It has been a while since I last posted on the blog. I've also never been to Kintyre even though I've looked at it over the Firth of Clyde many a time. There is currently a ferry running from Ardrossan to Cambeltown as part of a three year pilot - which ends in September. So what better opportunity to get over and have a look at Kintyre.
Kit: The plan was to camp so full pannier set-up required. Rather than take my Ribble Audax that already had a rack but could only take 25mm tyres I decided to take my Specialised Crux cross bike. Good for the load given that it had 34mm tyres but unfortunately no rack mounting points. Solution - fit a Thule Tour Rack that clamped directly onto the seat stays. This was a perfect solution and carried the 12kg of panniers and tent dry bag without any problems.
Day 1 (Friday 5th June) Ardrossan to Lochranza, Arran
The weather forecast wasn't good, particularly for Saturday. That's an understatment - heavy rain and winds up to 50mph were predicted for the whole day. At least Friday night was supposed to be dry and bright - it was but the wind was certainly picking up.
Ferry from Ardrossan to Brodick at 18.00 then a nice gentle ride ride along Arran's lovely North East coast followed by the stiff climb over from Sannox to Lochranza. The combination of side wind and the load on the bike made it a tough one - blown into the middle of the road a couple of times. By the time I'd got to Lochranza I'd given up on the idea of camping, given the wind and predicted rain, and headed straight for the Hostel.
Day 2 (Saturday 6th June) Lochranza to Campbeltown
Sure enough the rain picked up during the night and it was certainly a dreich, wet and windy morning that I wakened up to. The first ferry from Brodick had been cancelled so there were quite a few cars waiting for the ferry from Lochranza to Claonaig. It was making heavy weather as it came across the Kibrannan Sound but came onto the slipway without too much bother. It was a different story at the other side! After a rolling crossing the exposed slipway at Claonaig proved to be a bit more of a challenge and it took quite a bit of time before the ramp was lowered. The boat was still rocking up and down as the cars were rushed off in time with the waves - foot passengers were the same, being guided off to avoid the sloshing waves. The awaiting cars were rushed on and by the time I was only a few hundred metres down the road the ferry was off on its way back to Lochranza.
The road from Claonaig to Carradale is narrow, windy and hilly but with great views across to Arran and long stretches of natural oak woodlands. I did get verbally abused by a woman farmer herding some cows down the road - I don't think she appreciated my red cycling jacket that she thought was spooking her cows. Also there was work going on to replace the line of pylons a bit further inland and to install a subsea cable over to Hunterston (cable laying ship offshore) - didn't really detract from the scenic route. The rain and wind were making a good job of that. Here's a couple of shots taken at Grogport.
Lunch stop and brew up at Carradale - downpour in the middle of it! From here the hills would get steeper but the road wider and the weather windier.
There were a couple of interesting stop-offs along the way though, here are some.
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| Saddell Abbey stone carvings |
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| Saddell Abbey |
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| Kildonan Dun |
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| View to Island Davaar |
After spending most of the day pushing through the wind and rain and going up and down hills all thoughts of spending the night in a tent were extinguished. So off to the hostel (Campbeltown Backpackers) I went. The hostel is new and SYHA affiliated. It is also unmanned so checking in consisted of phoning the warden (number on door) who then talked me through the door entry code and payment procedure (check in slip and money into an envelope and into a post slot on the wall). The hostel is in an old church school and the bike storage is in a cellar under the church which sits adjacent. It's a great wee hostel, modern and well equipped with 2 small dorms ( 1 male and 1 female).
Day 3 (Sunday 7th June) Campbeltown, Machrahannish, Southend, Campbeltown, Ardrossan
Sunday morning broke bright and sunny, but still with a strong westerly breeze. After yesterday's battle in the wind I decided to take things easy and focus on exploring. So the climb over to the Mull lighthouse was out but a trip down to Machrahannish and then over to Southend, Dunaverty Bay and Keil was in. I also managed to fit in a short ride down past Island Davaar before catching the ferry back over to Ardrossan.
After leaving the hostel the first destination was Machrahannish on the West coast - a flat road but with a stiff headwind. A nice wee village dominated by the golf course. I went over to the bird observatory, passed the University of Stirling marine station, and watched gannets fishing in the incoming surf.
The views from the South coast are superb with a series of sandy beaches onshore and Sanda Island just offshore, Ailsa Craig and Northern Ireland making up the backdrop.
Between Dunaverty Bay and Carskey Bay is Keil and a series of historic and natural places of interest. St Columba is set to have first set foot in Scotland here at a spot commemorated by a footprint carved into a rock. Nearby is St Columba's well and church. Just beside these historic sites are Keil caves which are cut into a conglomerate cliff and apparently used as dwellings for centuries.
After a stop on the shore for a brew up and lunch I headed back over to Campbelltown. Given that I had a couple of hours to spend before the ferry over to Ardrossan I headed South along the coast from Campbeltown passed island Davaar. I was rewarded by great views over to the island and beyond.
The ferry from Campbeltown to Adrossan is currently in the final year of a three year trial. The service has a limited and irregular timetable running only from Thursday through to Sunday which surely isn't helping passenger numbers . On the positive side the ferry is still there and is a great trip with fantastic views over to the South of Arran and to Ailsa Craig. Long may it continue - so use it!
Hauled my camping gear over Arran and the Kintyre peninsula and never used it! Ah well.
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