Day Eleven
Friday September 21st September 2012
Lochranza to Oban
Mileage today - 94
Total mileage so far - 797
First a P.S. to yesterday's blog. I thought things were bad getting to the ferry in Ardrossan, but things got worse on Arran! The rain was absolutely torrential and the roads flooded, a foot deep in places. It was more like sailing than cycling. It was fifteen miles from the ferry to the hostel, and I knew there was a bit of a hill to go over. In the last four miles there was a mountain in the way, another Kirkstone Pass! Was I glad when I had made it to the hostel and got myself a hot shower.
If yesterday was cycling hell, today was definitely cycling heaven! Wow, what a day! From the start it was wall to wall sunshine. The short sail over to Kintyre was fantastic, and I shared the ferry with an Italian couple, just the three of us! The first ten miles to Tarbert were very scenic, but also very cold - gloves on, and almost every other bit of clothing that I had with me. A welcome bacon bitty at Tarbert set me up for the rest of the day. I had originally intended following the main road to Oban, but it was such a beautiful day I chose to follow the National Cycling Network route 78, quite a bit longer that my plan but I was steaming along and, despite lots of hills, I was making good time. A good flat stretch was along the Crinan Canal, a lovely scenic route from Loch Fyne to the sea. From there on it was hilly country keeping quite a way inland, but with occasional stunning vistas of the sea and the islands. Getting closer to Oban, Ben Nevis came into view as I soared down the final hills toward the sea. The heavy traffic of Oban came as a bit of a shock after so many miles of almost deserted lanes, but I was soon checked in at the hostel, showered, and now off for some grub! A five hour ferry tomorrow to South Uist, so a bit of a rest day.
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