Blogs from Argyll, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe - page 16

Ouch! Today was hard work. A strong north westerly wind right in our faces made cycling very difficult, especially as we had 4 or 5 big climbs to traverse. We left Ben and Silvy's at 8.15 am and arrived in Tarbert (which is just north of Arran) at about 8.30pm. Part of the reason the day was so long was because we had two ferry journeys - one onto Arran and one off. The scenery around here is spectacular, as it was around Dumfries. So a mixed day of fantastic views and hard cycling. Also, we are definitely feeling the wear and tear of 7 days in the saddle. We are getting sore and achey and each day it takes us a little longer to warm up and get going. Our packs feel heavy and we ... read more

Today we travelled to Oban via Fort William. Seemed to be a very nice place, walked through High St (there’s one in every bloody city!!) got a few souvenirs and naturally, the Orkney Ice cream which is downright beautiful!! On leaving Fort William, we headed across the west coast to Eileen Donan Castle. The scenery was fantastic, you could see how brilliant the glaciers had made the mountains, with many little streams running down the mountainside. Luckily Nic was able to get a few pics on the way, despite the rain that found us when we hit the highlands. When we got to Eileen Donan Castle, there were a fair few visitors, despite the rain. We also found out this was where parts of Highlander was filmed. After the photo session, we headed to the café ... read more

Weather Report Predictably sunny to begin with although cloud had reached Craignure by mid-morning. Warm and sunny as travelled from Oban. Efficient decamp - must be getting good at this. Walked down to MacGregors and waited for the 11am ferry. The journey will take two days because although the first bust and indeed first train from Oban reach Glasgow in time there is not a ferry from Mull that arrives in Oban in time for either. Integrated transport system, eh ? Pleasant 45 minute ferry journey to Oban. Simple collection of coach ticket from TIC by which time I was feeling distinctly overdressed as it was warm and sunny. Coach arrived in time and set off through western Scotland. I cat-napped through some attractive countryside. Arrived at campsite about 3pm, erected tent and went for walk ... read more

Weather Report Windy showers - and that was the best of it. Incredibly strong gusts at times with some tents suffering damage. Not mine - so far ! Could make little sense of various weather forecasts but decided that the uncertainty of that plus sitting in the tent spending money suggest a need to bring the expedition to an end. Have booked flight Glasgow to Stansted for Tuesday afternoon. In the late morning I walked through the nearby forest to Torsay castle and then returned along the foreshore. Would have been some good photo opportunities if the sun had been shining. Rest of day spent reading paper - again ! Some suggestion weather may improve tomorrow - hope so. ... read more

Weather Report First half of the day mix of cloud and sunny periods. Generally adequate for the purpose ! From mid-afternoon incredibly heavy showers increasing in frequency. That seems to be the forecast for the coming week - not good. Set off with bike hired from campsite at about 8.15am. Drove sedately north along the road that follows the east coast of Mull. Nothing of exceptional interest to see. The landscape on the landward side of the road is largely bracken moorland leading up to high hills while the shoreline is a mix of lock rocky promontories separating rocky bays. As usual many photo stops and when I reached Salen about halfway along the 21 mile journey I detoured half a mile to its rather run down pier. I had a brief snack / rest and ... read more