Day 8 - Onich to Lochgilphead
When I arrived at Onich cold, very wet and pretty miserable I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to dry everything out to set off this morning. My accommodation was described as the Shack and pods at Inchree and I was given exclusive use of Pod 2.
Joining instructions were good and I was soon inside. The pod consisted of a double bed with a mini kitchen and a separate shower room. Gloriously there was a blow heater in the shower room and another in the main room: the latter dried my sopping wet shoes whilst a combination of the heated towel rail and blow heater dealt with the overshoes, gloves and jackets so that all were wearable or packable by morning. There was room for Lucy inside, which was merciful as there was torrential rain overnight to the extent that it woke me.
The next problem was food. I’d done some research and found that there was a restaurant about quarter of a mile away called Roam West and that was it. Foolishly I hadn’t thought to book but was prepared to wait until something was available. In the event I shuffled up there in the spitting rain in my deck shoes and, after a bit of head scratching was told they were very busy, but I should get fed in the next half hour or so. So I was surprised to immediately be given a table and a pint of Hazy Day IPA which, I was slightly disappointed to discover, is brewed by Greene King in Suffolk. Anyway, it was good enough to have a second. I started with good mushroom broth, went on to Venison sausage and mash and seasonal veg (somewhat undercooked to my taste) and finished with Cranachan cheesecake. The main constituents were excellent and the service attentive – all in all a good experience. Fortunately the pod was down the hill so I rolled down comfortably.
The bed was vey comfortable and I slept well until the rain-storm woke me. The bike has been giving problems with gear shifting and I tried to rectify it but not much improvement. I’ll try to get to a bike shop and see if they can help. I can make do using the motor instead of changing gear but I’m afraid unless something is done, I’ll end up with a broken cable. Having faffed about I got going just after 0900 knowing that I had about 75 miles to travel and some quite lumpy ground.
It was about 3.5 miles to the bridge at Ballachulish, just about spitting with rain but it soon cleared to an overcast day with very occasional sunshine. Thank goodness it was nothing like yesterday and I ended the day with dry feet. There is a cycle path over the bridge so no dramas, indeed I was on cycle-paths until I got to Connel bridge 31 miles into the journey. These did add a bit to the direct journey because they looped away from the main road and, in places, were very steep: but nice not to contend with traffic.
The falls of Lora are a tidal rapid where Loch Etive meets the Firth of Lorn and you get a great view of them from the historic Connel bridge which has traffic lights for one way traffic. The cyclist and pedestrian get their own carriageway tacked onto the side of the bridge
Once past Connel I took a wrong turn and ended up doing a bit of a loop through the hills above Oban but not much lost. The Sunday golfers were out in force at Glencruitten.
The weather was not conducive to photography so not much to show. When you are wearing full gloves, as I have for the last couple of days, it’s a hassle to get the phone out and set it up to take pictures so it tends to stay in the pocket.
At the end of the day I joined the Crinan canal which saves a long journey from the Firth of Clyde to the Atlantic for small craft
It’s been a long and tiring day. I think the worst I have felt so far with muscles aching and a feeling of lassitude not helped by the bike problems. I have a plan which may improve matters………
