We stopped at a memorial for the Russian warship Varyag, that foundered off the coast back in 1920 I think. The story is not quite as straightforward as it might seem but I'm not going to go into it here. You have Google.
Next stop, the Electric Brae. Many will have heard of this. It's a stretch of road that gives an optical illusion of going uphill when it actually goes downhill. It's to do with the surrounding landscape. Could sort of see it but not quite the wow factor I had imagined.
The pic below is facing downhill. See if you can see the illusion.
Our next stop was the Wemyss ferry. They only sail at five passed the hour. You have to have your ticket 20 minutes before sailing but our arrival time was due to be 12:55, so we decided we would stop for a coffee and get the 14:05. Well, that was the plan!
I blame myself for what transpired. We came up to a busy two lane roundabout and I made a last ditch dive for the inner lane, leaving Grizzly stuck in the outer. Clear of the roundabout we were on 70mph dual carriageway, so I opened Ginny up. Some miles down the road, I spotted a garage at a small roundabout and pulled in. Aware Grizzly would have no clue where I was, he was so far behind, I stood on the pavement. After a while I spotted the hi viz and headlight. As he approached the roundabout I started waving my arms, then clapping my hands as he sailed on by. Not a problem, he couldn't have failed to see me, surely and would no doubt appear again in a minute or so. NO! I waited a few minutes before realising he obviously rides with his eyes closed and that I would have catch him up. The ferry was still in port as I arrived, shortly after Grizzly, and the guy asked if we were going on but when I said we didn't have tickets, he said we'd have to wait for the 14:05. As that was our original though, no harm done. We got to go to the loo and Grizzly had his coffee and snack.
The crossing takes around 30 minutes Grizzly had a nap, and I saw a whale. From Rothesay we had a shortish blast up the edge of the loch to Colintrave, where we jumped on another ferry. This time, the journey was only a few minutes and we paid £8.90 for the privilege.
From the ferry to our hostel, was a really brilliant ride. Road condition was good and we were able to keep up an almost constant 60mph. The temperature was pleasantly warm too. On the way we passed by/through a local rally. And to think we thought the people at the roadside were waiting for us!
The hostel is the one we stayed in on the Reservoir Hogs tour in 2012. Pity I forgot how small the rooms are.
Dinner and beer was had in the Inveraray Inn, where we drank in 2012 too. Back then we all had battered haggis and chips but not tonight, though Grizzly didn't come back with me, so he might indulge.
Tomorrow we have another ferry ride and aim to make our way to the most westerly point. One slight hiccup, the place we filled at up 9 years ago, no longer sells fuel, so it's 24 miles to the nearest. Touch and go if Grizzly will make it. I'm sure you all be on tenterhooks waiting to discover the outcome.
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