Portavadie

Yesterday evening as the sky turned purple in a sun setting amongst clouds, the walkers on the beach became silhouettes. Until well after midnight the farmer continued to plough fields of corduroy. This morning, back early in his fields to cut grass for hay.

The forecast for today was for rain. Really! We decided to return to the town of Rothesay to take a walk around. Upon our arrival the weather settled. Thank goodness. We walked by the castle, around the sea front, visited the Victorian toilets on the pier and sat and watched the Waverley the last sea going paddle steamer leave on it's afternoon cruise.

Eventually the rain arrived and we drove back to Ettrick beach where we checked the weather forecast for the next few days. Wind on Kintyre was forecast to be 46 mph for twelve hours over Wednesday/Thursday. Decision made decided to leave Bute today. A four mile drive to Rhubodack to catch a ferry to Colintraive. And a two minute sailing returned us to the mainland, our onward drive taking us along Argyle's Secret Coast. A drive of climbs and downhills with spectacular views.

Tonight we are staying on Portavadie. Sounds very Italian doesn't it? There is a very nice marina here with a shop, restaurant, toilets and showers all accessible to those booked onto the new motorhome area, (just a gravelled area with electrical hook up) all for thirty pounds a night.

Or you can stay under the trees near the entrance to Glenan Wood, a stones throw from the little ferry terminal where we will catch a boat to Tarbett from in the morning. Donations please in the honesty box. That suits us and Marge just fine.

Ettrick Bay, Isle of Bute (Day 2)

Our view from here is straight across to Arran. The island they call the sleeping warrior because of its profile from a distance. We can't believe that a week ago yesterday we arrived on the island. It is said, 'time waits for no man', that's certainly true. Once again the rain returned during the night. After six weeks we've come to expect it. But as forecast, around eleven, the sun crept out and decided to stay. Today we needed to find a shower, so headed to Rothesay to the leisure centre. They always deliver, and this one certainly did. A large wet room with two showers, so we doubled up. Rothesay is the 'big' town, for some reason it has two co-op's near to each other. Us clean, the shopping done, we headed to the nearby Ardencraig Victorian Gardens.

Now the councils show garden. It was stunning and tranquil, with views back towards the mainland. The birds in the aviary singing and tweeting and the gentle tumbling water flowing over the rocks into the lily pond added to the magic. For some reason the garden isn't widely advertised. It should be, and a donation box in place along with the reopening of the cafe.

Tomorrow wet weather is forecast again, so we will return to Rothesay. The nearest overnight stop is Ettrick Bay, so we're now settled here for another night.

John was tired, so Angela walked out along the beach, the wind blowing hard, made her teeth ache. But the sun was out, and that was a plus. What should we expect of the weather? It's only July 1st for goodness sake!

Ettrick Bay, Isle of Bute

This morning we bid farewell to our neighbours and set off out for a walk, stopping at some of the islands other overnight park ups along the way to check them out. We'd decided to walk the Balnakailly Loop which began at the ferry terminal up at the top of the island at Colintraive.

We walked through a field of numbered cows!

Beautiful views over the Kyles of Bute.

Bird spotting for beginners!

The weather was settled so no need for waterproofs. Somewhere along the route there is a WWII bunker built as a decoy, fooling the Germans into thinking it was a real military target. There was no signage or map to show where it was located. We couldn't find it. Why keep the site secret?

 Our walk took us through forests of fallen trees that blocked our path causing us to have to scramble up banks and pick our way through bogs. Forestry work was being carried out, the land scarred by the removal of thousands of fir trees felled for commercial purposes. Walk done we needed to find an overnight stay with good signal. England were playing and Angela couldn't miss it.  Anyone who watched must have thought as she did Slovakia had it in the bag. When Jude Bellingham scored the equaliser she cried.  She thought it was all over for England, but it wasn't.

A late evening walk along the beach a few metres away, stopping to skim stones and marvel at the variety of pebbles before settling down for the night. In the shallows a Curlew picked through the sand with its long slender down curved bill. Seeing a variety of seabirds close up has brought us great pleasure here in Scotland, in fact all the wildlife we've seen has, and that what makes this area so special.

Kilchattan Bay, Isle of Bute

It was after eight when our boat berthed at Androssan where we'd planned to stay overnight in the port car park. It soon became apparent we would not. The area seemed rough and after being wrapped in the 'warm comfort blanket' of being on the islands we wanted to stay overnight somewhere that felt relaxing and safe. On the ferry journey over from Arran we decided we'd like to visit one more island. Bute was close by, so we headed up the coast towards Wemyss Bay where the ferry sailed from. At Largs there was a designated parking area especially for vans. We'd vowed we'd never return here as last time we stayed youngsters parked near us during the night with loud music playing.

That couldn't happen now. We were in a separate area. Fourteen vehicles were already there.

Behind us a Dutch couple with a roof tent. They were very envious of our set up. 

This morning just a short drive to Wemyss Bay to catch a sailing to the island of Bute. The ferry terminal was adjacent to the railway station. A beautiful Victorian building complete with an extravagant set of fifteen urinals in the gents!

Bute is fairly near to Glasgow. 'Back in the day', a return ticket to Wemyss Bay cost just 95p. The ferry was rammed.

Whilst waiting for the ferry the paddle steamer Waverly sailed past.

Over the half hour journey we were entertained by a hen party, the bride dressed as a banana, whilst one of the bridesmaids plied everyone in the party with prosecco. It was midday, how many of the older members would be able to stand the course?  Wanting a peaceful overnight spot we headed to  the viewpoint car park overlooking Scalpsie Bay.

We could see a few seals perched on the rocks. A wedding car arrived. The bride and groom emerging. From another vehicle a photographer. The chauffeur explained this was a popular spot for married couples to be photographed. We could understand why. The views were stunning, and the sun even shone for them. But we weren't happy about leaving Marge whilst we took a walk out. Lots of vehicles were coming and going, and we felt a little unnerved. So we drove a short way along the coast to Kilchattan Bay, where the overnight parking spot is at the end of the village's no through road. It was perfect. The views are stunning.

We walked out along the coast path, a little uneven in places and sat a while.

Back at Marge two other vans had arrived and we all watched an American submarine cut through the waters as it headed out into the open seas. The waves caused by it's wake thundering onto the rocks below us. Time for John to fish a while before dinner, and then another day was almost over.

We've been away six weeks now and it's flown by. One last thought. How drunk are the hen party crowd now!