Newtonmore to Ayr, via Fort William, Isle of Mull, Oban & Arran.

Newtonmore - Roybridge - Fort William - Strontian - Lochaline - Fishnish - Craignure - Oban - Taynuilt - Loch Awe - Lochgilphead - Kilberry - Kennacraig - Claonaig - Lochranza - Brodick - Ardrossan - Troon - Ayr.

Day 1. Cycled to York Station then train to Newtonmore. Cycled south west on A86 past Loch Laggan to Roybridge, 48 miles. Camped.

Day 2. Cycled to Commando Memorial, Spean Bridge then took the B8004 to Banavie and the A830 to Fort William. I then took the ferry from Fort William across Loch Linnhe to pick up the A861 and biked along the Loch and Glen Tarbert to Strontian. 49 miles. Camped.

Day 3. Cycled to the Lochaline Ferry Terminal and boarded the ferry to Fishnish. From there I cycled to Craignure and caught the ferry to Oban. I then picked up the cycle Route 78 along Glen Lonan to Taynuilt. 44 miles. Camped.

Day 4. Cycled down the west side of Loch Awe to Ford, then along the A816 and B8025 to the Crinan Canal and then along to Lochgilphead. 41 miles. Camped.

Day 5. Cycled to Kilberry along the A83 and B8024. 21 miles. Camped.

Day 6. Cycled to Tarbert along the B8024 then picked up the A83 again to Kennacraig before cutting across Kintyre to Claonaig on the B8001. Ferry to Lochranza. 28 miles. Camped.

Day 7. Cycled to Brodick and caught the ferry to Ardrossan. I then picked up Route 7 all the way to Ayr. 44 miles. Bed and breakfast.

Day 8. A short ride to Ayr railway station then train back to York via Glasgow. 15 miles.

Total miles cycled 290.

Day 1.

Arrived at Newtonmore by train fom York. From here I cycled down the A86 along Loch Laggan to Roybridge where I camped for the night.

Day 2.

From Roybridge I again followed the A86 westwards until it joined the A82 at Spean Bridge. I cycled a short distance north along the "not so busy" A82 to pick up the B8004 at the Commando Memorial. From there I went through Gairlochy and alongside the Caledonian Canal to Banavie.

Gairlochy.

Looking south along the Caledonian Canal.

A view of a misty Ben Nevis from the B8004.

Neptune's Staircase

At Banavie I joined the A830 and headed towards Fort William where I picked up the "extremely busy" southbound A82. At one point I stopped and pulled off the road to allow a double decker to overtake along with its entourage. This was a short but unpleasant stretch of route. Once in Fort William all was fine. 

After "refuelling" at Morrisons it was only a few hundred yards to the Camusnagaul Ferry that crosses Loch Linnhe.

This is the ferry. My bike was simply lifted manually onto the boat and stored on deck for the short crossing to Camusnagaul.

The ferry returning to Fort William with Ben Nevis looking on. The journey from here on the A861 down the west side of Loch Linnhe contrasted sharply to the roads immediately before Fort William in that it was so quiet by comparison.

This is the ferry slipway at Camusnagaul.

My Morrison's snack lunch. Dinner was to be at a restaurant near Strontian.

This is the Corran Ferry, which I didn't use, it crosses Loch Linnhe to the A82 south of Fort William.

An across the loch view of the Glencoe Hills, with the Aonach Eagach/ Sgor nam Fionnaidh on the left and the cauldron of Bidean nam Bian/Stob Coire nan Lochan on the right.

It was just a short distance along this road where I had dinner at a restaurant before returning to my tent, in long grass, at the Strontian campsite.

Day 3.

Strontian Post Office.

I was heading for the Sound of Mull ferry at Lochaline but first I had to climb up Gleann Geal on the A884.

The summit of Gleann Geal.

The Sound of Mull ferry at Lochaline.

Leaving Lochaline on the short trip across the Sound of Mull to Fishnish and a half drunk cup of tea. 

My bike on board the ferry.

When I reached Fishnish I had very little time to cycle the few miles down the A884/A849 to Craignure to catch the Oban Ferry. It was another two hours to wait if I missed it. The cycling conditions were good and it was dry with no wind and little traffic. I made it. 

I managed a Tesco snack in Oban before picking up Route 78 and heading out eastwards past Oban Saints football ground, Glencruitten Golf Course and the now closed Rare Breeds Farm and along into Glen Lonan to Taynuilt. 

My tent on the Taynuilt Campsite. It is only a mile or two eastwards along the A85 in Taynuilt to the campsite. It was not very busy along this road at this time of day.

Day 4.

This was to be one of the wettest bike rides I had done at the time (there have been more since). I hadn't cycled very far from the campsite when I felt the first spot of rain, at about the time this photograph was taken. The rain increased and it was to last most of the day until shortly before I arrived in Lochgilphead.

Kilchrenan Inn on the B845 just before reaching Loch Awe.

Dalavich cafe - what a welcome sight. I enjoyed a good snack here before continuing. At the time I seemed to notice that the road was either going up or going down with very little flat ground in between!

A miserable view over Loch Awe at the beginning of August.

Route 78 at Kilmaha.

The B8025 heading for the Crinan Canal, still on Route 78.

A snack break on the Crinan Canal towpath.

Still on the towpath just before joining the A816 for the short journey to Lochgilphead.

The campsite at Lochgilphead. I pitched the tent on rising ground that escaped the lower boggy parts after a night of continuous rain.

The Pipe Band was Polish!

Day 5.

Farewell to Lochgilphead - in the sunshine!

I bought a takeaway snack for breakfast from a bakery in Lochgilphead.

The turn off to Kilberry. The A83 hadn't been particularly.

Kilberry campsite in a pleasant beach side location. I was one of the day's first campers and the site was to become very busy. The was the least likeable site that I stayed at, and one of the most expensive. Some teenagers decided that the campsite should listen to loud music at midnight. I was one of the first to arise and I made a relatively early start.

The campsite is in the far distance.

Day 6.

The Kilberry Inn.

I was on a short stretch of road between Tarbert and Kennacraig where I picked up the B8001 to Claonaig Ferry Terminal.

Still raining at Claonaig en route for Lochranza. On board the ferry the purser advised me to buy a less expensive ticket on account I was travelling on the Fishnish/Craignure/Oban/ Claonaig/Brodick/Ardrossan ferries.

I couldn't remember where the Lochranza campsite was so I decided to seek out b&b at Brodick about 14 miles away. I telephoned the TIC and they told me that I couldn't book Brodick unless I was already there. I camped at Lochranza in the end. I remember a stag walking across the road just in front of me as I was nearing the campsite.

Day 7.

I had an all day breakfast at the cafe on site when I arrived - as welcome as it could be. I pitched above a fast gurgling stream and hoped that the rain wouldn't raise the level of the burn too much as I couldn't see anywhere that would have been spared.

The entrance to the Lochranza campsite.

This is the A841 to Brodick. Yes - it climbs for a very long way.

Glen Sannox and Cir Mhor.

Brodick on the far side of Brodick Bay.

Whilst waiting for the scheduled ferry to Ardrossan I went for a snack then noticed that there was a CalMac sprinter in the harbour. I referred to my CalMac timetable and couldn't see any reference to a run at that time. In due course I cycled down to the harbour and discovered that this was an extra ferry that had been put into service for that day. I took the opportunity to use this one rather than wait.

Ayr.

I picked up Route 7 from Ardrossan, once I managed to find my way out of the port area, to Ayr. I had done this route before in the opposite direction but couldn't remember how "bitty" it was. There were very few straight bits as it twisted and turned its way for miles and miles before reaching Ayr. Ayr was my first bed and breakfast.

I didn't have far to bike to Ayr Station before catching the train back to York via Glasgow. The train did not have anywhere to store bicycles on board so I stood with mine near a door changing sides depending on which side of the train the platforms were at.