Wemyss Bay Station
You’ve
probably already read some of me blogs, but whether you have or not, I should
say by way of a brief introduction that this is an account of 26 or so days
cycling to all the reasonably accessible islands off the west coast of
Scotland. The aim was to set foot on 43,
and as you’ll find out later, we almost did it. One island eluded us,
and I’ll tell you why later.
Us
by the way means me, Bill Honeywell (more information at the top of this blog),
and Richard Dugdale, also from Clitheroe. Richard has his own blog which you
can get to by following the link on this page.
We were cycling to raise money and awareness for Cancer Research UK and
the Rosemere Cancer Foundation, so if at any time you feel the urge to make a
donation – and I hope you do – then again, just follow the links given on this
page.
I
tried to update the blog as the ride progressed but I didn’t manage to give you
much information as it all had to be done on an iPhone, and the photos were
also only those taken on the phone. Now I’m home I can post some better
pictures, taken on a Panasonic ‘bridge’ camera which was new for the ride and
worked very well.
So,
without further ado… the story so far.
On
Saturday 28 April we cycled from home to Preston station, caught the train up
to Glasgow and booked in at the Travelodge on Paisley Road. This is perhaps not the best location in the
city – there was a security guard on the car park and before we’d been there an
hour people were tweeting me to ‘be careful out there’!
The Bute Ferry
First
thing Sunday morning we returned to Glasgow Central Station and caught a train
to Wemyss (pronounced ‘Wimz’) Bay to get the Calmac ferry across to island no
1, The Isle of Bute, lying in the Firth of Clyde west of Glasgow. The weather was glorious and the station at
Wemyss Bay is a fine example of Victorian architecture. It was a bit breezy on the crossing and we
opted to stay inside the ferry and just look out of the windows! There was another group of cyclists who were on
a day trip to the island.
A Royal Navy destroyer anchored off the island
We
decided to do a roughly clockwise tour of Bute so turned left off the ferry in
Rothesay and… stopped at the first café on the edge of the town for the
obligatory coffee and cake. Then off along
green lanes with birds singing and the sun shining, until we reached the
ancient ruin of St Blane’s Church near the southern tip of the island. We left
the bikes, walked to what is left of the church, and found a group of
archaeologists doing a geophysical survey. No sign of Tony Robinson or the Time
Team, however. It’s a really pleasant,
tranquil site where you feel you could sit down and put your feet up for a few
hours.
St Blane's Church
But
of course we headed back for the bikes and set off again on our tour, past the
lovely Scalpsie Bay on the west coast and then past another roof-less church to
Ettrick Bay and another café stop. From
here, with the sun still shining, we headed back to the east coast and then
north along a long cul-de-sac by the Kyles of Bute to Rhubodach where another
ferry makes the short crossing to Colintrave on the Cowal peninsula. We saw Eider ducks in the sea here, and there
were also Gannets, Common Sandpipers, Oystercatchers and Swallows.
Ettrick Bay
View from the Kyles of Bute
A pair of Eider Ducks
Then
back to Rothesay where, at 5.50, we called at one of Zavaronis’ cafés, but were
told he was about to shut, so we got a coffee ‘to go’ and then did a tour of
the town. On our way back past the café at
6.30 he was still open… hmph!
Rothesay Castle
Our
night’s lodgingw were to be with Frank Ledwith via warmshowers.org, a site
which enables touring cyclists to provide accommodation on a reciprocal basis. Frank had been in Lancaster all day and didn’t
return till just after 7pm, but gave us a warm welcome and a warm meal too!
So
ended our first day – the first of many – with one island and just under 40
miles in the bag. Tomorrow we would add
another two – Great Cumbrae and Arran – and a fellow tweep, Tommy Gribbon, had
promised to join us on part of the cycle.
