We stayed at the Gowanlea guest house in Campbeltown and it was superb. We gave it 10/10 for comfort, cleanliness, amenities and just the ambience. The hosts John and David were just lovely. It is the second 10/10 we have given this tour.
It was raining when we woke. It was clearly a day for the wet weather gear. Once dressed in all the rubberised clothing we set off back up the Mull of Kintyre to Tarbet and Lochgilphead. Here the road splits to Oban or Glasgow. We took the Glasgow route turning off to take another coastal scenic coastline.
The clouds hung low on the surrounding hills. The rain found a weak spot in my clothing. I could tell it had. There was a cold spot on my neck that then trickled down to my shoulder.
At moments like this there is only one solution. Stop. Put another layer on to ward off the cold. Regroup. Adjust the clothing and try again. It worked. I was warm. Mind you the assistance of heated grips and a heated seat helped.
We stopped at Inverary for a coffee at the Cafe Bella where the barista, AJ, served us hot coffee. He is from Jersey. How does a man from Jersey end up in Inverary? He explained. We enjoyed the warmth and the coffee. We returned to our bikes and I caught a glimpse of an old Clyde puffer sat on the mud in the harbour. It was the Vital Spark. Well I never. The little steamer was the star of the TV show the Tales of Para Handy based on some very funny stories originally published in Glasgow Evening News newspaper. It was a very welcome and unexpected sight.
We pushed on up the west side of Loch Fyne and at Cairndow turned of onto the A815 down the east side of the loch. The rain eased off a little but never really stopped.
At Strachur the road leads into the A886 and then at Leanach we turned onto the B8000. To call this a road is an exaggeration for it is a single lane twisting, dipping and heaving strip of what can loosely be called tarmac, complete with gravel, potholes and grass. Throw in the odd local who knows the road and thinks that coming the other way at 40 MPH is usual making us brake heavily and wince then you get the idea. But the scenery along the road makes it all worth while. The peace. The quiet. The sheer majesty of the views.
We stopped at Tighnabruaich for a rest before riding on to our final destination of Dunoon. A quick shop at the local supermarket for something for dinner, purchased our ferry tickets for tomorrow, a pressure wash of the motorbikes to remove the salty crud and grit accumulated since Skye and we arrived at our accommodation for the night and met our host Lala. The annex at the Kilbride farmhouse was a very unexpected surprise complete with woodburner glowing nicely and set by the owner for our arrival.
We set off in the rain this morning with a smile on our faces and even though it rained all day and we were both cold and damp, we arrived with a smile. Motorcycle touring does that to you.
Tomorrow is our last day on this tour. All good things must come to an end. That is the way it must be. If they don’t the next good thing cannot start. How profound is that to end with!
Woodend Wanderer 