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It was cold and fairly clear as I packed my camp away. I wheeled my
bike over the rock and down the grass path to the visitor centre.
Then I was on my bike and riding into a gentle headwind. I didn’t
mind too much as long as I wasn’t going to have it all the way.
There were some short steep sections of road on the way back to
Kilchoan then a flat stretch before the steady climb over the summit
road of Losgann. The weather was nice and sunny but still quite
cold. At sunrise it was around 3degC. After the summit there were
still a few miles of undulating road before I reached the long
descent to Loch Sunart. I was here 3 years ago and then I was
climbing the pass the other way. The next 15 or so miles were quite
tough because of many hills. The climbs weren’t long but a lot of
them. |
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I had to stop at Glenborrodale Castle to takE
a photo as it looked very impressive in the sunshine with blooms on the trees. The
road is mostly single track and probably not much different from 200
years ago, except for the surface. At 25 miles I reached Salen and
joined the main A861. Being an A road it is still mostly single
track with the added problem of more traffic. At 35 miles I reached
Strontian and was hoping to see a comprehensive information board
for the area. There was one but it didn’t have much on it. |
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I was
able to buy a large chunk of cake with icing to stock up on calories
that I’d need for the rest of the day. I was heading for the Corran
ferry but not by the direct route. At the eastern end of Loch Sunart
I left the main road and turned right on to the minor A884. This
road only went to the ferry at Lochaline but I wasn’t going that
far. It was a delightful flat ride along the loch side for about 3
miles then the big climb of the pass started. The gradient was
steady and just do-able in bottom gear. |
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I climbed 272 metres in
about 1.5miles and was glad to get to the summit. Over the summit
was a less steep descent then a left turn to take me down past Loch Uisge. I reached the sea again at Loch Linnhe and made a small
detour at Camasnacroise to have a look at the church and few houses
down by the shore. Continuing along the road was quite lumpy in
places and still single track. It hugged the coast just above high
water due to the steep mountainside. The landscape opened for a
while then I rejoined the A681 again on the final run to Corran and
the ferry. |
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Coast
road at Loch Linnhe |
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At Ardgour there is little to indicate the approaching
ferry. The vehicle queue is by the roadside and as I approached the
jetty I noticed a ferry waiting. I’d made good time and wheeled my
bike on at 14:30. I was well ahead of my schedule as I’d originally
planned to camp before reaching the ferry. I was very surprised and
pleased to find that pedestrians and bikes travelled free. The
crossing is only 5mins and at the far jetty I called in the public
toilets to top my water bottles up from the sink then joined the
main A82 trunk road to Ballachulish. |
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Corran
Ferry (free to bikes / pedestrians) |
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This is a road I was dreading
because of how busy it is. I just had to stick with it to the bridge
then on to the A828 over the bridge after Ballachulish. I had about
3 miles of sea coast visible to my right then lost it for a few more
miles as I passed Ardsheal Hill. Back on the coast at Cuil Bay I had
a few more miles before coming to a cycle track on my left. I joined
it for a while and even though the surface was a bit rough in places
it was much better that the main road. |
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Castle Stalker (Monty Python’s Castle) |
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Castle Stalker (Monty Python’s Castle) |
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At Lurignich the track
followed a minor lane then crossed over the main A828 to join a
recently tarmaced cycle track that followed the sea coast. It was a
delight to ride along and soon came to the line of the old railway.
There was also and excellent view of Castle Stalker (Monty Python’s
Castle). The old railway station platform was part of the cycle
track and then I was on the line of the old railway. I decided to go
for the Port Appin ferry to Lismore but realised I didn’t have much
time to catch the 17:00 ferry. |
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I rode as fast as I could and left
the railway route to join the road to the ferry. With 15mins to go I
saw the sign saying I had 2.5miles to ride. What I didn’t know was
that there were 2 steep short climbs on the way. I reached the jetty
with 5 mins to spare but couldn’t see a ferry. The jetty was small
and I was surprised that the ferry was only a small boat and only
for pedestrians and bikes. I had to take all my panniers off and
hand my bike over into the boat. The crossing took 15mins and the
offloading was a reversal of loading. Mine was the only bike on the
boat but the return journey had about 6 bikes to load. Three was a
prefabricated waiting room by the car park with a toilet and sink. I
was able to fill my water bag here then head off to find somewhere
to camp. The road was narrow and quite a lot of houses on the way.
In Clachan I stopped by the Church and had a look at the graveyard.
There was a secluded spot at the back so as a last resort I made it
my stop for the night. |
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Whittle Wanderer
