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I packed my bike in the car and was
off just before 06:30am and drove via the M6, M74 and Callander to
Oban. I arrived at 11:45 in the rain. |
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It was heavily overcast and raining as
I cycled down to the harbour and the Calmac office to buy a single
ticket to Castlebay, Barra for £14.25 on the 13:40 sailing. |
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I had a while to wait so spent the
time reading the ‘Calum’s Road’ book. There were several other
cyclists getting on the ferry and we were told to prop our biked by
the hull in a certain area. |
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Several
bikes lashed to the hull |
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The crew insisted in roping the bikes
to the hull but the guy didn’t do a good job. We weren’t due into
Castlebay until 18:30 so there was over 5hrs to while away. I headed
for the desks with power points so I could top up my phone and
continue reading my book in relative quiet. The adjacent desk was
soon occupied by a young lady who was also charging her phone and
planning a cycle journey across part of the Hebrides. |
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The
castle in Castlebay, Barra |
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She was Sue and we chatted for a while
about cycling in general and camping. We were about 15mins late
landing and I watched all the other cyclists head off for the
campsite while I rode the other way and headed generally north along
the east side of Barra. In less than an hour I’d reached the small
ferry terminal for Eriksay. I knew the last ferry had long gone but
the open waiting room and toilets meant I had water available.
Behind the buildings and near the sea was a good grassy spot to camp
for the night. |
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Just
after leaving the ferry |
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Return to
Whittle Wanderer
