Bute 9 April

Alan, Allan, Davie C, Davie Mc, Gus, Jimmy, Johnny, Robert

Looking back down on Rothesay

The rain continued to fall as we took a pre-sailing coffee in the coffee shop across from the terminal at Wemyss Bay. The forecast, however, assured us it would dry up so it was with some optimism that we embarked on the 10.15 ferry and headed for Rothesay. By the time we docked the rain had stopped and we disembarked to notice that the bus, which usually waits for the ferry passengers, hadn’t, and was on its way to the south of the island. Sometimes you wonder if Scotland really is serious about tourism!

Leaving Kerrycroy

The driver of another bus advised us that the next bus for Kilchattan would not be for another forty-five minutes so a decision was made to do the walk in reverse i.e. walk to Kilchattan and get the bus back rather than the other way round. The initial stage was a bit of a shock to the system as it was a steep climb up a series of steps before joining Serpentine Road for a slog up to the top of the hill overlooking Rothesay. Those of us who were not getting their breath back took time to admire the view and to take some pictures. We turned right and passed by the caravan park before going ‘through’ the golf course (the course has holes on either side of the road – some of them with very steep inclines) before heading down to the north side of Loch Ascog where we exchanged pleasantries with workers upgrading the waterworks. The road climbed again before descending to the main road on the east side of the island. A few hundred yards up the road was Kerrycroy village where we stopped for sustenance.

The next section took us through the grounds of the Mount Stuart estate although, since we kept close to the beach, the house itself did not come in to view. The path here was suffering from the recent rain and was muddy, but progress was not hindered. We stopped briefly at the remains of an old slipway and boathouse and also at an old graveyard where the great and the good from yesteryear were laid to rest.

The walk gets the seal of approval

Kilchattan Bay at last

We ventured on to the beach for a stretch, the walking here not the best due to softish sand and loose gravel, but soon had to leave it due to rocks making the going too difficult. A path was found which enabled us to skirt the obstacle and we remained on it until it gave way to open fields. (The path itself may well get overgrown in the summer months). The walking at this stage was mainly O.K with only a few wet and muddy sections to negotiate and soon Kilchattan Bay was reached. The tide was out and the walk along the beach was good, although by this time there was definitely a touch of moisture in the wind. As we reached some cottages at Kingarth, the boys in front saw the bus at the far side of the bay so the pace quickened as we found the side road which took us back to the bus route where, although we hadn’t reached the bus stop, the driver obligingly picked us up. Great timing, or what? Well done to Alan for suggesting this walk, one we hadn't done before.

Some took the hard way on to the beach

On the bus back to Rothesay we decided to partake of FRT at the Taverna Bar but, as we approached the pier, we saw that the ferry was just docking so the earlier decision was reversed and we took the three o’clock sailing back to Wemyss Bay and lodged ourselves in the Station Bar where amongst other things the talk was of pandas and ninety-five piece domino sets i.e. the doms go up to double twelve. Johnny has purchased ‘more than one’ set of these and, keen to offload some of his homebrew, is going to organise a domino tournament in the near future.

Strangers on the shore

I would post his rules for the competition but they would breach the upload limit for the blog. Anyone with a few spare terabytes of memory can download them straight from JM himself.