Saturday 31 October 2015

Day 5 Kytra Locks to Corran Ferry, Ardour

Moy swingbridge
Cycleway over River Lochy, Fort William
It was a bad night's sleep, with heavy rain and wind. A peg had pulled out in the night, and the sleeping bag and gear at the tent foot was wet. I missed the alarm, and didn't get away much before 8am, fully waterproofed up in the rain. At least it was still mild, so I dispensed with the gloves. The compacted gravel of the towpath was fine to cycle, though the headwind was already up and running. The east side of Loch Oich followed the extinct Fort William to Fort Augustus railway, the first of many on the trip. After another section of towpath the route then followed another rough forestry track on the west side of Loch Laggan, and a big rock on a descent caused puncture number two, no fun in strong winds and rain. I was glad to regain the towpath at Gairlochy, and I stopped to read some info boards on the commandos, who had practised their landings in the area, under a hail of live ammunition which apparently didn't miss by much!
Camusnaguel Ferry
The rain finally called it a day, though the headwind was happy to keep going, and Ben Nevis cleared enough to reveal snow still left over from the previous winter. A short road section led to a cycle path into Fort William, where I stocked up on sandwiches before heading down to a small quay to catch the Camusnagaul Ferry across Loch Linnhe to the Ardour Peninsula. Here the NCN78 follows the quiet single lane A861, rather than the busy A82 on the east side of the loch. It was a blissful 17km, and I met just one car.
I booked in to the Ardour Inn near the Corran Ferry; it was time for a bit of comfort, plus I had a match to watch. It was the rugby world cup final, and after living in New Zealand for over twenty years an All Blacks-Wallabies showdown was something I didn't want to miss!
Before the match started I converted the bedroom into a drying room, with bits of kit hanging from every protuberance, and a tent erected at the bed foot, and watched the first half lying on the bed before heading down to the bar for a couple of pints of Guinness and the second half. After the match I had an hour's dozing back in the room, then went back to the bar for a meal. I thought for a minute I was hallucinating: the bar was full of zombies. Then I remembered it was Halloween, and relaxed.

Day stats 65km 720 Metres of ascent
Off road 37km 
A road 17km (all single lane)
B road 10km (6km single lane B road)
Unclassified road 1km


The Inn, Ardour



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