scottish isles tour ..the alternative to kelso
May 25, 2015 19:58:35 GMT
Teddy, jim1876, and 1 more like this
Post by stevie on May 25, 2015 19:58:35 GMT
day 1
this trip would see us take in 5 of scotlands most beautiful islands ARRAN, ISLAY , JURA, MULL , IONA
we decided to do it the same weekend as kelso national rally as we have became dissalusioned with kelso in the past and decided on something different ,
the first part of any trip is to organise your mode of transport to and from the islands and that meant using cal-mac ferries who are scotlands biggest and best ferry operators .
we arranged to leave Renfrew and meet up with jim Humphries in dalry on our way to ardrossan to catch the ferry there were 5 of us going it was originally 6 but Robert burns had to pull out due to work commitments which was a pity as he had put so much into organising this trip for us , we arrived at dalry to await on jim when I got a phone call from jim saying he had come off his scooter a few hundred yards up the road so we went to meet him and were glad to find him alright but the scooter was worse for wear having sustained a broken headset which was unrepairable , I could tell jim was absolutely gutted but at the end of the day it was only his pride that was hurt , we had to say our goodbyes as we had a ferry to catch .
we arrived at the ferry terminal at ardrossan with an hour to spare so a quick cup of tea and a bit of banter with an American tourist who now knows the difference between powdered milk and breast milk , time to board the ferry cal -macs ISLE OF ARRAN which was well equipped and had a variety of hot food on offer from steak pie to Scottish smoked salmon you could even have a drink !! but due to Scottish drink driving laws we refused this time , the sailing across was good as the waters were calm we soon docked at brodick on the isle of arran , we went down to the lower decks to start our scooters and leave the ferry via the ramp but big johns scooter decided it would try and leave the ferry via one of the ships bulkheads as he accidently knocked it into gear .
we arrived on arran and decided to head south round the island towards whitting bay it was while traveling along the narrow winding roads that a guy in a white citreon van talking on his mobile came round a bend at least 5 feet into my lane and nearly wiped me out !! literally missing me with millimetres the rest of the guys thought this was hilarious , we carried on the twisting bumpy roads round the coast which was rocky with cliffs plunging down into the sea below , we then came to the village of blackwaterfoot and the first sandy beach we had come across after taking in the sights we carried on, the roads had more bumps than a fat chick with cellulite and the bends were so tight they put wee les Gilmour to shame but the scenery made up for it , arrans coastline is only 56 miles long but worth the drive even to sample some goods at arran creamery . we eventually made lochranza ferry which would take us over to claonaig on Kintyre on the Scottish mainland .
we arrived on Kintyre ...altogether now mull of Kintyre o mist rolling in from the sea ... right enough of that back to the trip we had planned to get to kennacraig to catch our next ferry to take us to islay , now we could have took the easy road with a ten mile trip but no not us we decided to see Kintyre and travelled south down to campbelltown on the B842 road this coastal road was to die for the views were amazing all the way to campbelltown we had the sun at our backs we carried on through glenbarr, killean , taynloan , ballochray, clachaig to kennacraig ferry terminal to catch the ferry to islay we just missed the ferry so would have to wait 2 hours to catch the last one .cal-mac had put on an extra ferry due to the whisky festival on islay which is so popular with tourists from all over the world .
the ferry eventually arrived and we boarded and took our seats then sampled some steak pie from the menu on board the food was very hearty and tasty with our bellies full we went and caught up with some shut eye for the 2 hour journey to islay meaning we would arrive on islay at 11.15 pm at night .
the sailing was good as we arrived into port askaig the moonlight lighting our path into port , we departed the ship knowing we would not make the campsite 30 miles away and with all B&B,s , hotels fully booked we decided to rough it on a patch of grass next to the roadside by this time it was past midnight and pitch black we got our tents up but big john was struggling with his and called it a night he decided to head back to the port to see if he could get somewhere to sleep .
we got our heads down and hoped to get a good nights sleep , tomorrow will see what comes our way weatherwise and if big john got somewhere to sleep .
DAY 2
we woke at 6am with the sun shinning over the mountains , tents packed away we phoned big john ..no answer he was either driving or was still sleeping, just at that moment he appeared on his scooter having spent the night in a toilet at the port talking to some local who worked in a distillery of which there are 9 on islay alone .
once ready we headed to bowmore where we were taken aback with its beauty the bowmore distillery is situated on the shoreline with its beautiful sandy beaches and quant little harbour it really was picture postcard material so it would be rude not to take some pictures ourselves .
we then headed south again to port ellen which is a beautiful little harbour town with white sandy beaches and crystal clear waters it too was picture postcard material we decided to opt for some breakfast at the islay hotel myself craig and john opted for a full Scottish and fraser went for the continental fraser tucked into some pastries while we waited and wated for our order to be taken ..now ten minutes had went bye and still nothing so we decided to leave after witnessing staff serving others who had just sat down while they ignored us whether it was all the biker gear or just that we never spoke with a foreign accent the service was terrible ...don't stay here !!
we then decided to head back to bowmore and the wee munchie café where we had a couple of rolls to fill us up on our way back to port askaig to catch the ferry to jura , we arrived at the small ferry which is privately owned the old man who was taking our money whom I named dick in reference to dick turpin as he was charging us £10.40 for a sailing that took 5 minutes he was not amused at me calling him dick he then asked where I came from before I parted with my money I said Glasgow with which he replied that will be £20.80 for you then ...he had a sense of humour after all .
we soon docked on jura home to the biggest population of red deer in Scotland and to the only distillery on the island as well which makes the world famous jura whisky jura is also home to the grave of mary who was claimed to be 118 years old now that must be down to the abundance of wild game or the whisky on the island .
we headed on juras one and only road through coastal routes and through mountain passes onto craighouse home of jura distillery where we sampled the golden spirit itself well it would have been rude not to , craighouse was very busy with fell runners participating in the annual fell run which would take runners over the paps of jura these are two mountains side by side and a fine pair they are to , we decided to carry on past the hordes of runners and carried onto juras only road which is 27 miles long from start to finish , the scenery was to die for long twisting roads all single track with passing places for the odd car to get by .
it was on these roads that we came across herds and herds of massive red deer standing only feet away from us with not a care in the world well that is until mid july when jura has its annual deer cull and when trophy hunters from all over the world come to shoot them , so if you want to see plenty of red deer on jura go in may or june when they are in abundance .
we were coming to the end of the road and would have to turnaround and head back to the ferry but before we did we came across a village abandoned rumour has it the landlord evicted them for poaching his fish , now I find that hard to believe when there is an abundance of red deer to feed them .
the roads were very rough with potholes and loose stones and very soft verges big john became their next victim when he ended up in a ditch at the side of them , his excuse was he was testing the quality of the peat !!, his pride again being the only thing that was hurt .
we made our way back to the ferry and over to islay to catch the ferry back to mainland at kennacraig we had an hour to kill so went for a pint shandy at the hotel when big johns aquantance from the toilets the night before appeared with a bottle of islay gin which is brewed locally on the isle a lovely bottle it was too , what he did to earn it well I will leave that for you to decide .
we boarded the ferry and got comfy big chairs and settled down for the 2 hour journey we all fell fast asleep to the amusement of the german tourists behind us who were none too pleased at our synchronised snoring , we awoke to the sound of the captain telling us the ferry was now docking at kennacraig so off we went this time heading north towards oban the weather was dry but very cloudy until we hit kilmelford then the heavens opened at this point it was me who suffered the misfortune when I got a blow out on the rear tyre on a very sharp bend ( well Amanda that's my excuse for the skidmarks ) once sorted we carried onto oban where we were to be joined by another 3 members davie jamieson , marty makay, and les Gilmour , when we arrived we were wetter than an otters pocket and as hungry as one to so went for a fish supper , craig had met up with les whom decided he was just going to head home , then marty text us he couldn't make as his scooter was knackered by this time big john had had enough and opted for a B&B he too was heading home but in the morning so it was left to myself , craig , fraser and davie to find a campsite for the night which we did it had a small BBQ area that was covered and had some coals left over so we lit a fire and tried to dry some of our wet gear off, davie in his haste to come on part of our trip had forgot his sleeping bag so jumped into town to buy one and once back we all went into our tents as the heavens really opened up our tents offered little resistance to the rain that was being hurled at them ...tomorrow we will be heading for the ferry this time to mull .
DAY 3
we awoke grateful the rain had stopped , we packed up ready for our next adventure first we headed into oban for breakfast at the corrievechan by now fraser and davie also decided they had had enough and would head home also so they phoned big john who was still at his B&B and arranged to travel down the road together .
this left me and craig determined to finish what we had came for , so after breakfast we boarded the ferry for mull it was very busy with the old blue rinse brigade but we managed to find a seat for the 45 minute journey .
once on mull we took the road south towards the ferry that would take us to iona , the road itself was single track with stunning views of mountains and lochs on route we were reminded that mull was home to many sheep and cattle by the rumble of the noise our scooters made as they passed over the many cattle grids that were ever present ,
we eventually made it to the small cal-mac ferry that would take us over to iona which is a must visit just for the white sandy beaches alone or the famous iona abbey or the nunnery remains , the ferry only carries foot passengers but with the odd car belonging to ionas islanders who are allowed to travel on it , the crossing on the ferry was rough so much so I had a right laugh at an old English bloke who was remarking at the cal-mac captains instructions on the loud speaker which was in his native gaelic tongue ..when a wave hit us side on and threw the old bloke out his seat and onto the floor ..karma .
once back on mull again we headed for salen as we decided we didn't want to go to tobbermory as we had already done this part of the island the year before so rather than stay on mull the night which we were meant to do we made the decision to catch the ferry back to oban and head home .
we were enjoying the roads and dry weather and the views so much by now it was a pity we were going back , but we made the ferry at 3pm so were back in oban just after 4pm so fuelled up and headed for home our next fuel stop would be the green welly where we heard les had broke down the night before and awaited the AA recovery , fuelled up we were on our way down loch lomondside which has some of the most beautiful scenery as you trundle along its lochside road all too soon we had arrived back into Renfrew where me and craig parted company ..till the next time .
special thanks to Robert burns , cal - mac ferries , and to our understanding wives
write up by stevie adair- animals fae naboombu sc photos to follow by craig ballantyne
this trip would see us take in 5 of scotlands most beautiful islands ARRAN, ISLAY , JURA, MULL , IONA
we decided to do it the same weekend as kelso national rally as we have became dissalusioned with kelso in the past and decided on something different ,
the first part of any trip is to organise your mode of transport to and from the islands and that meant using cal-mac ferries who are scotlands biggest and best ferry operators .
we arranged to leave Renfrew and meet up with jim Humphries in dalry on our way to ardrossan to catch the ferry there were 5 of us going it was originally 6 but Robert burns had to pull out due to work commitments which was a pity as he had put so much into organising this trip for us , we arrived at dalry to await on jim when I got a phone call from jim saying he had come off his scooter a few hundred yards up the road so we went to meet him and were glad to find him alright but the scooter was worse for wear having sustained a broken headset which was unrepairable , I could tell jim was absolutely gutted but at the end of the day it was only his pride that was hurt , we had to say our goodbyes as we had a ferry to catch .
we arrived at the ferry terminal at ardrossan with an hour to spare so a quick cup of tea and a bit of banter with an American tourist who now knows the difference between powdered milk and breast milk , time to board the ferry cal -macs ISLE OF ARRAN which was well equipped and had a variety of hot food on offer from steak pie to Scottish smoked salmon you could even have a drink !! but due to Scottish drink driving laws we refused this time , the sailing across was good as the waters were calm we soon docked at brodick on the isle of arran , we went down to the lower decks to start our scooters and leave the ferry via the ramp but big johns scooter decided it would try and leave the ferry via one of the ships bulkheads as he accidently knocked it into gear .
we arrived on arran and decided to head south round the island towards whitting bay it was while traveling along the narrow winding roads that a guy in a white citreon van talking on his mobile came round a bend at least 5 feet into my lane and nearly wiped me out !! literally missing me with millimetres the rest of the guys thought this was hilarious , we carried on the twisting bumpy roads round the coast which was rocky with cliffs plunging down into the sea below , we then came to the village of blackwaterfoot and the first sandy beach we had come across after taking in the sights we carried on, the roads had more bumps than a fat chick with cellulite and the bends were so tight they put wee les Gilmour to shame but the scenery made up for it , arrans coastline is only 56 miles long but worth the drive even to sample some goods at arran creamery . we eventually made lochranza ferry which would take us over to claonaig on Kintyre on the Scottish mainland .
we arrived on Kintyre ...altogether now mull of Kintyre o mist rolling in from the sea ... right enough of that back to the trip we had planned to get to kennacraig to catch our next ferry to take us to islay , now we could have took the easy road with a ten mile trip but no not us we decided to see Kintyre and travelled south down to campbelltown on the B842 road this coastal road was to die for the views were amazing all the way to campbelltown we had the sun at our backs we carried on through glenbarr, killean , taynloan , ballochray, clachaig to kennacraig ferry terminal to catch the ferry to islay we just missed the ferry so would have to wait 2 hours to catch the last one .cal-mac had put on an extra ferry due to the whisky festival on islay which is so popular with tourists from all over the world .
the ferry eventually arrived and we boarded and took our seats then sampled some steak pie from the menu on board the food was very hearty and tasty with our bellies full we went and caught up with some shut eye for the 2 hour journey to islay meaning we would arrive on islay at 11.15 pm at night .
the sailing was good as we arrived into port askaig the moonlight lighting our path into port , we departed the ship knowing we would not make the campsite 30 miles away and with all B&B,s , hotels fully booked we decided to rough it on a patch of grass next to the roadside by this time it was past midnight and pitch black we got our tents up but big john was struggling with his and called it a night he decided to head back to the port to see if he could get somewhere to sleep .
we got our heads down and hoped to get a good nights sleep , tomorrow will see what comes our way weatherwise and if big john got somewhere to sleep .
DAY 2
we woke at 6am with the sun shinning over the mountains , tents packed away we phoned big john ..no answer he was either driving or was still sleeping, just at that moment he appeared on his scooter having spent the night in a toilet at the port talking to some local who worked in a distillery of which there are 9 on islay alone .
once ready we headed to bowmore where we were taken aback with its beauty the bowmore distillery is situated on the shoreline with its beautiful sandy beaches and quant little harbour it really was picture postcard material so it would be rude not to take some pictures ourselves .
we then headed south again to port ellen which is a beautiful little harbour town with white sandy beaches and crystal clear waters it too was picture postcard material we decided to opt for some breakfast at the islay hotel myself craig and john opted for a full Scottish and fraser went for the continental fraser tucked into some pastries while we waited and wated for our order to be taken ..now ten minutes had went bye and still nothing so we decided to leave after witnessing staff serving others who had just sat down while they ignored us whether it was all the biker gear or just that we never spoke with a foreign accent the service was terrible ...don't stay here !!
we then decided to head back to bowmore and the wee munchie café where we had a couple of rolls to fill us up on our way back to port askaig to catch the ferry to jura , we arrived at the small ferry which is privately owned the old man who was taking our money whom I named dick in reference to dick turpin as he was charging us £10.40 for a sailing that took 5 minutes he was not amused at me calling him dick he then asked where I came from before I parted with my money I said Glasgow with which he replied that will be £20.80 for you then ...he had a sense of humour after all .
we soon docked on jura home to the biggest population of red deer in Scotland and to the only distillery on the island as well which makes the world famous jura whisky jura is also home to the grave of mary who was claimed to be 118 years old now that must be down to the abundance of wild game or the whisky on the island .
we headed on juras one and only road through coastal routes and through mountain passes onto craighouse home of jura distillery where we sampled the golden spirit itself well it would have been rude not to , craighouse was very busy with fell runners participating in the annual fell run which would take runners over the paps of jura these are two mountains side by side and a fine pair they are to , we decided to carry on past the hordes of runners and carried onto juras only road which is 27 miles long from start to finish , the scenery was to die for long twisting roads all single track with passing places for the odd car to get by .
it was on these roads that we came across herds and herds of massive red deer standing only feet away from us with not a care in the world well that is until mid july when jura has its annual deer cull and when trophy hunters from all over the world come to shoot them , so if you want to see plenty of red deer on jura go in may or june when they are in abundance .
we were coming to the end of the road and would have to turnaround and head back to the ferry but before we did we came across a village abandoned rumour has it the landlord evicted them for poaching his fish , now I find that hard to believe when there is an abundance of red deer to feed them .
the roads were very rough with potholes and loose stones and very soft verges big john became their next victim when he ended up in a ditch at the side of them , his excuse was he was testing the quality of the peat !!, his pride again being the only thing that was hurt .
we made our way back to the ferry and over to islay to catch the ferry back to mainland at kennacraig we had an hour to kill so went for a pint shandy at the hotel when big johns aquantance from the toilets the night before appeared with a bottle of islay gin which is brewed locally on the isle a lovely bottle it was too , what he did to earn it well I will leave that for you to decide .
we boarded the ferry and got comfy big chairs and settled down for the 2 hour journey we all fell fast asleep to the amusement of the german tourists behind us who were none too pleased at our synchronised snoring , we awoke to the sound of the captain telling us the ferry was now docking at kennacraig so off we went this time heading north towards oban the weather was dry but very cloudy until we hit kilmelford then the heavens opened at this point it was me who suffered the misfortune when I got a blow out on the rear tyre on a very sharp bend ( well Amanda that's my excuse for the skidmarks ) once sorted we carried onto oban where we were to be joined by another 3 members davie jamieson , marty makay, and les Gilmour , when we arrived we were wetter than an otters pocket and as hungry as one to so went for a fish supper , craig had met up with les whom decided he was just going to head home , then marty text us he couldn't make as his scooter was knackered by this time big john had had enough and opted for a B&B he too was heading home but in the morning so it was left to myself , craig , fraser and davie to find a campsite for the night which we did it had a small BBQ area that was covered and had some coals left over so we lit a fire and tried to dry some of our wet gear off, davie in his haste to come on part of our trip had forgot his sleeping bag so jumped into town to buy one and once back we all went into our tents as the heavens really opened up our tents offered little resistance to the rain that was being hurled at them ...tomorrow we will be heading for the ferry this time to mull .
DAY 3
we awoke grateful the rain had stopped , we packed up ready for our next adventure first we headed into oban for breakfast at the corrievechan by now fraser and davie also decided they had had enough and would head home also so they phoned big john who was still at his B&B and arranged to travel down the road together .
this left me and craig determined to finish what we had came for , so after breakfast we boarded the ferry for mull it was very busy with the old blue rinse brigade but we managed to find a seat for the 45 minute journey .
once on mull we took the road south towards the ferry that would take us to iona , the road itself was single track with stunning views of mountains and lochs on route we were reminded that mull was home to many sheep and cattle by the rumble of the noise our scooters made as they passed over the many cattle grids that were ever present ,
we eventually made it to the small cal-mac ferry that would take us over to iona which is a must visit just for the white sandy beaches alone or the famous iona abbey or the nunnery remains , the ferry only carries foot passengers but with the odd car belonging to ionas islanders who are allowed to travel on it , the crossing on the ferry was rough so much so I had a right laugh at an old English bloke who was remarking at the cal-mac captains instructions on the loud speaker which was in his native gaelic tongue ..when a wave hit us side on and threw the old bloke out his seat and onto the floor ..karma .
once back on mull again we headed for salen as we decided we didn't want to go to tobbermory as we had already done this part of the island the year before so rather than stay on mull the night which we were meant to do we made the decision to catch the ferry back to oban and head home .
we were enjoying the roads and dry weather and the views so much by now it was a pity we were going back , but we made the ferry at 3pm so were back in oban just after 4pm so fuelled up and headed for home our next fuel stop would be the green welly where we heard les had broke down the night before and awaited the AA recovery , fuelled up we were on our way down loch lomondside which has some of the most beautiful scenery as you trundle along its lochside road all too soon we had arrived back into Renfrew where me and craig parted company ..till the next time .
special thanks to Robert burns , cal - mac ferries , and to our understanding wives
write up by stevie adair- animals fae naboombu sc photos to follow by craig ballantyne