Sunday 31st July 2022
We left the car at Machrihanish and were walking soon after 8.00. We crossed the golf course to the beach and enjoyed four miles of damp sand walking. It was a beautiful day with a blue sky and a few clouds and a steady breeze. It seemed such a contrast to yesterday.
At the end of the beach we came up to the road which we would follow for nearly all of the remainder of the walk
The main A83 is a very fast road or at least the vehicles on it are generally driven very fast. Fortunately the sight lines are generally pretty good and so we could be seen from a long way off. Even so we wore our hi-vis waistcoats. Just occasionally we had anxious moments when cars from opposite directions passed close to us at the same time. Some drivers seem to forget they have brakes and simply try to squeeze past without any attempt to slow down as they pass.
The road runs close to the shore and so we had good views of the rocky shoreline and the pretty little bays, all of which the motorists must barely glimpse. We had great views across to Islay, Jura, Cerra and Gigha and these were our companions all day.
We stopped for coffee near Bellochanty and perched on a rock and enjoyed gazing at the sea.
We saw quite a few birds of various sorts but being on the road there was also roadkill; we saw a dead slow worm and a dead flycatcher.
Back on Tuesday when we drove to Campbeltown we had discovered a really nice café shop and garden centre at Glen Bar. Today we would be passing there soon after midday and it seemed like an opportunity not to be missed. Jill rang to book a table just to be on the safe side. As it was, we arrived at about 12.20 and so we had a very leisurely and enjoyable lunch, glad to be out of the sun and away from the traffic noise. We would recommend the Glen Bar café very highly.
After lunch it was back to the perils of the A83. Soon after Mausdale the road becomes narrower and the verge narrow to non-existent.
Mostly the road was very quiet but we had a rude awakening when two police cars sped past us, blue lights flashing, heading north. I guess that was both Campbeltown’s police cars.
At Tayinloan we turned down the road to the Gigha ferry and were delighted to find a café by the ferry terminal. So we treated ourselves to ice creams.
We had about two miles still to walk and we ended the day as we had begun – with a beach walk.
There is a largely sandy beach from the ferry terminal to Rhunahaorine Point. We turned off at the camping site just before The Point and walked up to the A83 and Rhunahaorine School and the bus stop. We had about an hour to wait for the bus and then a half hour ride back to Campbeltown. Once back at the flat, I cycled back to Machrihanish to get the car while Jill did some shopping and got supper ready. Tomorrow we move on to the Grey Gull Hotel at Ardrishaig.
Just Coasting 