Southern Route Map

The Lakes

Day 9 Saturday 13th Sept

A long long day. To summarise; morning good, afternoon bad, evening good.

It's going to be a short one today as we were all so tired last night that we just crashed out after food, so I'm writing this hurriedly at breakfast. Also - especially for Pete, look out for the Southern Route Map, which Wifeypedia should be putting up shortly.

Yesterday we left the hotel after a good breakfast and headed straight for a shop for the days food. Whilst waiting with the bikes and kit outside, John H had some strange experiences, being approached by one guy who offered to knick one of the bikes, and then heard a rap ring tone which, on turning round, he could see was coming from an old lady's phone!

The route out of Carlisle was straightforward and then took us towards the eastern edge of the lake district over a rolling gently rising landscape with small villages in a spiders web of roads. The early mist was clearing and the sun was out so we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. A potential problem raised itself when we passed a sign warning us that a bridge ahead was closed.  We gambled that it would be open for pedestrians at the least and pressed on. Sure enough, it was! 

Bridge closure Hesket Newmarket - but not for cyclists!

We continued, the road steepening and up onto the shoulder of Carrock Fell, now in high moorland with marauding sheep, mountain bikers and scattered with walkers cars. We gradually descended into a high valley with small settlements and glimpsing occasional views in to Skiddaw forest. It was along this stretch that John H saw 2 red squirrels and John C and I saw 1. We eventually descended to the A66 on a separated cycle lane, then turned off towards Thirlmere with glorious views behind (a bit risky on a bike!) of Saddleback and Skiddaw. 

Route past Carrock Fell

Saddle Back in the background

We lunched at a picnic site amongst trees and mountains, then headed on round Thirlmere on a minor road around its west side. This was a beautiful route, the road nearly perfectly contouring round the lake with a good surface, virtually no traffic and fabulous views across the water to Helvellyn. The walls at the sides of the roads were wonderfully detailed, merging seamlessly with natural outcrops of rock and with shaped stone gate posts; clearly a work of great care. 

Thirlmere

Then on to the main road to Grasmere, initially this was great with a superb descent where we all recorded or maximum speeds, then on to Ambleside which was chaotic and boisterous. Beyond Ambleside the road became increasingly busy, making the route to Windermere a bit of an unpleasant grind. We turned off into Windermere and found a nice cafe to have a round of hot chocolates before heading on to Kendal. In the outskirts of the town we decided to use John Cs Garmin to navigate us through and on to the new route to our night's accommodation. We realised shortly that the device must have a sense of humour, as it immediately took us as high up as possible; at each junction, where there was an 'up' choice, that was the one it took! 

A worn out old JR in Windermere

JR and turbines at High Fell near Kendal

We eventually ended up on the road to Kirkby Lonsdale. This, however, proved to be very up and down, so we peered at our maps and worked out a slightly less direct route on minor roads; this proved to be a great find as it took us back into the quiet where we could enjoy views across to the Yorkshire Dales in the evening light. 

With lights on we eventually rolled through a bustling Kirkby, then up the hill on the other side and in to the very welcoming Whoop Hall. We can thoroughly recommend this place for food, atmosphere and accommodation. The staff have been very helpful and welcoming to a bunch of bedraggled cyclists - even the bikes got a 5 star billet in the ballroom!. As we were being shown to our room,  we were wolf-whistled by a group of jolly ladies! Certainly a first for me....

The boys on the razz after a hard day in Cumbria

John C's fondness for cycling, we've found, doesn't just extend to his shorts; he is increasingly reluctant to let go of his bike whenever we stop. To be fair, we've subsequently found this is due to a cleat malfunction, but he may just have manufactured that as an excuse....

John H's Quote of the day. "At school, in Geography, I learnt that the valleys were the lows and the hills were the highs, but as a cyclist I find that valleys are highs and hills are lows!"

Favourite moments

JC: the evening light and scenery as we did the last 10 miles between Kendal and Kirkby Lonsdale

JH: Seeing two red squirrels on the route round Carrock Fell towards the back of Skiddaw

JR: going round Thirlmere on the quiet, western, side. Beautiful road, beautiful scenery, lovely ride.

Today's stats

Total distance 70 miles

Average speed 10.7 (max 38.6)

Total climb 1683 m

Energy 3962 cals

Bananas

JC 2

JH 2

JR 2

Very equanimious today !

Half way

Day 8 Friday 12th Sept

I'm a bit late with the blog tonight as we've just spent a very stressful evening trying to sort out accommodation for tomorrow. For one reason and another we hadn't yet sorted this out; tonight was crunch night and it took us a fair while to get somewhere. Sometimes call centres with people who don't know the geography of this country very well are more trouble than they're worth; John C at one point had to explain that getting 2 rooms 30 miles apart was not of any use to us. So prize for most patient person of the day goes to John C. 

We eventually managed to get a late cancellation at Hoope Hall, Kirkby Lonsdale, which by some coincidence is where we stayed 10 years ago at the halfway point.

For us, this time, today was our halfway point, not only in time (day 8 of 16), but also in distance (total about 560 miles by day's end). It was also expected to be an 'easy' day of 'only' 55 miles. The fact that we found it so is in part a reflection of the last three days which have been very hard. It was also the day that we left Scotland behind, very sad for us all as it has been 'spectacular'! However, the end also now seems a real possibility as we venture in to England.

Run down to Dumfries

We had a relaxed morning in the hotel, having breakfast at 8 am and somewhat surprised at how alert our host was considering his level of 'jollity' the previous evening! We caught up with some routing details and the blog over coffee and eventually left at about 10:30 am, winding through quiet countryside in grey morning light, at one point catching site of a Red Kite circling low in the trees at the road side; they are big birds seen close to. 

We reached the top of a moderate climb (at which we consumed the last of Tracey's beetroot flapjacks, see recipe below, which John had found hidden in his bag - thanks Tracey, they were brilliant!), then descended fast together to the outskirts of Dumfries, picking up NCR7 which took us along the river side to the centre of the town. It is a town with a slightly careworn appearance, although the red sandstone of the older and civic buildings give it a bit of grander. We picked up some more food (surprise!) before heading out along the river and into the agricultural heart of the area. Somehow we picked up a tailwind despite the forecast of southerlies (we were heading east at this point) and made good progress, eventually stopping at Cummertrees near Annan for lunch in a very nice Church gateway (cool stone benches quite nice for slightly saddle sore cyclists ...). Here a very strange scene unfolded in front of us; tractor after tractor, each towing a muck spreader, charged past us. Wild theories abounded; a secret race (the 'where there's muck there's brass Grand Prix' perhaps?), or perhaps there was a giant pile of muck blocking the road ahead, or was it just followers of this blog trying to get a mention ..... whatever it was, it kept us amused and bemused throughout lunch.

JR and John C at last pub before border in Gretna Green

Lunch consumed we headed on to Annan, recognising the route from 10 years ago when we had been almost beaten to a standstill by ferocious headwinds. At Annan we had a brief chat and exchange of good wishes with the support team of a group of 14 cyclists doing a LEJOG, who we then passed shouting encouragement further into the town. Very uplifting to see others on a similar endeavour.

Half way there, in England after 550 miles
NB. JR isn't that tall - JC's just in a dip!

Then in to Gretna, which has become horribly commercialised, for a hot chocolate break and photos at the border.  We then picked out a route with little traffic but dominated by traffic noise as it ran right next to the M6, then on to properly quiet roads guided by NCR7 again towards Carlisle. We briefly tried to help some lost cyclists relying overly on their GPS device to find their way (not helped, to be honest, by the plethora of NCR7 options in the area).

JR racing the M6 traffic just after crossing the border!

A cyclist scrum - trying to read the map for a lost couple

Our arrival in Carlisle was only slightly spoiled by the way that the cycle route just suddenly stopped at a junction, but we eventually found our Travelodge without trouble. The great thing about Travelodges is that they let you take your bike into the room. Unpacking, showers, clothes washing and then food took us to 9 pm, after which we spent all that frustrating time mentioned at the top in the Travelodge Cafe bar. Just as we were winding down from getting Tomorrow's (Sat) accommodation sorted, Sue Pollard walked in! She'd just finished a one night show in town (we'd seen posters on the way in). Tomorrow Durham for her apparently. We briefly discussed the truly terrible Piranha film that was on in the Cafe, told her about our ride, then headed off to sleep (or in my case to write this) with her good wishes for the days to come.

Bike safely in residence at Carlisle Travelodge

Anecdote of the day:

As we came into Gretna, JR found himself in front of a set of traffic lights at a cross roads, unable to see what phase they were at. "Could you tell me when they go green?" was the request. "Are you sure that's wise after chocolategate" was the response .....

Quote of the day

John H as we started the day: "it's a long way to Lands End!"

John H's four things, stated just after arriving at the hotel

1. The hotel is really nice

2. There's a hidden floor in the hotel which you only find when using the stairs

3. The bike stickers are brilliant and make my bike look really professional (a work colleague had produced some stickers for his bike frame that say 'John H ... JOGLE 2014)

4. Evan after all this cycling I'm putting on weight!!

Favourite moments

John H: crossing the border in to England

John C: cheering on a group of 14 LEJOG riders near Annan, having spoken with their support team in Annan

JR: Red Kite soaring over the fields just outside Moniaive

Stats of the day

Distance 55

Average speed 12.4 (max 25.9)

Total climb 596 m

Calories 2684 cals (Johns Garmin is back up)

Bananas

John C 1 

John H 1

JR 1

Shows what an easy day it was ...

Our longest and highest day so far

Day 7 Thursday 11th September

We rose at 7 am and, with deer feeding just outside, had a sparse breakfast, from our bits and bobs since the hostel breakfast was too late for our needs. Again we managed to pack up and get out in about an hour, leaving the hostel at 8:10 am (John H left a little earlier) aiming to get to Brodick, 15 miles away, in time for the 9:45 ferry to the mainland. 

Breakfast with deer in the background

We set out in a diaphanous mist, with the peaks around us and sun making only brief appearances as we climbed a steep gradient out of Lochranza. More deer on the way out of the village, almost oblivious to our presence, included a few stags. We crested the pass together and headed down on a wonderfully smooth new road surface to the coast, then headed on towards Brodick. At Corrie I couldn't help but notice the outcrops of red sandstone with beautifully displayed aeolian dune cross-bedding (sorry, I can't turn of my inner Geologist). 

On the way out of Lochranza this morning

Deer on Arran

As we headed round the coast we saw the incoming ferry out to sea (where else!), but as Brodick also came into view could see one there too.  We were a bit puzzled by this and headed on with renewed vigour. We arrived just after the ferry that was in left and the incoming one was docking. Soon all was explained as we met another cyclist in the queue who had been there since 8 am. He had been there for the first ferry only to find it cancelled due to low tide! The ferry we had seen docked had earlier had to wait off until the tide came in enough to allow it to dock. It did not take on passengers and whilst 'our' ferry was embarking waited off.

We had a second breakfast on the ferry during a month crossing with very little to see due to the generally murky conditions. On arrival, it was straight to the shop for food, which included a few unusual items today!

Cyclist's shopping - Whisky to celebrate 500 miles!

The cyclist we had met in Brodick turned out to be going our way, so as a group of 4 we headed out along NCR73. This proved to be a well marked and constructed rout, initially going along the esplanade in Ardrossan. We eventually separated in Irvine, he heading on to Glasgow after a 3 week tour of the islands. We were off into agricultural Aryshire under increasingly sunny skies. Generally climbing until we reached Stair on the river Ayr where we joined up with our LEJOG route of 10 years ago. Very different weather conditions; then we were chased and caught by a massive rain storm, today we were being gently boiled. We pressed on well past normal lunch time, fuelled by our second breakfast, eventually stopping at a bridge suitable to lay out lunch and sit on. We ate whilst a very industrious lady did some severe pruning in her garden next to the bridge, wishing us luck on our journey as we departed. 

Outside the Stair Inn, lunch stop on LEJOG 10 years ago

Now it was steady climbing in to the Southern Uplands (no surprise, given the name). Agricultural land gave way to to high moorland and beyond the bleak Dalmellington, increasingly remote and under darker skies. At this point we were going up the Doon valley (ha ha!) eventually passing Loch Doon before turning off towards Moniaive. The final road climbed a meandering route over bleak moreland populated by sheep who were clearly not used to cyclists. Several stretches  with absolutely awful surface conditions (imagine riding over corrugated iron) we termed 'the Lejog memorial road surface' - (if Pete is reading this, he'll know what we mean). Then we were over the top, at 309 m our highest point so far, and descending through trees and then fields, finally arriving at 18:15!

Sun over Loch Doon - This was our view late
afternoon as we climbed into the southern uplands

Climb leaving river Doon behind us

The Craigdarroch Arms is a great place with very friendly host, nice rooms, good food. Definitely to be recommended. The evening was spent in the company of one of John Hs and JR's Reading University friends, Kim, who we had not seen for 30 years and now lives relatively nearby (near Newton Stewart). A great evening of reminiscence and current affairs, with the hotel host almost embroiling us in a yes/no debate at the end...

An idle observation. Roadside debris seems to included an inordinate number of rubber gloves and Wellington boots. Why? Who? John C has actually been considering collecting some of the gloves for his gardening needs...

Reunited after 30 Years with Kim Watson (Dawson)

Quote of the day. JR : "at least the water here is running downhill". John C "what's unusual about that?" (explanation: sometimes it's difficult to judge the slope of the land, what I should have said was that the water was running the same that we were travelling, so we were going gradually downhill...)

Near miss incident of the day (not us); the lorry coming off the Arran ferry that came within a few inches of driving into an overhang on the boat.

Chocolategate! JR failed to get John C  some hot chocolate from a petrol station in Dalmellington. He's not forgiven me yet.

Favourite moments:

John H the misty morning coming out of Lochranza

John C meeting up with the 10 year route at Stair Inn

JR glimpses of Goat Fell through the mist on Arran

Stats for the day

Distance 80 miles

Average speed 12 (max 39.7)

Total climb 1218m

Energy - no idea as John Cs Garmin did not work today. Based on previous days, probably 4000 cals

Bananas:

John C 3

John H 2

JR 2

Something to whet your appetite

Beetroot and Raspberry Flapjacks

A recipe? Well - since these helped the guys over their first few days, we thought you might be interested. These were inspired by eating beetroot flapjacks made by the same company that does the beetroot shots when we were at the Festival of Cycling at the start of the Tour De France in Yorkshire. In a market of overly sweetened and flavoured “energy bars’, these stood out as gently sweet and very tasty. This version can be made less sweet still by varying the sugar, though I’d suggest leaving the golden syrup in, as this seems to help the beetroot juice thicken to hold the mixture together. The addition of the raspberries was due to having some ready and handy in the garden, but the add a really nice fruity note that’s worth including, though tart apple would also do the job.

Ingredients
150g organic butter
50g demerara sugar
3 tablespoons golden syrup
100ml bottle of beetroot drink
150g raw beetroot, peeled and grated (best done on a plate in the sink to avoid redecorating the kitchen)
100g raspberries
250g porridge oats
100g medium oatmeal
3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
3 tablespoons sunflower seeds
2 tbsp sultanas or raisins
Zest of 1 lemon.
2 tsps cinnamon

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6

Heat the butter, sugar, beetroot liquid and syrup in a saucepan over a low heat and stir until all melted and combined.

Add oatmeal and simmer until it thickens.

Remove from the heat and stir in the grated beetroot, oats, seeds, sultanas, cinnamon and lemon zest.  Mix thoroughly and push into a 30x20cm (12” x 8”) tin.

Bake in the centre of the oven for about 20 minutes or until lightly golden brown on the edges.

Mark out the  squares while it’s still hot, then leave to cool.  When it’s cool, remove from the tin, cut into the squares and refrigerate in an airtight container.  In theory they should keep for about a week in the fridge.

If you want them for a long cycle ride like our boys, once they have cooled a little, break them up into squares then spread these out between 2 baking sheets and return to a low oven for around 20 minutes to dry them out more. This will extend the “pannier life”, and also make them more chewy, but they will soften up as they take in moisture over a few days.

Safely on Arran Though Missing A Few Things - and still no trains...

The guys are safely on Arran, and enjoying the luxury of a 3 bed, ensuite room at the Lochranza Youth Hostel - as are the rest of the inhabitants who don't have to share a bedroom with their socks...


A tip if you are booking this youth hostel and maybe others - several sites come up on Google before the SHYA site, and those others charge extra, so make sure you go through the official booking process. 

The guys just sent their report through, so here it is...

Another "spectacular" view!

Waiting for ferry to Arran

Day 6, Wednesday 10th Sept

'A tale of trains, chains, shorts and sunshine'

Today the weather definitely lived up to its forecast. Although there was a slight chill in the air, we were warmed throughout the day by the sun. When the weather is like it was today, everything looks a lot different and the scenery we were coming through today could have been somewhere in the south of France.

After a fine hostel breakfast we were out at 9 am and immediately onto the most important act of the day; finding some food! The day ahead always feels better when we have food on board, and this we managed before leaving Oban.

We'd made another tricky decision in the morning. Our original route for the day was to have taken us east briefly before coming down the quiet road at the side of Loch Awe. The plan B route was to use the main A road heading straight south out of Oban, a route likely to be about 10 miles shorter. A general feeling of fatigue amongst the team lead us to go with plan B today.

Although we were missing out on Loch Awe, one of Scotland's most picturesque, we were following the coast south of Oban, which is scattered with delightful coves and small islands and has a beauty of its own, so we don't feel that we missed out.

At this point of the trip I feel that it worth examining the mind of the cyclist in the morning. As you set off, you run through a mental check list. What hurts (or perhaps that should be, what doesn't hurt)? Did the the same things hurt yesterday? If so, is it worse or better today? If not, does it feel minor or potentially major? Then the first hill comes, and a whole new set of body parts make themselves known; your brain goes through the same questions for each of these. Normally, after the first hour, most of the body has settled in and you are just working out what you need to do to make things not hurt so much. But then the body plays tricks on you, parts you didn't know had muscles twinge suddenly or take to throbbing gently, giving something new to worry about. All this worry, however, disappears in a moment with a glimpse of a view, or the sight of a deer, the sound of a stream, or the thrill of a sweeping downhill bend .....

Needless to say, there were many spectacular views today (we know this because we saw the signs!). The land was green, full of trees and heather or grass and sheep, with yaughts clustered in bay after bay. Much more agricultural, and for the first time the No's outnumbered the Yes's. 

We had the first major bike problem along this stretch today. John H broke his chain on a hill. Basically the joining link on his new chain separated and the chain itself became seriously tangled up with his back wheel. Unfortunately, John C and I were a bit ahead of John H at this point and didn't notice his phone message until 4 miles and a couple of climbs further down the road! Once we got the message (phone reception was terrible, so we couldn't call back) we turned round and headed back, only to come across John 4 miles back, having just finished untangling and fixing the chain, fully operational again (well done John). We turned around age an and headed back south, stopping for an early lunch with splendid views of the coast and distant misty mountains. Then off again, heading to Kilmartin, where we joined up with our original intended route. Kilmartin is a very interesting place; it is situated at the head of a south-facing valley of lush agricultural land, bound on both sides by mountainous ridges. The view from the village itself is special. There are many monuments in the area, including stone circles, whic suggest it has been a place of civilisation for thousands of years. 

Running repairs on John H's bike (2nd of 3 for the day)

After Kilmartin, we picked up NCR78 which took us on a quiet straight road across a broad, flat salt marsh to Crinan, where we picked up and followed the Crinan Canal, using its towpath to take us all the way to Lochgilphead. The canal was a serene and beautiful route. The surface variable, but mostly good. It was along this stretch that something a bit inexplicable happened: both John H and I heard John C say 'ooo-ooo trains'. On asking him about this, he could not remember saying this, but couldn't explain what he had said. Needless to say, we have since had many bouts of hilarity at his expense, and John C has been very patient with us about it!

Quiet section along the Crinan Canal, but no trains

At Lochgilphead we also managed to solve another of the day's problems. John C had left his two best and favourite cycling shorts in the drying room at Oban Youth Hostel (he's very fond of them, but won't tell me their names ...). After asking a passerby (yes you got that correctly, blokes asking for directions!) we found the cycle shop in the town and John C is now the proud owner of two new pairs of cycling shorts. In the mean time Oban hostel will be posting Johns old favourites back home.

From Lochgilphead we headed down the banks of Loch Fyne on the main road, which was a bit busy with lorries, with a head wind forcing us to keep together and swap turns at the front. As we turned off towards West Loch Tarbert we realised that we had a chance of catching the 17:50 ferry to Arran. We needed to do the last 5 miles in half an hour. Unfortunately there was a 170m climb in the way and we were a bit knackered. But we gave it a go, and it is a great testament to the group that we made it with 5 minutes to spare, letting out a few quite celebratory noises as we came over the last ridge to see the ferry still on its way in. 

So on to the ferry we went and enjoyed the trip across to Arran in the glorious evening sunshine and blue skies. Thence to Lochranza hostel and food again!
John H anecdote of the day. Yesterday evening, whilst we were sorting out things to wash, John lost track of that day's socks. As you can imagine, after nearly a week of cycling, our shoes are getting a little intense, so the socks definitely needed a wash. In the end he gave up looking. He found them this morning in his cycle helmet!

Senior moment of the day. John C started talking about how we coped with turning 50, since he would be doing the same in 4 months. Then John H pointed out that John C was still 'only' 48 .....

Favourite moments of the day:
John H - fixing his chain!
John C - views from the Arran ferry in the evening sun
JR - seeing Oban in the sun (after a family holiday many many years ago based in Oban where it rained for almost the entire 2 weeks).

Stats of the day

Distance: 73 miles

Average speed: 11.7 (max 34.7)

Total climb: 1281m

Energy: 4000 cals

John C bananas 4

John H bananas 3

JR bananas 2 

Three ferries and a dose of reality

For tonight's entry, Wifeypedia has provided me with a spectacular list of alternative words to use instead of the word .. Spectacular .. So watch out for their gratuitous use throughout ....
Today was always going to be tricky, with a long day's cycling interwoven with 3 essential ferry trips, the first off Skye and on to the mainland, the second and third on to and then off Mull. The ambition was to cross over to Mull from the Ardrossan peninsula to Tobermory, then to cycle 20 odd miles on Mull to catch the ferry off Mull to Oban, where we were booked in to the SYHA hostel for the night. To do this we needed to reach Salen on the banks of Loch Sunart by 12:30 to know that we had the time to reach the Tobermory ferry, because once we committed to the Ardrossan road, there were no alternatives; if we missed the 15:15 ferry then we would not reach Oban. So it was with some disappointment that, when we rolled up at Salen at 13:10 we had to change our plans. We had not been able to cover the distance in the time we had allowed. The climbs had been too hard and, due to my mistake during planning, we actually had about 8 more miles to do than I had thought. So this was our dose of reality.

JR stretching after tough ascent - not trying to push over passing place sign
(honest!)

Plan B, was to cycle to the Lochaline ferry instead, giving us more time to play with as the distance to cycle on Mull would only be 5 miles; a disappointment as it would not be the most interesting part of Mull! This we managed to do successfully, although we arrived in Oban Hostel rather late, which is in turn why this entry is a bit short and late!

Despite all the timing problems, we enjoyed the day. scenery was again spectac..... sorry, impressive. Initially, south of Mallaig, it was rolling and green with amazing rock patterns revealed in the roadside cuttings. Geologically, with my trained eye, I can tell you that the rocks here are all messed up, and that is the best summary of them!

John H at top of climb over to Loch Shiel

After a brief interlude of the genteel chocolate box beauty of Loch Sheil, we moved  into the grandure of the Moidart mountains. Then on again to the shores of loch Sunart, which the route took us around a large part of. The road here ran through thick trees and across many gurgling brooks. The road rose and fell in swoops initially before (thankfully) flattening out around the loch head. Then one final big climb (270 m) out and over to Lochaline through  more stunning mountains.

As we cycled around Loch Sunart, it was quite frustrating, because we could see our road on the other side, but knew that we had another 15 miles to go to get there. We even considered hijacking a boat and rowing ourselves and our bikes over!

The day was topped off by the stunningly beautiful sunset we saw from the Oban ferry over Mull.

On ferry to Mull

Quote of the day. John H on waking up; " I dreamt loads last night .... Must be the lack of Whisky"

John C moments. Comments on the difficulty of separating liquids and solids whilst on the long drop (composting toilet). This trip is very much about back to basics....
Proudest moment: Racing and beating an unladen mountain biker up a hill in the morning.
Biggest regret of the day: Racing and beating an unladen mountain biker up a hill in the morning.

JR moment: bad route planning. Somehow missed 10 miles of road and (according to John H) 500 m of climb in the days route! First senior moment (that I can remember, that is).

John H moment. Missing the ferry to Mull by 1 minute 20 seconds (would friends really time such a thing!). Fortunately the next ferry to Mull allowed us to still catch the last ferry off Mull to Oban, otherwise he would not be hearing the end of it for the rest of trip... To be fair he thought it required prior booking of the tickets, so thought we had no chance anyway.

Amusing anecdote of the day, this time on John C (as author I filter out any of mine). After owning his iPhone for 2 years, finally finding out how to turn on his camera properly (lesson from John H)

Highlights of the day
John H; sunset over Mull from the Oban Ferry
John C ; seeing 9 herons within a half mile stretch along Loch Moidart
JR; Moidart mountain scenery

Stats of the day
Distance: 75 miles
Average speed: 11.5 (max 35.5)
Total climb: 1814 m
Energy: 4211 cals
John C bananas 2
John H bananas 0
JR bananas 0
(basically we ran out of bananas today ....)