Cumbrae 8 Sept 2010

'And then there were four'

With ooters still being involved in holidays and munro-bagging and with Jimmy away collecting his carbuncle of the year award, Ian, Ronnie and Paul met at Allan's for a leisurely coffee and scone (leisurely was to be the theme of the day). Having travelled to Largs we arrived at the slip on Cumbrae at about 11.00a.m. and set off in bright sunshine on the usual clockwise route. Ripening brambles were abundant (eat your heart out Peter) at the roadside and many were picked and consumed throughout the course of the day. Soon we were on our way up to the Glaidstone and it was here that Ian spotted a 2p on the ground. Paul, what a dark horse he is, admitted that he doesn't bend over for less than 20p. The mind boggles. We then spied what we thought was a submarine making its way down the Clyde. The problem was that the object was too long for a sub and hence the discussion continued until we made the summit (417ft) and could see clearly that it was indeed a sub but with escort vessels at the front and rear and other smaller craft in attendance. It did not dawn on us until we chatted to another couple on the hill that the small speedboats belonged to Greenpeace. Coffee was taken, the views of Arran, Bute and beyond were taken in, and we discovered that the lady to whom we were talking had been a lecturer at Jordanhill. Ronnie had a long talk with the gentleman concluding with a derogatory story about a man from Lewis. When he had finished he said, 'And where to you come from?' 'Lewis', was the reply.
Next port of call was the Cathedral of the Isles (see us, see culture) and then it was down to the museum at the Garrison before stopping for lunch at the picnic bench on the sea front. The weather by this time was perfect, blue skies, warmth and no wind, and it was here that a fleeting thought came to us, 'Why don't we just sit here for a while and get the bus back to the ferry. The other guys don't need to know.' Ian, however, had a better idea. 'We can walk up to the Golf Club and have a pint'. And so we did, sitting outside in the sunshine and enjoying retirement. We have to record at this point that Ronnie, we think, created another first on an ooters walk. The conversation had turned to Ian's former occupation as a patent agent with him describing his association with Massey-Ferguson and Harry Ferguson's invention of the Ferguson system. Ronnie by this time was fast asleep. He eventually came to and exclaimed, 'Did you work for a man called Ferguson?' The story was recalled for Ronnie's benefit. He felt a better man for knowing about tractors. And talking about tractors, this was a theme of one of Ian's many jokes. He can retell it to the assembled company the next time we have a full complement, suffice it to say that he admitted to making it up in the middle of the night. Sad, isn't it!
For the second time today serious thought was made to having another pint and getting the bus back to the ferry but valour was the better part of discretion and we tramped on from the Golf Club via a path to the tearoom at Fintry Bay. Having some money left in the kitty we all decided to have large 99 cones. Delicious as these were, Ian decided to create his own signature dish by sticking some brambles in the ice cream before devouring the lot.
The trek to the ferry terminal allowed us yet again to marvel at the scenery; the views up the Clyde and beyond to the Cobbler and surrounding hills were superb. The ferry was boarded at 4.30p.m. Five and a half hours for approximately nine miles. Not bad, eh?
This indeed was a grand day out.



















Distance: 14.4 kms route by Paul