Day 12 – Girvan – Bladnoch
I was given fairly short shrift when I arrived at Girvan last night. The front door of the Royal Hotel was firmly locked at just after 6pm and around the side was a note on the door saying “ring this number”, which I duly did. A young lass quickly appeared and said; “your room is number 6, up the stairs, there’s a continental breakfast in the room and just leave the key in the door when you leave in the morning.”
The room was taken up with a double bed, a fridge and a desk and if there had been a cat it would have been in no danger. The shower was good and I washed my cycling kit and hung it in the window to dry. Sopping wet shoes needed a long blast with the hair drier to get them anywhere near wearable and having given each of them 10 minutes with the hair drier I left them on the windowsill where they were dry in the morning. Overshoes went on the heated towel rail with my socks.
No food available at the Hotel but Girvan is a much bigger town than I had imagined (pop about 6400) and there were several choices for food in the evening. As there is a Chinese restaurant 90 yards up the road that’s where I went and enjoyed a spring roll whilst I ate and drank chicken noodle soup and then followed it with satay beef and egg fried rice, washed down with a couple of bottles of Tsingtao. A pleasant meal of generous portions. Much to my surprise on the other side of the main road from the restaurant was a large ASDA so I went in and bought a bottle of Malbec and some biscuits which I consumed whilst writing the blog.
My route today was relatively short and by the time I’d eaten my cold croissants with raspberry jam and a cherry flavoured yoghurt washed down with orange juice it was 0943 before I got away. I stopped and chatted about the weather with a kilted gentleman, who was staying in the hotel, whilst I loaded the bike: yes, he was pretty certain I’d get wet!
It was spitting and I was in full waterproofs as I cycled through the middle of the surprisingly large town and it was now understandable that ASDA had built a store there.
I emerged from the town onto the seafront cycle path into the usual head wind. At the edge of town there was a large car park with a Council loo block which was getting good use from the occupants of two coaches (one mainly Japanese) that had just parked. Anyone who wasn’t in line for a pee was taking pictures of Ailsa Craig, now uninhabited but for thousands of sea-birds, particularly gannets and puffins. The hard granite of the island is used in making curling stones.
Then it was onto the A77 but with a proper cycle track for about the first seven miles. After that ran out it was on to a substantial hard shoulder until, just after Ballantrae, I made for the hills, leaving the traffic behind. The road was not well surfaced and I climbed up 600 feet into the low cloud. Nonetheless I quite enjoyed it and came thundering down to re-join the main road about 16.5 miles in. The way continued downhill until I once again saw the sea after 22 miles.
The traffic was much lighter than I had expected given that this is the main road from the Ayrshire coast to the ferry ports at Cairnryan
Loch Ryan is a wonderful natural harbour with protection from all but the worst north-westerly winds. Stena operate ferries to Belfast whilst P&O Ferries link with Larne.
I missed Stranraer and the Mull of Galloway. It would have added too much mileage, so I took to the hills once again finding myself on a track that became more like a river bed for a mile or so landing me in a large farmyard. Having got past that I was in woodland, the first I have really been in on this trip
However I was soon on the A75, wide enough with cycle track in many places and I was making pretty good time. I stopped to take a picture of the wild flowers beside the road
After 42 miles I came across an extraordinary bit of useless engineering. The main road became dual carriageway and alongside it was a well surfaced road open to all traffic but virtually unused and sandwiched between the two a dedicated cycle track – what a waste of money. I then had to make my way across both carriageways to leave the A75 behind for good and take to a lovely quiet country road through Forestry plantations
I surprised a dog walker and cyclist chatting in the middle of the road and continued on until I crossed the river Bladnoch, flowing fast and deep
As I was staying in the village of Bladnoch I thought that I must be getting close but no, there was still another 8 miles to travel. On the way I passed the Torhouse Stone Circle
And eventually pitched up at the Bladnoch Inn at about 3pm. Owner Derek greeted me and showed me my room and a berth for the bike.
It’s been an enjoyable day, largely dry but cold.
