By the time I got to Skelmorlie, the point arranged for picking Al up, the sky was totally clear and the sun was shining bright. It was a total contrast to just 15 down the coast! The car was loaded up and once everything was in, there was little room left. (Note to planners for the October trip - either take a bigger vehicle than a Ka or cut down on the luggage!!!)

The time was about 0600 as we made our way south through Largs, Fairlie and Seamill, bound for a foggy Ardrossan. Caledonian Isles was at the linkspan already, having been berthed there overnight. Her visor was raised but we had to wait quite a while as the linkspan was set too high and the bow ramp was closed. The appropriate rover tickets were purchased and checked and eventually loading commenced. As we drove on, the starboard side mezzanine deck was being hoisted up out of the way - as this was the first sailing of the day there were a number of articulated lorries to be loaded. 

After a much-needed breakfast we pulled into Brodick on Arran and went back down to a cold car-deck and got ready to leave the ship. As the ramp went down the car deck was filled with bright light from outside. The lorries were let out first and then the cars, so it took a couple of minutes to get out of the ferry terminal due to the queues caused by the lorries. On a previous trip Dave had found a good viewpoint looking out over Brodick Bay from just under the castle, facing south. It was about a ten minute drive from the ferry to the viewpoint; luckily Caledonian Isles was on a twenty minute turnround.

After a couple of  minutes the seal seen in the picture above returned to the waters of Brodick Bay and rejoined his or her offspring which were playfully bobbing around here there and everywhere. At this point too, Arran's main link to the Scottish mainland left the pier and turned through 180 degrees before heading off across the Clyde once more.

One of the locals posing for the camera

Caledonian Isles leaving Brodick

After the Caledonian Isles had gone from the bay, we got back in the car and ventured north along Arran's east coast through the villages of Corrie and Sannox (encountering some unbelievably stupid drivers along the way) and up into the region that gave its name to one of the most loved Arran ferries of all time - Glen Sannox.

The road along this part of the island leaves a lot to be desired, and is a stark contrast to the roads we previously left behind on the mainland. After about half an hour since leaving Brodick we completed the relatively short distance of 14 miles to Lochranza - our departure point from Arran.

As we got to Lochranza the ferry was still over on Kintyre so we had about half an hour to wait before she arrived on the island. Al got out and went for a wander down to the pier while Dave tuned in to catch the Tedious Link and the Ramble on Radio 1. (Ok the real reason for staying in the car was get a few minutes shuteye following the overnight drive from Cumbria...)

With the ferry coming across, the clouds rolled in but at least it still remained bright. As the Loch Tarbert approached the stern ramp was brought down and the engines were cut. As she crawled in towards the slipway her wake trail actually caught up and overtook her, causing a bit of scraping on the slipway as she arrived. Al went aboard as a foot passenger, catching Dave on camera in the process as he drove down and onto the ferry and parked up.

The Loch Tarbert was about half full when she set sail at a painfully slow 9 knots. Half an hour later and we were arriving on the Kintyre peninsula at the remote terminal of Claonaig. Conveniently there is a parking area opposite the terminal area and we parked up there to get some photos of the ferry loading for Arran. A coach somehow managed to negotiate the slipway and boarded the ferry without grounding itself. The last couple of cyclists went on and the next sailing commenced.

As the Loch Tarbert made her way slowly away from us, we made our own way from the isolated pier on the road across the Kintyre peninsula to Kennacraig, some six miles away. This road too leaves a lot to be desired and is littered with pothole and acute, hairpin turns on steep inclines - not for the faint hearted.

Our next calling point on the tour was the isle of Gigha, to the west of Kintyre. On the road down from Kennacraig we encountered crawling traffic, thanks to a team of road workers laying down a new top layer of chippings and not bothering to press them down with a roller - talk about a job half-done! After that Dave was keeping an eye out for potential viewpoints for later on.

As we approached Tayinloan from the north the clouds cleared once more and the temperature soared. We reached the terminal and joined the queue for the next sailing across the Sound of Gigha just as the Loch Ranza came in. Dave stayed with the car once again while Al went off down to the slipway to get the obligatory photos (including captive subject Dave, at the wheel as he drove onto the ferry)

The sailing was uneventful and about twenty minutes after leaving the mainland for the second time in one morning, we were offloaded on Gigha.

The plan for Gigha had been to get some photos of the Hebridean Isles from the northern end of the island as she passed by on her way in to Kennacraig. Unfortunately Dave had got the timings wrong and hadn't appreciated how little time it took for her to get from Gigha into West Loch Tarbert. By the time we were making our way up to the northern end of Gigha we could see the Islay ferry making her way across to West Loch Tarbert - in the words of Homer Simpson...Doh! There was nothing for it but to head back to the ferry slipway. Dave's pride was suitably dented - much to Al's delight as he took advantage of the opportunity to take the mickey.

A quick bit of improvisation from Dave, in a vain attempt to redeem himself, saw us crossing back to the mainland and heading back up to a layby that he spotted on the way down previously. There was a path from there which led round to the mouth of West Loch Tarbert and a perfect place from which to see the Hebridean Isles as she made her way out to Port Askaig.

With the Hebridean Isles well on her way to the Sound of Jura, we got back to the car and made for Tarbert. At one point we were again held up whilst driving, but this time thanks to a farmer who decided lunchtime on a Monday really was the most convenient time to move his massive flock of four-legged sources of wool from one field to the right, three hundred yards up a rather steep section road to another field on the left, through a very narrow gateway. Dave had visions of the clutch wearing out and the engine overheating due to the constant stopping and starting, only to crawl a couple of yards before stopping once more. Neither Dave nor the other motorists caught up in that queue were impressed with the idiot farmer (who was so ignorant he couldn't even be bothered to say acknowledge drivers' patience or the inconvenience he had caused - sorry, end of rant!)

We eventually got to Tarbert about 1205. The plan now was to get some chips or something else quick in Tarbert and then catch the ferry to Portavadie at 1215. Dave parked up while Al jumped out and went into the nearest chip shop. Unfortunately he chose the wrong one and the old woman behind the serving counter had obviously not encountered the concept of first-come-first-served and the locals got priority when it came to ordering - not good for an area which relies to an extent on tourism... After finally being allowed to order a simple portion of chips, Al had to give up hope on getting food and leg it back to the car before the chips were ready - still at least he hadn't paid for them then.

We got to the Loch Fyne ferry as the ramp was being raised. Luckily for us the skipper was in a kind mood today and he lowered the ramp for us to board. So with stomachs empty we crossed Loch Fyne on the Isle of Cumbrae. She was over half full on the car deck although there can't have been more than about 25 people on board. The weather was still dry at this point but the cloud was now rolling in once more.

The time was now 1445 and the Isle of Cumbrae was making her way back across Loch Fyne to Tarbert as Dave and Al now went off across the hills to Tighnabruaich and eventually Dunoon to catch the ferry for Gourock; the next leg of today's journey.

The rain, which had until this time kept away, decided to put in an appearance as we crossed from Loch Riddon to the head of Loch Striven and thing hadn't improve much by the time we got to Dunoon. We went along the direct road into Dunoon rather than taking the coastal route as we were relatively pushed for time - the Juno was due to leave in a few minutes time.

After we got to Gourock we made the short journey down to Largs and joined the short line of traffic waiting for one of the Loch Class to transport them over to Cumbrae. The Loch Alainn was heading away to the island while the smaller Loch Riddon came around the end of the pier and prepared to take us over to the island. Our tickets were checked before we boarded and shortly after, the ramp was raised and the ferry pulled away. Our route to Cumbrae was rather convoluted due to a number of smaller sailing vessels crossing right in front of us. We passed the larger Loch Alainn in mid-channel, although we were a fair distance away as we had been zig-zagging all the way across to the northern end of Cumbrae, before turning south parallel to the shoreline.

After driving off the Loch Riddon, the rest of the traffic turned left for Millport, so Dave turned right and went to the north eastern corner of the island. From here we could see across to Largs to the east as well as up to Wemyss Bay to the north and the entrance to Rothesay Bay to the north west. A good hour was spent on the rocks here while the ferries shuttled back and forth every quarter of an hour.

Next we did a quick circumnavigation of the island before going back to the slipway and pulling into the car park. We remained here for another half an hour before joining the Loch Alainn for the crossing back to Largs, and finally some food!

The end of the first day of the trip and it was an early night for Dave as tomorrow would involve a very early start in order to get to Oban for the ferry to Mull - it'll mean setting off at about 0345!