Lochbuie, Isle of Mull

An early start today as we wanted to take the ferry over to Kintyre before it became to windy.

At Tarbert we stopped for coffee and to decide exactly where we should head to, as the forecast until late afternoon tomorrow is terrible. But we were distracted by three young American cycle tourists and of course we just talked with them about cycle touring. We left them to head to a hostel in Campbeltown, and us to drive up to Oban away from the worst of the weather. As promised the rain persisted. So much rain is probably responsible for the road subsidence and land slips here. At one point we had to follow a convoy vehicle as the road was reduced to a single lane.

Early afternoon we were on a sailing to Mull. 

The ferry now noticeably busier than last time. We sat opposite a couple of ladies who'd been in Edinburgh yesterday attending a garden party at Holyrood House. This year celebrates two hundred years of the RNLI a charity these ladies have been collecting for over forty years. They'd seen the King and various other members of the royal family. We were shown the photographs taken at the event, but they played it down a little. One of the women telling us when she was younger the Royal Yacht Britannia used to drop anchor right in front of her house on Stornaway ( Isle of Lewis). They also made us smile when we discussed the terrible weather, telling us they'd 'not had a chance to bring out their summer clothes'. We've been told summer will start mid July in Scotland. That's good to know, we'll be back in England!

Arriving on Mull we headed straight to Tobermory to take a shower and fill out bellies with fish and chips. We felt better for both experiences. We'd intended to stay overnight in the town but the wind will be at 40 plus miles per hour first thing tomorrow so we crossed to the other side of the island to Lochbuie. Of course we did. Angela's fixated with the place. She feels the same about Avingon in France. It was just after eight when we reached Lochbuie.

The long winding road down seemed to take forever, but as always it's worth it. The wind blew, the rain fell and then the rain ceased the wind dropped and a beautiful rainbow smeared itself over the mountain opposite before the clouds moved away revealing a clear blue evening sky.

The weather here is mad. In a weeks time we will need to be on our way back to England. For now, Mull's our home. We can't tell you how good it feels to be back here.

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.