Day 127 Tarbet to Gourock
Date: Saturday 1st
June 2013 Distance: 30.47 Miles
We
had breakfast at 7.45 then caught the 9 o’clock ferry at Tarbet, though it was
late leaving as people had phoned to ask them to wait. They seem to do this a
lot in Scotland. There were porpoise in the sea around the boat and we saw fins
but nothing more.
We
arrived at Portavadie, which seemed to be a marina and nothing much else.
Described as a small settlement on the Cowal peninsula, in the 1970s this was
to have been the site for a huge industry making concrete oil rig platforms but
it didn’t work out and now has a modern hotel and restaurant for holiday makers
from Hamilton and Glasgow.
It
was a shockingly steep single track concrete road from the harbour then mainly
forest. The main commodity in Argyle seems to be logs. They are piled up
everywhere and vast swathes of forest have been cut down. Hills abound and I
thought today was to be easy! I hadn’t eaten so much today thinking it was not
far but it was 29 miles of hard slog in chilly, drenching rain with nowhere to
stop until we had nearly reached the ferry.
We
were passed by cheery cyclists going the other way seemingly with less effort.
In fact we saw more today than ever before- tackling the 5 ferry trip. The
road, though an official cycle route was quite busy with traffic for the first
part of the ride. Single track with tarmac that drops up to a foot at the sides
of the road makes it hazardous when cars cut close.
It
was prettier at the end of the ride when we passed a dam, a hydroelectric plant
and forest with yet more bluebells at its edge. There were hardly any houses.
What could have been an eagle circled above craggy rocks. It would have been a
massive buzzard! A large water vole was entering a hole and the rain had eased
off.
As
we came in along the shore- down for the last time today- we saw a pub selling
food. Ravenous as it was after 2 and also after 4 hours or more of cycling (or
walking) we went in and they were surprised we were so wet. We had been up in
the clouds! While we ate pasta and had a pint they set our clothes to dry by
the heater.
Feeling much better we left for the Dunoon ferry to Gourock , where
we had left our car Sunday. I would have liked to see Dunoon first but the
ferry was just before the town and we needed to press on with our journey. We
had someone to visit in Edinburgh before we could go home. The car was covered
in seagull guano but there were no parking fees and we soon packed up and sank
into the soft upholstery with mixed feelings about the trip this time.
Here
is the link to the 5 ferries ride:
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