Loch Fyne, near Tarbert
The
wind didn’t seem as bad as forecast and after leaving Suse and John for the
last time we made good progress past Tarbert and on to the shores of Loch Fyne.
We passed a bus shelter where I remembered sheltering from a cloudburst last
year, and a road-kill deer in the verge.
Another view of Loch Fyne
In no time at all we had arrived at Ardrishaig – but we still stopped
for coffee and scone!
Ardrishaig
This
is where you would come if you were travelling from Glasgow to Fort William or
Inverness before the railways – steamer to Ardrishaig, then through the Crinan
Canal, steamer to Oban and Fort William, and last the Caledonian Canal to Inverness.
Who needs roads? There is still a bit of
activity as the enormous pile of logs testified.
The Crinan Canal
The
scenery as the road follows the Crinan Canal is drop-dead gorgeous, although
the road sign soon afterwards is a bit confusing…
I
thought it was cold and as we were greeted by a light snow shower soon
afterwards, I reckoned I was right! Once
we rejoined the main Lochgilphead to Oban road the hills started – one after
another, through Kilmartin and other villages – funny how I didn’t remember the
hills much from last year – perhaps it was the lighter bike I was using then
which made them easier.
Despite
the fact that we were on a main road there were very few watering holes, but we
managed to find one with a great view towards the southern end of the islands
we were soon to visit. It was a bit worrying to see the time going by,
realising that we had barely covered half the day’s planned distance.
Left-Luggage Office near Seil Island
Nearer
to Oban we turned left towards Seil Island, and almost straight away I saw a
steep hill sign. It occurred to me that we could travel a bit faster if we could
get rid of the heavy panniers and collect them on the way back, so spotting an
empty phone box we put them in there. It was only an hour or so afterwards that
the thought occurred that the police might not take too kindly to such
activities. Still, I reckoned the chance of getting the bags blown up was
pretty remote, as we were, well, pretty remote I suppose!
Bridge over the Atlantic, Seil Island
So,
more hills and then the steepest hump-back bridge you ever did see, otherwise
known as the ‘Bridge Over The Atlantic’ – and we were on Seil Island, passing a
pub called the ‘Tigh na Truish’ or ‘House of the Trousers’, so called because after
the Jacobite Rebellion local soldiers were required to remove their kilts when
they left the island and put on trousers.
I don’t know what they would have made of Lycra back then.
'The Tin Church'
Seil
Island has lots of bungalows with pretty front gardens – I guess it’s a popular
place to retire to. We reached a
junction where it was right to Easdale and straight on to Cuan Ferry for the
island of Luing, so we tossed a coin and turned right. Up another hill with a
former church at the top now converted to a B&B – and made completely out
of corrugated iron (hence the name ‘The Tin Church’ I guess), then down to the
village of Ellanabeich for the wee ferry.
"Where do I sit?"
A
car arrived at the same time, carrying masses of musical instruments and sound equipment
– the band ‘String Driven’ were playing at the Easdale village hall tonight.
So
we acted as impromptu roadies, helping to get all the stuff on to the tiny
boat, then thought we’d better jump on or there wouldn’t be room for us! The journey across the narrow sound takes
about 30 seconds – you could almost skim a stone across…
Definitely rock stars...
…which
is a coincidence because the World Stone Skimming Championships take place on
Easdale Island every year. The island is
basically one big worked-out slate quarry, and one of the old workings, now
filled with water, hosts the competition.
The rest of the island is rather odd, with lots of sheds filled with
rabbits and budgerigars. All quite strange, and also capable of being visited
in about ten minutes, so when the ferry came back with the rest of the rock
stars, we returned to Seil Island, retraced out steps to the junction, and this
time turned right for Luing.
Typical Easdale scene
Cuan
Ferry needs a traffic warden. Cars were
parked all over the place, presumably abandoned by people going across to Luing
for the day. It was a nice day for it by now, sunny and warm. The small car ferry comes in at one angle to
let the cars off, then backs away and docks again at a different angle for the
new cars to get on.
We
only rode half a mile, if that, from the slipway, and, having had a very brief
look at the place and being conscious of the time, we returned again.
On
our second pass we decided to call in at Tigh na Truish for a coffee, before
heading over the Atlantic Bridge and then collecting our belongings (safe,
sound and definitely not exploded) from the telephone box. Dr Who would have
been proud of us. A few miles more to
Oban, then a stop at Lidl for some provisions and a bottle of wine before a
further 5 miles to our final destination – North Connell.
Not far from the bottom of Dave & June's garden - the shore of Loch Etive
We
were stopping chez Dave and June Bleazard but they were away on a
kayaking weekend at Tayvallich. However, we’d arranged a key and there were a
few notes telling us where everything was, and after a quick shower we found
the local pub and managed to get an evening meal.
Today
had been the longest day so far, with three islands, 84 miles and nearly 2,000
metres of climbing. Coll tomorrow, with
a 9.00 am boat from Oban meaning an early start as we had the five miles to
cycle back again, but it would be a much less demanding day, that’s for sure.
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