A841 after that was easy riding and we stopped at the Old Brodick Quay as there was a good view looking across to Brodick. We took the little cycle path that cut the corner near Strabane. We were soon in Brodick town which is the main town on Arran.

They were celebrating LGBT week as the town was decorated in rainbow and LGBT flags. We had thought about stopping at the campsite at Brodick but we understood that it had limited facilities and that there was a better one at Lamlash but it did involve going over another hill. As we passed the Co-op we decided to stop and get some things for our evening meal as we weren't sure as to what there was in Lamlash. The climb out of Brodick was a bit of a grind but it wasn't too bad up the A841 to the top of the Clauchland Hills. As I was climbing up the hill I was passed by the Egglesciffe school minibus. I gave it a wave as it was a school that I had taught at for a while. I remember they used to do a six form Geography field study week on Arran every year. They obviously still do it, I doubt that there was anyone on it that remembered me as it was 35 years since I was there. The ride down to Lamlash was a welcome relief after the hill and we got our first view of Holy island which sits in the beautiful Lamlash Bay. Lamlash is a nice little place and the campsite was on the far side of the bay.

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09.06.23 - Lamlash

Unfortunately I hurt my back yesterday while lifting my laden bike. I did something similar a few years back in Norway. Fortunately we have a few days in hand as we had planned to stay for 3 days on Arran. When I hurt my back on Røst in Norway the Swedish doctor told me not to sit or lie around but to walk as far as I could. So after a restless night I couldn't get comfortable and it hurt every time I turned over. We went for a slow walk into Lamlash from the campsite. It was a lovely place and the weather was lovely if a little too hot. I managed to walk most of the way to the café where we had some lunch. After some lunch we walked on a little further as far as the old church where we turned around. There were several seals out basking on the rocks and a few Oystercatchers resting on one leg in the shallows. The Swedish doctor was right, walking made it easier and sitting made it worse. We stopped at the Co-op on the way back and bought some salad for our evening meal. One of the things we were wanting to do was to visit Holy island which you can do by catching a ferry from Lamlash. You have to book Online and the only time we could get was the 3.00pm ferry on Monday. I was hoping that my back would be better by then. Well I had two days and it took about the same time in Norway.

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10.06.23 - Lamlash

We went for another walk down into Lamlash and along the foreshore of Lamlash bay. There was a lovely little Ringed Plover who was searching the foreshore for food and I managed to get quite close to it at one point and got some nice photos as it scurried amongst the pebbles and sand on the beach. Luckily the weather was good but if anything too hot. 

When we packed for this tour we had left the sun hats at home as we had never needed them in Scotland before. We decided that in this heat we had better try and buy some. We tried all the shops in Lamlash but to no avail. The only ones we did find were kids sized. We thought we were out of luck but then Frank spotted a chandler and suggested trying there. I was expecting that they might have sou'wester or yachting caps and was pleasantly surprised to find that they had some navy blue sun hats and they were in our sizes. 

One thing that was concerning us was whether I would be OK to ride my bike. Our main concern was the ride over to Kennacraig as it would involve the climb up over to Broderik then the climb over to Lochranza and then the climb over from Claonaig to Kennacraig. We decided to see if we could get a taxi to take us over to Kennacraig on Tuesday. When we got back to the campsite I spoke to Sandy, a very helpful guy from Arran Taxis. He unfortunately didn't have a cycle carrier but he had someone with an estate car but he would need to see how big our bikes were. I told him we were on the Middletons campsite at Lamlash. He said that he was not far away and that he would pop over and have a look. Ten minutes later he arrived and as soon as he saw our bikes he said that they both wouldn't fit in his friend's estate car. He said he could probably get mine in but could your wife ride hers. I said that she was currently having a shower but I am sure that she could but it would help if your guy could take her panniers. Hold on he said, I will give Neil a ring. Fortunately he answered and Neil said it wouldn't be a problem as he had a trailer that the bikes could go in. So it was all fixed, Neil would pick us up at 8.30am on Tuesday morning.

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11.06.23 - Lamlash

We went for another walk into Lamlash to try and ease my back. It seemed to be slightly better and I hoped that we would be OK for the trip across to Holy Island tomorrow. Whilst we were having some lunch sitting outside at the cafe there was a lot of activity with people running around and cars arriving quickly. It was the lifeboat crew on a shout. We were just finishing our lunch but left it to go and watch the lifeboat being launched. Unlike some lifeboats which are launched from a slipway on rails. The Lamlash lifeboat is on a trailer which is driven into the water by a large wheeled tractor. This is probably due to the shallow nature of the bay and the tide. After going back and finishing our lunch we walked further up the shoreline before turning around and heading back to the campsite.

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12.06.23 - Holy Island

Our ferry to Holy island was at 3.00pm. So we had a leisurely morning on the campsite and then went into Lamlash and had our lunch first at the cafe. The jetty where the ferry left from was right next to the cafe which was quite convenient and we waited there for the ferry. A young lass in an inflatable life vest turned up and said that she was the skipper of the ferry and that she was just waiting for the tide to give them more water to get the ferry in. When she had managed to row out to get the ferry which was moored in deeper water she came back to the jetty with the little ferry boat. It was a short ride across the bay to the little jetty on Holy island. The skipper told us to go and wait at the prayer flags where she gave us a little talk about the island which is a Hindu retreat, hence the Tibetan Stupas. She told us about the routes that we could take and where we could go and couldn't go as some parts of it were private. There were two routes, one was to climb up and over the hill to the far end of the island or to take the path along the coast to the far end of the island and back. I would have loved to have gone on the high route but with my back as it was we decided that the coastal path was a safer option.

The island is rather lovely there are Eriskay ponies, some with foals and several herds of Soay sheep which obviously cope well with the harsh conditions and rough pasture as the island is very rocky and covered in trees and bracken. The coastal path takes you past various rock paintings of Hindu gods and a small cave that was reportedly used by Saint Molaise. The path is an easy grassy and rocky path and it is only when you get to the south end of the island does it climb up a bit passed some retreat pods and then over to the east side of the island where there is the Pillar Rock lighthouse which was designed by David and Charles Stevenson and was the first square built lighthouse and built in 1905. Our route back was the reverse of our route out and it always seems to take less time to get than on the way out. We were back to the area near to the jetty in good time for the ferry back and we had a 30 minute wait so we sat in a little lounge area under one of the buildings. We were very fortunate with the weather as it was a lovely afternoon and after the last few days not too warm. The ferry journey was rather nice as it was a lovely evening with very little wind so the water was like a mill pond. On the way back along the coastal path we had noticed that one of the Soay sheep had a rather large bulge on the right side of its abdomen. I had taken a picture and so when we got back to the slipway at Lamlash I spoke to the ferry owner about it . He said that if I could send him the photo he would pass it on to the guy that looks after the sheep on the island and he will get a vet out to it.

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13.06.23 - Lamlash to Islay

The taxi driver arrived a little earlier than we had expected but fortunately we were ready and he soon had the bikes loaded on his trailer. I had a short ride around the campsite the night before and my back seemed OK but I am glad that we did arrange to taxi as I sure it wasn't up to climbing all those hills. Unfortunately due to the only time Sanday could arrange us a taxi due to having the school run our taxi didn't get to the ferry terminal at Kennacraig until 11.35am. The next ferry to Port Ellen on Islay wasn't until 6.00pm so we had a bit of a wait at the ferry terminal. Due to the fact that we found out that the campsite close to Port Ellen was temporarily closed and as our ferry didn't get into Port Ellen until 20.20 we either had to try and find a wild camp site. As we weren't sure how my back would be, we decided that the best thing was to find a B&B or a hotel. I tried all the ones in Port Ellen but none had any vacancies, the place was the Machies hotel and golf course a couple of miles out of Port Ellen. It wasn't exactly cheap but hey ho any port in a storm. Soon after we had booked it I had the hotel manager on the phone asking if we wanted to dine in their restaurant. Well we had intended to eat on the Fortunately I had managed to get some of the nice sandwiches from the sandwich shop near the ferry terminal at Lochranza while we were waiting for the ferry to Claonaig and we had the stove so we could make a brew. It was a good thing that we did as there were no facilities available at the ferry terminal except for toilets. While we waited a group of cyclists arrived and we got chatting to them and they were going to Askaig and I was rather taken by one of the lads cycling tops which was a Marmite one with ‘Hate Jams’ written on the back. The Islay ferry was fortunately on time and we were loaded onto the ferry first before the cars.

It was a lovely evening and we sat outside on the ferry scanning the water hoping that we might see some cetaceans. The water was very calm so they would have been easy to spot but unfortunately there was nothing to see, not even a dolphin or a porpoise . On our journey down to Port Ellen we passed quite close to the Isle of Gigha, sadly due to me hurting my back we had to miss out, oh well there's always another day. We arrived in Port Ellen just after 8.30pm and were so off loaded. Our hotel was a couple of miles away. I wasn't sure how my back would cope with riding the bike. I had a go on the bike around the campsite but that was without the panniers. I was actually fine when I started to ride through Port Ellen and it didn't take too long to get to the Machies hotel as apart from one short rise it was fairly flat. As we were booking in at reception I asked the guy if there was anywhere we could put our bikes. “Oh you have come on bikes” he replied. He was a bit taken aback. I was expecting that he might suggest an outhouse or store but he suggested that we could put them in a small lounge which he showed me. Well it was very plush and our bikes weren't that clean so I said don't worry I will lock them up outside. I knew it wasn't going to rain and they would probably be more safe out here on the island than our garage at home lol. They were very keen to get us in the restaurant as it was close to 9.00pm so we had only time to sling the panniers in our room and lock the bikes to a drain pipe outside. The restaurant was very posh and full of rich Americans who were obviously doing the whiskey tours on Islay. We elected to take a table on the outside balcony as we were still a bit hot and sweaty after our ride up from Port Ellen. So there we were in this posh restaurant with all these posh people in their posh clothes with us still in our sweaty cycling gear. We thought it was hilarious. It was a lovely evening, the food was good if not a little overpriced but we were treated to a wonderful sunset over the machair.

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14.06.23 - Muran a’ Mhachaire to Port Mhor

Well for a five star hotel which cost us £315 for the night it wasn't any better than some B&B's that we have stayed in for a third of the price. The bedroom was fairly big and the bed was comfortable but the en-suite bathroom had an uneven floor with cracked tiles. It was a wet room type of affair and had a drainage problem as after we had had our showers you were ankle deep in water. To give you an idea of how ridiculous this hotel was, when I went to pay the bill at the reception. The receptionist said “One moment Sir I just need to see this helicopter off.” And sure enough there was indeed a helicopter sitting on the front lawn outside. Honestly no wonder this planet is in a mess with global warming. I must admit we felt slightly better leaving on our bikes. It was nice easy flat cycling with a slight tail wind which was a nice way to get back into the cycling. It didn't take long for us to get to the outskirts of Bowmore with its striking 18th-century church, known as ‘The Round Church’, that was apparently built by Daniel Campbell of Shawfield and Islay in 1767 at a cost of £1000. From the church you drop down the Main street towards the Loch. We stopped at the junction of School street and Frank popped into the Coop for a few supplies. We then went down to have a look at the famous Bowmore distillery before continuing along the A846 out of the town. It was a beautiful day with blue skies and not a cloud in the sky. A little way out of Bowmore we came across at the Ionad Gàidhlig, The Gaelic Centre where we stopped for a coffee and cake. As I have been learning Gaelic since lockdown I was itching to practice it. I greeted the lady at the cafe with “Cimar a tha sibh”. She then went “oh, oh what is it? tha, tha” I helped her out by saying “ gu math“. It was quite funny. I ended up teaching her a few Gaelic phrases. It was such a shame as no one seemed to be speaking Gaelic in the Gaelic center. Anyway it was a nice break and the cakes were good.

We were soon underway again and we could see our destination of Port Charlotte across the other side of Loch Indaal. It was lovely easy riding and we were soon at the head of the loch at Bridgend where we turned off the A846 and joined the A847. We stopped at the wide sandy expanse of Traigh Cill an Rubha to admire the view before carrying on along the A847 and spotted a lovely big patch of vibrant purple wild Thyme in full flower on the side of the road near Traigh na Carrige Duibhe. There was a slight rise before Blackrock but it was all generally flat riding along the shore of the loch. We were soon coming to Bruichladdich where there is a small jetty which is apparently used by an oil tanker that offloads its cargo via a pipeline to the Bruichladdich Distillery. The Bruichladdich Distillery is one of 9 distilleries on Islay, usually there have their names in large letters on the side of the main buildings but Bruichladdich has their name spelled out on the ends of a series of Barrels that are in front of their main building. From Bruichladdich to Port Charlotte there is a lovely cyclepath, which is rather nice. It is nice and wide and totally separate and away from the road. There is only one slight problem and that is about a couple of hundred yards before Port Charlotte the cycle path switches to the other side of the road so you have to cross the road. Then when you get to Port Charlotte the cycle path runs out. There is no sign to say that it ends and that you have to leave the path and join the road and there is no drop down on the curb. You can’t easily carry on along the path as it narrows and there are a set of steps on the path! Such a shame after all the trouble that they have gone into making the cycle path. Port Charlotte is a lovely little place with its traditional white painted houses. It has a hotel and a village shop where we stopped to get something for our evening meal and breakfast. The guy that runs the shop with his mother is a keen cyclist and he was interested in our Koga Worldtraveller touring bikes and we had a long conversation about them and cycling in general standing outside his shop. The campsite is just a short distance out from the main village and the main building doubles up as the community center. They have a children's play area and a full sized football pitch as well as a large area for camping. The Port Center has a restaurant which serves some good meals. We found a good pitch overlooking the Loch looking across to Bowmore on the other side.

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15.06.23 - Port Mhor

After my back problems which now seemed to have cleared up, it was Frank’s turn she was having a few problems with her shoulder. Oh the joys of getting older! So we had a bit of a leisurely day and walked down into Port Charlotte to get some milk and something for our evening meal and then went and had a little walk along the loch shoreline. There is a little path that runs down from the campsite to a little sandy and rocky bay.

The Scottish Southern Islands Tour 2023 Part 2 - Islay to Oban.