Our accommodations at Teychreggan Hotel are so comfy and the setting is so peaceful, we really didn’t want to leave. The sun was shining here, but we were riding towards the black clouds. But we must move on. Today’s route is long, 107k, but we have a shortcut planned should the rain arrive.
Morning sunshine here, but dark clouds where we’re headed.
We rode along Loch Awe, but it wasn’t a shoreline road, it was full of ups and downs with climbs registering 15-17% in some places. Who picked this route, anyways? We did ride through a forest of old growth Sitka Spruce, Nordman Spruce, and Douglas Firs, some of which were over 100 years old. We were cycling along the National Cycle Route 78, but all the other bike travelers were riding in the opposite direction. What do they know that we don’t know? Hmmm …
The Loch Awe is the longest freshwater lake in Scotland.
We came to the village of Kilmartin and took advantage of storing the tandem in the bus shelter while we explored the cemetery’s ancient artifacts. Some of the carved stones came from the 1200s. Sadly the church was closed, so we didn’t get to examine the carved crosses inside.
Further down the road we came across Nether Largie Cairn, which is a ceremonial burial mound. There were other ceremonial stone circles close by, the Temple Wood. There were some standing stones a few hundred meters away across a field, we opted to continue to ride instead of walking to the stones due to the ominous looking clouds.
Nether Largie South cairn. We didn’t see the ‘north’ one.
As we were crossing a stretch of flatland, I noticed a bunch of white masts in the far distance at the base of a hill. One of the masts was moving and I remembered we were coming to a canal. A sailboat was traveling down that canal. When we reached the bridge, the crossing was closed and the bridge was turned so the sailboat could pass through. The gatekeeper, a sweet slender woman, was busy cranking the bridge into its side position. Once the sailboat passed through, she began cranking again and the bridge returned to its locked position, she lifted the gates and cars could once again drive over. I commented on her workout and she said she’d rather do this workout than go to a gym and she said it keeps her younger.
The sailboat is approaching the bridge that has been opened allowing them to pass through.
Our bike path is the old tow path along the canal. We passed the sailboat and then we waited at the lock to watch the process. The fitting of the two sailboats into and filling the lock probably took about 30 minutes. The opening and closing of the gates was done manually. What a physical job! To our surprise, this lock was the first one of fourteen locks. As we rode on, in the rain, we came across many more sailboats and locks. Wow! What a system! And what a long trek to reach the open waters.
The first sailboat has been positioned in the lock.
Here he’s closing the second half of the gate. He’s using his body weight with the assistance of the raised stones on the stone path to close the gate.
The gates up front have been opened and the boats motor through the pond to the next lock. There is a series of 4 locks right here and there are 2 boats above waiting to come down.
Okay, entertainment is over and it was raining. We put our heads down an rode along the highway. We took the shorter route due to the weather. It was very wet, but not that cold. The wind was tolerable. Ireland taught us well.
Once we dried off and settled into our room, we noticed the text messages and email from tomorrow morning’s ferry. Our ferry had been canceled due to mechanical issues and that ferry boat had been pulled from service. We called CalMac and thankfully we were rebooked on the 1pm ferry.
Accommodations: Struan House B&B. The room was very comfy. The hosts were characters. Aby is Mexican and makes a fabulous Mexican porridge. Mark cooked up a great Scottish breakfast.
Today's ride: 76 km (47 miles) Total: 288 km (179 miles)
