Day 19 - We Fort The Elements

We awoke to an early alarm and a packed breakfast, having to catch the first ferry from Tobermory at 7:20am. Luckily the slipway was only 100 feet from our guest house so we couldn't get lost.

Having spent the last few days on the Inner Hebrides (i.e. Mull), our ferry back to the mainland docked at Kilchoan. The girls were delighted to see that there was a proper toilet block at this small port but, then totally distraught to find it was locked; it was a relief when a lady (with toilet roll) turned up to unlock them only 2 minutes later.

The next hour's cycling was a serious challenge as the strong headwind practically blew us backwards if we stopped pedalling for a second. After 20 minutes we had only covered a couple of miles and had begun to despair.

Our first disaster occurred as Louise broke a spoke. But not to worry; this is Scotland and her ageing knight in a shining Land Rover appeared with a pair of wire cutters.

Scots wildlife was in good evidence:
Steve had a near miss with a red deer stag (beautiful antlers, squire). Fiona and Steve saw a Golden Eagle silhouetted against the sky. Amanda saw a Buzzard at the same time (and in the same place). The nice people at the wildlife centre told us it "might have been an eagle...but it was probably a buzzard" which is good enough for us. They also opened their cafe an hour early for us, so big thanks are due! (These were the ladies that passed us earlier when we were having the spoke issues. I think they were expecting us!)

The wind abated awhile and we made good progress to Strontian where our packed lunch was enjoyed on a dry bench under a tree.

Heading on to the second ferry of the day (across Loch Linnhe) the wind and rain both tested us but we prevailed.

The joys of the A82 were more troublesome; logging lorries which gave cyclists little room but smelt pine fresh as they overtook us. (Quite a contrast from the earlier A-roads this morning which were single-track-with-passing-places..!)

The busy road ensured we reached Fort William in good time. Having dumped the bags at the B&B, Louise headed to the bike shop to get her spoke fixed while Fiona, Amanda & Steve headed into town and found a chap who'd been waiting some time for a bus.


We ate at the top of Ben Nevis - the pub, not the mountain - and we're cheered to hear that we now have over £1000 in online donations! Thanks to all who have given so generously.

Planned miles: 51.4
Actual miles: 52
Total miles: 873.7
Punctures: 0

Amount spent in bike shop: £44.63
Steve's Helmet Humidity Index: 42%
Beer of the day: Caledonian Brewery Deuchars (even though you can get it in Reading)