Tour d'Ecosse Day 14 Loch Melfort to Tarbert, Loch Fyne Friday 15th July 2016

Tour d'Ecosse Day 14 Loch Melfort to Loch Fyne and Tarbert 58km 811m ascent
Cumulative: 1 110 km 14 387m ascent Ferries 12 Islands 15 Bridge 1

Elevenses in a layby. It's pi**ing it down!

It rained, it poured. It slugged it down. You know there are over a 100 words for snow in Icelandic, there must be that many acronyms for rain in Scottish English/Gaelic Ohhh look, isn't google wonderful, take your pick from this blog. Scots: More words for rain than Eskimos have for snow

But slugging it down isn't in there. It was slugging it down this morning. Going out in it was hard. Not far to go but a lot of climbing in the distance. A "get on with it and get it over with" day. Which was terribly disappointing as tomorrow is our last day.

The breakfast at Melfort House was delicious, we lingered, chatted to the other guests that hadn't eaten in last night. Generally prevaricated and put off going out in the stair rods of rain lashing down cats and dogs. Nothing dreich about it at all!

I presume it's just foxgloves we can see

We are heading back to Tarbert, where we weren't supposed to go on our first night but needed food after Arran.

We plod up the big hill and are very relieved to find Kilmartin Museum and Café after the summit. It was a fabulous café, being warm and dry may have warped our opinion. However, it was clean, warm, dry with welcoming staff not a bit perturbed by the puddles forming around us, with excellent coffee and cake to boot. Other visitors in dry cars agree with us too so it wasn't a warped view!

Eventually we have to go back out, the rain hasn't eased off.

More weather

Unfortunately, the next bit of the day was almost the worst of the holiday. After the final climb, we were descending in torrential rain on the A816 towards Tarbert, Steve was behind me. I was being very careful and holding my line as it was a narrow A road and bendy. A lorry drew up behind, very close and started hooting and flashing me. I did not look back, I was on a bend and there was nowhere to go. As soon as a layby appeared I indicated, pulled over and carefully stopped.

..and I gave the lorry driver the one finger salute with plenty of gesticulation. I was quite shaken but I think he got my anger. Steve drew up alongside me, the lorry had passed him on a wider part so it was only a minute or so he was behind me being held up. Other than that incident we barely had another incident, except for incongruously highly polished white sports saloons of the Audi and Subaru variety on sections of the North Coast 500 route who all seemed to be inclined to be driving too fast/showing off. Local traffic was exemplary, battered farm pick ups, tractors, land rovers who must be sick to death of being held up always patient and smiling.

Tarbert - The Loch Fyne one

We roll down into Tarbert for our second visit. What a relief, a bit of a fraught day for such a short one, although still plenty of lumps. It was early afternoon.

Loch Fyne

Tarbert (the Loch Fyne one!)

Just off the high street we quickly found our accommodation for the night, over the acclaimed Starfish Bistro and rooms. I had made sure to reserve a table here when I booked the room as they book up weeks in advance for Friday/Saturday nights apparently! No cycling home this time unlike our previous visit to the chippy on the first night after our day on Arran.

A welcome spot of colour on a dank and dreich day

We chained our bikes to the railings under cover in the alley and were shown to our room. Freshly renovated with the all important convector heater. We were so wet and so cold. Guiltily we had very long hot showers, made tea and draped our stuff around half halfheartedly to dry. We had one dry set left for tomorrow so no stomping on lycra in the shower required. No hope that our shoes would dry. Ortilieb panniers are good, and Steve's ancient leaky ones were fine when everything is wrapped in bags for life inside anyway.

Starfish Bistro with rooms in Tarbert

We realised the rain had stopped and having warmed up a bit we went for a stroll to buy a picnic. Good old Co op, we actually sat on a bench on the harbourside and feasted on mini Scotch eggs, the ever popular falafel salad with houmous they do, and a very extravagant box of blueberries.

Tide's out!

We strolled along and admired the working harbour, not prettied up for tourists but a good and honest hard working place.

Not so sure about the oil film :(

Although there was a flotilla of yachts in town for a festival, so not just a working harbour.

Tarbert

The weatherbeaten colours on the boats in harbour are stunning.

The weather beaten paint on the fishing boats is beautiful

Scotia Star is obviously a hard working but beautiful fishing boat resting in her home harbour of Tarbert, Loch Fyne

We went back to our room, unfortunately no view but we read, and knitted and looked forward to dinner, our final night.

We changed into our evening gear, laughing at the novelty of the same outfit yet again for the 14th night in a row! It's a good job only we know that.

Dinner did not disappoint. Absolutely superb seafood as you would expect. We had three courses and after being good all holiday and rarely photographing our food, I did. The flash was off though!

My starter, it had to be Scallops with chilli, ginger and lime butter.

Loch Fyne Queen Scallops with chilli ginger and lime butter

I then had Seafood Stroganoff for main, it was delicious too. Fresh and smoked haddock and salmon, mussels and queenies in a white wine, cream and smoked paprika sauce

Seafood Stroganoff

Washed down with my favourite gin, Botanist from Islay. Oh and water from a recycled Botanist Gin bottle, isn't it just gorgeous?

Botanist Gin Bottle...it has water in it!

Can you get better than rhubarb and ginger crumble with proper home made creme anglaise. I almost couldn't eat it all. But I did.

Rhubarb and ginger crumble and creme anglaise

It was a lovely leisurely meal that made our day. Fortunately nobody was hurt in the hideous weather. Another turn round the harbour on foot after dinner to stretch and to work out where to go for the ferry in the morning. This is Scotland in July, still light at 10pm!


Touring Tips in Scotland, or anywhere else for that matter!

1 There are over a 100 English words and phrases relating to rain. Visit Scotland and you will no doubt encounter 96.3% of them in any fortnight. I put "slugging it down" on my Strava notes for the day, not in the list so that's 101!

2 Eat local food

3 As long as no one is hurt it is a good day.

Tour d'Ecosse quick links:

Planning
Day 1 Isle of Arran and a little Mull of Kintyre
Day 2 Inner Hebrides: Isles of Islay and Jura
Day 3 Inner Hebrides: Isle of Jura-Tayvallich to Oban
Day 4 Oban to Outer Hebrides: Barra and Vatersay
Day 5 Outer Hebrides: Isles of Barra Eriskay South Uist Benbecula Grimsay North Uist Beneray and Harris
Day 6 Outer Hebrides: Isles of Harris and Lewis to Callanish Stones
Day 7 Outer Hebrides: Butt of Ness to Stornoway and Ullapool
Day 8 Ullapool to Gairloch
Day 9 Gairloch to Shieldaig - Applecross Peninsula
Day 10 Bealach na Bà from Applecross to Plockton
Day 11 Plockton to Inner Hebrides: Isle of Skye Armadale
Day 12 Inner Hebrides: Isle of Skye Armadale to Ardnamurchan
Day 13 Ardnamurchan to Inner Hebrides: Isle of Mull to Oban to Loch Melfort
Day 14 Loch Melfort to Tarbert, Loch Fyne
Day 15 Tarbert Loch Fyne to Ardrossan THE END!

Tour d'Ecosse Day 13 Ardnamurchan to Loch Melfort via Isle of Mull and Oban Thursday 14th July 2016

Tour d'Ecosse Day 13 Ardnamurchan to Loch Melfort via Isle of Mull and Oban 64km 950m ascent
Cumulative: 1052km 13576m ascent Ferries 12 Islands 15 Bridge 1

Tobermory

A two part ride today, skirting down Mull, ferry to Oban and back down to Loch Melfort.
We slept so well at Meall Mo Chridhe in Kilchoan and enjoyed a fabulous breakfast. Complete with more Stornoway black pudding, home made compote and home made sourdough and lovely service from David and Stella. A marvellous place to come for a few days. As ever we have a ferry to catch. no time to visit Ardnamurchan point and lighthouse Thankfully not an early ferry!

Ferry #11 is Kilchoan - Tobermory on Mull. We already have our CalMac Hopscotch #7 ticket

Ardnamurchan is formed from volcanic rock rings, a geologist's paradise.

We rolled down the steep drive and down to the port and waited for the ferry, with lots of others today. Bikes loaded first and off we sail on a beautiful calm day to Tobermory on Mull.

Kilchoan to Tobermory

We spot Tobermory's lighthouse coming into town.

Tobermory Lighthouse

On disembarkation it is feeling like the Caribbean, but much nicer. Blue skies, the famous brightly painted fisherman's cottages. We're on Mull Time!

Mull Time

What a lovely town and what a lovely spot for a coffee. I had to fight to be allowed to have a coffee given we had a big breakfast and have done no cycling yet. You can't rush through Tobermory!

Painted Fisherman's Cottages Tobermory, Isle of Mull

Imagine all those yummy lobsters in those lobster pots

Tobermory

Eventually we had to face it, no more delaying the inevitable, the flipping horrible hill out of Tobermory. It's always up from sea level innit!

We made it up the huge hill out of Tobermory, so cruel as the first miles of the day. The reward was a lingering view back to Tobermory.

We follow the road alongside the Sound of Mull, undulating and very pleasant in the dappled sunshine. Yachts' sails glinting like a washing powder ad in the sunshine.

Until we come to Salen. This confused me as there is a Salen on Ardnamurchan too, there are two also Tarberts, the Loch Fyne one and the Isle of Harris one. All quite close together. The famous fishing boat wrecks are a sight to see. The beautiful craftsmanship in traditional clinker boats all on display. We paused a while to take it all in, with the yachts scurrying along in Mull Sound..

Wrecked fishing boats at Salen, Isle of Mull

I wonder where they have been, how many tons of fish they have landed, the stories of the hard working fishermen and storms survived before their demise?

We were quite sad that we couldn't head off towards Iona,  where we spent a family holiday in the early 90s camping when our 2 eldest children were very small. It would have been amazing to have had time to explore Mull properly too.

Salen fishing boats resting in peace, on a calm day anyway.

Cal Mac Ferry #12 Craignure, I know because it says so on the sign ;)

The roll into Craignure was a bit pedestrian, but the sunshine is so welcome, just warm enough to shed arm-warmers, almost a first for Steve. We were going to make the 13.40 CalMac ferry #12 Craignure to Oban and brace ourselves for Part 2, Oban to Kilmelford, back on the mainland.

This is odd, we have been here before. If it's Oban it must mean the Seafood Shack again for a late lunch, woo hoo! It's only 10 days since we were last in Oban but it seems a lifetime of adventure since. The downside is we know we have a long long hill to grind up that we remember descending and not wanting to ride back up. That's the danger of your head. Better to have never seen than work yourself into a tizz about a hill. We've done a few hills since then, and chug our way out of Oban (having stopped off at Tesco to buy snacks and a bottle of wine for dinner) on the busier road towards Loch Melfort. We gird our loins, and various other bodily parts and chug up the 12km lump without too much bother at all. Moral of the tale, don't overthink things!

A bit of a whoosh down the other side and we turn off at the top end of Loch Melfort towards Kilmelford and have the customary bit of fannying around trying to find Melfort House B&B. Another luxurious country house style B&B with a chef owner doing fabulous evening meals. The weather had closed in and we didn't sit outside for afternoon tea, that had been extensively advertised on the website, we had made sure we got here in time to enjoy it. Freshly baked scones or pancakes or Victoria sponge and copious tea. We knew we had earnt it. Unfortunately Matthew had been charging about in Oban on appointments and thought a bright red gelatinous Tesco cupcake would fit the bill. Um no. it was a lovely B&B and had the inclusive afternoon tea not been advertised I would not have been disappointed. There, what an ungrateful cow I am! We had the Garden Room (£100 a night B&B), and very nice it was too. Steve liked Melfort House the best. There was complimentary whisky in the bedroom, so it just shows which small details appeal to different guests and tip the scales.

We ate in for a 4 course dinner, and Matthew certainly could cook. There were 4 other guests from the adjacent timeshare complex, so lots of stories and conversations. We can get used to this Laird of the Scottish Barronial House thing!

Quite a tame day compared to yesterday. just a little bit morose that it's nearly all over. Penultimate day tomorrow.

View of Loch Melfort from Melfort House B&B

The laird

Loch Melfort from Melfort House

Touring Tips in Scotland

1 Try and book more time off work to properly explore

2 Don't build up big hills in your head that you have either descended or ridden in a car before, they're rarely as bad as you anticipate

3 Take photos....take some more.

Tour d'Ecosse quick links:

Planning
Day 1 Isle of Arran and a little Mull of Kintyre
Day 2 Inner Hebrides: Isles of Islay and Jura
Day 3 Inner Hebrides: Isle of Jura-Tayvallich to Oban
Day 4 Oban to Outer Hebrides: Barra and Vatersay
Day 5 Outer Hebrides: Isles of Barra Eriskay South Uist Benbecula Grimsay North Uist Beneray and Harris
Day 6 Outer Hebrides: Isles of Harris and Lewis to Callanish Stones
Day 7 Outer Hebrides: Butt of Ness to Stornoway and Ullapool
Day 8 Ullapool to Gairloch
Day 9 Gairloch to Shieldaig - Applecross Peninsula
Day 10 Bealach na Bà from Applecross to Plockton
Day 11 Plockton to Inner Hebrides: Isle of Skye Armadale
Day 12 Inner Hebrides: Isle of Skye Armadale to Ardnamurchan
Day 13 Ardnamurchan to Inner Hebrides: Isle of Mull to Oban to Loch Melfort
Day 14 Loch Melfort to Tarbert, Loch Fyne
Day 15 Tarbert Loch Fyne to Ardrossan THE END!

Tour d'Ecosse Day 3 Jura-Tayvallich to Oban Monday 4th July 2016

Day 3 Jura-Tayvallich to Oban 71km 878m ascent
Cumulative 222km 2778m ascent Ferries 5 Islands 3

Jura Passenger Ferry Jura to Tayvallich

Weather alert, very brave in shorts. Dreich* plus a bit. Midges...man eating! 500m from hotel to ferry terminal (aka pier) and the blighters chomped my legs!!  I still love Jura. 

*From the UrbanDictionary.com  "A combination of dull, overcast, drizzly, cold, misty and miserable weather." At least 4 of the above adjectives must apply.

Weeks before, after seeing a reference to the Jura Passenger Ferry in Richard Barrett's superb Cycling in the Hebrides book (that we based our holiday on), I had booked us and our bikes on the first ferry at 8.45 from Jura to Tayvallich on the mainland. Ferry #5

We said goodbye to the lovely Jura Hotel after a superb breakfast, packed up the panniers and sauntered down to the dock. We were getting better at this routine already. Here is the plan:

 Originally we had wanted to take the CalMac sailing to Oban (from Port Askaig) possibly via Colonsay, where on a Wednesday or a Saturday you can spend 4-7 hours on the island arriving from the twice weekly Islay-Colonsay-Oban service  and then get the daily Colonsay-Oban CalMac ferry in the evening. However we routed it we could not make it work for a Saturday or Wednesday without having to cut the plan elsewhere, as days go to waste. Even if we had parked in Oban and worked the route as a figure of 8 we were scuppered. But Richard's excellent book mentioned that the private Jura Ferry runs daily, and fortunately it still has funding and is running, but you need to book, as there is limited bike space and only 2 crossings a day (none on Wednesday and only 1 on Sunday). This "Plan B" then entailed cycling up to Oban from Tayvallich. The crossing (around an hour) was a bit more exciting than CalMac, but we didn't see any seals as it was so claggy.

Tayvallich

Tayvallich has a highly recommended Inn that serves delicious seafood, we were told, and a 7 day a week community shop and café, where we spent some pennies in the shop on lunch and bananas as the café stop isn't allowed before any effort has been expended! As we had already found,  there are often are no cafés when you want one, so emergency supplies to last the day are necessary "just in case." It's also very picturesque and remote. Route finding is not hard when there is only one road. It skimmed the wooded shore and was very picturesque. The weather dried up a bit and we waited ten minutes for a swing bridge to be swung so we could proceed on our way to Oban. I am sure we had a cereal bar or a banana as we appreciated the scenery and waved at the yachts chugging through.

Patiently waiting at the lock

Slow boat to ....

The terrain got lumpier and we did end up on a dirt cycle track at one point that would have been perfect on a mountain bike but was at the limit of the road bikes. Mightily relieved when we escaped back to the road. We joined the main A816 and the first of three big lumpy bumps today. We reckon anything over 100m ascent to 10km distance classes as lumpy...we exceeded that ratio today, and most days. I spotted a sign for a marina and cafe/pub/restaurant at the bottom of Loch Melfort and we diverted a couple of miles for lunch. Big mistake. Well, it added on a hell of a kick of a lump and after that diversions for nice looking cafés were rarely allowed. This turned out to be a very run of the mill pub and we had a perfectly OK soup and ploughmans but it was not worth the detour! Snotty Yotties all tied up in the marina, as ex-dinghy sailors call them ;) We are booked to stay at Loch Melfort next week, but the other end.

Loch Melfort marina

The rain returned and got steadily heavier as we hauled our way over the lumps to Oban. To be honest it was not very pleasant, not that much traffic for a trunk road but an artic or bus every now and then, no alternative route and it was the main road to Oban from the South. Coming into Oban we got a bit lost round the suburbs and had a couple of false starts tracking our B&B down which was up a ruddy hill of course! It did mean there was a great view.

We did feel a little out of place arriving like wet otters dripping at the lovely Sawdays recommended Greystones. I had been very lucky that they had had a one night gap as this place is usually full and only takes bookings for 2 nights plus unless a gap. All the rooms here have a stunning view of the harbour and the ferries coming and going, it was worth that last climb! We were also kindly allowed to leave our bikes in the shed, which entailed a cross country style yomp down slippy steps in the garden. We were very glad to get to our lovely room and start the nightly hot shower, washing shorts, drying off us and clothes, warming up and eating routine. Very nice home made Florentines were left out for us on the tea tray. I am very good at weighing up a B&B by their complimentary tea trays.Home made offerings are essential. Greystones was excellent. The architecture was very Scottish and very stylishly updated, and had originally been the Maternity hospital. No ghosts of labouring mothers though. I took this picture later on when it had stopped raining and we had cleaned up a bit! Again a 2-3 night stay here would be great. Walking distance to the centre but very peaceful.

Greystones B&B - not the laird

Oban

View from our bedroom at Greystones

Oban Harbour

Oban Prom

Oh look, a whisky distillery, Oban

We walked into town having managed to get an early booking at The Waterfront Fishouse on the CalMac pier. The early-bird £13.99 (and lunch) menu was good value and delicious but not quite enough for two hungry cyclists so we did partake of dessert too, which bumped the bill up a lot! Eat here, but watch what you order. We didn't stay out late, and as this was the fanciest B&B we were staying at we went back to appreciate our room, although not a stunning sunset it was still a breathtaking view. We may also have had a complimentary sherry that was left out for guests, a nice touch.

View from our bedroom; time 22.45 !

Touring Tips in Scotland

1 Try and avoid trunk roads, although not busy by any means rumbling lorries do make for a workhorse approach to "getting done". There were only 2-3 sections in the whole holiday like this, not bad really.

2 Do not spend the whole holiday dreading the one section of road we knew we were reversing part of later in the holiday. We made the lumps into Mount Everests in our head by the following week. We were fitter by then and laughed at ourselves for making mountains out of molehills, well lumpy molehills but nothing like we remembered!

3 Wash cycle shorts out whilst having a shower, as if treading grapes, squeeze excess water out at hourly intervals and even with heating you are lucky if they dry by morning. No hope of dry shorts if camping in this weather.


Tour d'Ecosse quick links:

Planning
Day 1 Isle of Arran and a little Mull of Kintyre
Day 2 Inner Hebrides: Isles of Islay and Jura
Day 3 Inner Hebrides: Isle of Jura-Tayvallich to Oban
Day 4 Oban to Outer Hebrides: Barra and Vatersay
Day 5 Outer Hebrides: Isles of Barra Eriskay South Uist Benbecula Grimsay North Uist Beneray and Harris
Day 6 Outer Hebrides: Isles of Harris and Lewis to Callanish Stones
Day 7 Outer Hebrides: Butt of Ness to Stornoway and Ullapool
Day 8 Ullapool to Gairloch
Day 9 Gairloch to Shieldaig - Applecross Peninsula
Day 10 Bealach na Bà from Applecross to Plockton
Day 11 Plockton to Inner Hebrides: Isle of Skye Armadale
Day 12 Inner Hebrides: Isle of Skye Armadale to Ardnamurchan
Day 13 Ardnamurchan to Inner Hebrides: Isle of Mull to Oban to Loch Melfort
Day 14 Loch Melfort to Tarbert, Loch Fyne
Day 15 Tarbert Loch Fyne to Ardrossan THE END!