A calm night without rain which was good for packing the tent away.
I have an early start as I’m heading for the 06:45am ferry from Iona
to Fionnphort. When I saw today’s forecast yesterday it was for the
wind to get much stronger during the day and there could be a
possibility the ferry wouldn’t run. The first scheduled sailing is
08:50 but the 06:45 is a request sailing and it had already been
requested.
Last nights view of my tent
I just packed up without bothering with a coffee as I woke up.
Everything was packed in my panniers and on my bike by 05:45. I went
in to Bishop’s House for a wash & shave then had my breakfast. As I
finished Stella came in to the staff room and started her breakfast.
I cycled to the ferry terminal for 06:40 and several people were
already there. The waiting room was closed & locked. The ferry
turned up from its overnight moorings and not from Fionnphort.
Loading the felled timber on to a ship
We arrived at Fionnphort just before 7am and I was on my way shortly
afterwards. Rain was forecast so I wanted to get as far as I could
in the dry. I had a strong cross wind to contend with and it was due
to get stronger. The main advantage of an early start is fewer cars.
The bus that collected the ferry passengers had gone to Craignure
and I mostly had the road to myself. I reached Bunessan then climbed
the hill up by the museum to the school. I continued overland and
then towards the shore.
Pennygael bridge
At one point I saw an eagle perched on a gate. It stared at me but
didn’t fly away. I stopped to get my camera out of the bag on my
handlebars but just as I switched the camera on it flew away. At
around 17miles I passed my Sunday nights camp and reached the turn
off junction to Salen. The wind continued and the rain started. I
stopped briefly at the bus shelter and put my bike inside. The wind
was coming from the SE and after riding along the north shore of
Loch Scridian I turned inland to start the climb of Glen Seilisdeir.
There had been a lot of tree felling since my last visit and most of
the climb was through the cleared glen.
Kilchoan Ferry in the rain
I had a tail wind to help me but the rain continued. Over the summit
I could see Loch na Keal below but not the far side due to low
cloud. I descend eon the narrow road that runs close to the south
side of the Loch. I had a very strong head wind and at times had
great difficulty keeping the bike upright. Later the wind was
battering me from the right, bringing the rain with it. I reached
Gruline and the branch road but I continued straight on to Salen. I
turned left towards Tobermory and stopped in another bus shelter to
shelter from the rain and have something to eat. The quiet roads
were now long gone and I had to contend with a high volume of
traffic on the mostly single track road. After Cott I had a long
succession of climbs with some steep sections. Over the summit I was
back to dual road and a long descent. The final steep descent into
Tobarmory was in torrential rain. Even with the bad weather I’d made
good time and it had only just gone midday.
I cycled to the Kilchoan ferry slipway to check times and saw a
13:00 was due. I cycled back to the Co-Op shop to buy something to
eat but it was packed full of dripping wet tourists and the checkout
queue stretched round to the back of the shop. It would have taken
too long so I returned the item and returned to the ferry slipway
and wait in the pedestrian shelter with my bike outside.
Final approach to Ardnamurchan
Ardnamurchan Lighthouse
The original Ardnamurchan fresnel lens
Old
generator
I chatted to a couple who had come from Kilchoen to do some shopping
and were now returning. The single fare was £2.65 with a crossing
time of 35min. At the Kilchoan slipway I cycled to the public
toilets to shelter from the rain and collect some water from the
toilet’s sink. I set off again for the final 7miles of the day to
reach Ardnamurchan Point and my camp. The last phone signal I had
was in Tobermory and there was no signal here. I rode up to the main
road and left then NW towards the point.
Generator in the exhibition building
The road was far from easy as there were some very steep
climbs and some needing my bottom gear. A sharp left turn at
Achosnich because of a sharp steep climb before and after it plus
cars behind and in front who didn’t know how to use passing places
on a single track road. In the distance I could see the lighthouse
then I reached the traffic lights that control the final approach
along a narrow walled road to the information centre. I cycled
through to the museum room and went inside for a look then returned
to the information centre. I wheeled my bike onto the boggy land at
the rear to find the spot where I’d camped the last time. The rain
had eased but just after I got the tent up the rain increased again.
Return to
Whittle Wanderer
