One Day Like This

Walking for most people involves the voluntary act of one foot following the other until the custodian of the appendages orders a halt to either gain a rest or has reached his/her end destination.

Walking long distances to many in this automotive world is a completely alien concept which is exampled by the expanding girths of our nation’s populace. Many of whom baulk at the thought of raising their ‘well covered’ bones from the sofa to pick up the TV remote.

We, as a couple of reassembly fit bipeds uphold the beliefs of the American physician and cardiologist Paul Dudley White that ‘A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world.’

The physical benefits of distance walking are well documented; additionally we have found that distance walking enhances ones personal identity by:

• Learning to focus and relax your mind
• Attain the ability to enjoy yourself and your surroundings
• Gain patience as you walk longer distances
• Using your mind to overcome adversity
• Master your mind, and be able to accomplish any goal you set for yourself

These attributes were to be severely tested on this meander, a 30+ mile, 2 day walk around The Isle of Bute.

The Isle of Bute lies in Scotland’s Firth of Clyde, tucked into the spectacular sea lochs of southern Argyll. 15 miles long by approximately 4 miles wide Bute is less than two hours from the city of Glasgow. The island was a popular Victorian seaside destination, when the main town of Rothesay would be bustling with trippers who had come “doon the watter” during the Glasgow Fair and disembarked from the many steamers that sailed the Clyde.

Cruising into Rothesay harbour on a hot summer’s day offers a surreal vista of elegant Victorian architecture garnished with an abundance of palm trees swaying along the prom. It is amongst this Victorian elegance that our stopover for the evening is situated; The Glendale Guest House. Looking over the harbour this mini castle is resplendent with turrets and strategically placed bay windows, furnished with a tasteful mixture of oak and leather. The view from our room and adjoining lounge cannot be understated in its description as truly breathtaking, the sort of view that one could happily sit at all evening and forget that time exists.

Arriving at mid-morning our landlady kindly lets us into our room to leave our bags as we quickly rush to catch a bus to take us to the south of the island where we begin our quest to conquer The West Island Way.

The West Island Way is Scotland's first long distance island footpath. It was developed and opened in 2000 as part of Bute's events to celebrate the millennium. The path is 30 miles of way marked walking which runs from south to north and takes in track, moor, forest and coastal walking.

The first section of the West Island Way is a short loop which begins and ends in Kilchattan Bay. A distance of some four and a half miles, it was a pre-existing and well-known walk before the West Island Way was developed. As we walk through the southern tip of the island we take a slight detour from the path to gaze over the short stretch of water to Arran and reminisce back to our recent climb of Goat Fell in Arran via glorious Glen Sannox. This early four and half miles proves to be a hard slog over difficult underfoot conditions, which sees us return to Kilchattan Bay just before the local post office shuts its doors at four o’clock. Never, has a cold drink and ice cream tasted as good as we rest or weary limbs under an increasingly intense sun.

Rejuvenated and rehydrated we head North on the nine mile stretch to our overnight stop at Rothesay. Within the first couple of miles we arrive at an airfield which has been playing host to a number of small single-engine aircraft all morning. The quick elevation gained with very little speed by these light aircraft is mighty impressive as we look on at there departure and arrivals. Pressing on and gaining some elevation of our own we climb up the backbone of the island accompanied by increasingly intensive heat. As we reach the highest point of the day we celebrate with dance of joy at the well structured trig point. From here a flat farmer’s track takes along the southern backbone of the island before a welcome downhill stretch takes us past Loch Ascog which is a popular viewing spot for birdwatchers and Loch Fad a renowned fishing Loch with a healthy stock of fine Brown Trout.

As the midges start to make their irksome presence felt we arrive back at Rothesay and waste no time in acquiring a fish supper which we devour at a speed that makes the gathering seagulls eating habits look cultured by comparison. As we walk the short distance to our Guest House we look over the harbour to the retiring sun as it sets the sky ablaze with a combination of fiery red and flaming orange, magnified by the still cool water. Silently drawing the day to a close you can almost hear it whisper "Farewell" to the world as it sinks lower and lower in a lazy manner; almost as if it never wants to leave.

Day two and 17 miles to complete before the final ferry to the mainland begins in ideal walking conditions, an overcast sky and gentle breeze accompanies us on the first hilly stretch to Port Bannatyne. On arrival the sun peers through the cloud and spreads its life enhancing qualities around us as blue replaces grey in the skies above and we resign ourselves to another strength sapping day. Port Bannatyne comes complete with a tea room, and with its own wreck. This is the abandoned fishing vessel the Co-Worker which ran aground and has since been referred to, perhaps a little fancifully, as "Bute's Eifel Tower." Scenically attractive, the small town also plays host to three pubs and an off-license all within a three minute walk of each other. Could there be an alcohol problem in the village ;-)

Moving on at speed we traverse the island towards Ettrick Bay and then climb north to the islands other main ferry terminal at Rhubodach. Passing through extensive grazing pastures and rich farmland we stop for a few minutes at a farm and watch some sheep being expertly sheared by two expert shearers whom we are told also ply their trade in New Zealand. Working within strict time parameters we press on through some overgrown terrain, the last ferry to the mainland is at 7pm and power walking is the order of the day should we hope to make it.
It is at this stage to the north of the island that we meet the first fellow walker of the way, ‘a nuclear scientist.’ Throughout our travels these past few months we have found that walking has aided us immensely to explore and learn about a place and its history, customs, people, geography, etc. This meander also furnishes us with some fascinating insights about the British Governments energy policies as our fellow walker is heavily involved in the design of Britain’s new generation of nuclear power stations and seems happy to answer all our environmental issues.

Isn’t it strange the people you meet in the middle of nowhere?

On reaching Rhubodach the way follows the main road down the North West shore of the island to the finish line at Port Bannatyne. At this point the scientist strikes out on his own as we begin to wilt under the unforgiving sun. This walk is now changing from a pleasant stroll into a serious slog as the final 5 miles along the tar macadam road begins to take its toll on our rapidly tiring legs. Determination to overcome adversity drives us on to the finish line seven hours and 17 hilly miles after we started.

Was it the heat, the lack of proper sleep, the power walking, and lack of carbohydrates/water or was our fitness levels not what they should be?

Whatever the reason, this walk turned into a real test of character for us and one which we will look back on with great pride coupled with fond memories of those two sweltering days on The Isle of Bute.

One Day Like This A Year Would See Me Right ;-)

Video highlights below.

Doon The Watter

Tell someone that you are going “doon the watter,” and you will be met with puzzled looks. Unless of course they are from Glasgow, in which case they will immediately understand you plan to sail “down the waters” of the river Clyde.

For Eric any trip doon the watter would be incomplete without a visit to the holiday destination of his childhood Millport.

Millport is the only town on the island of Great Cumbrae, which sits one and a half miles off the coast of north Ayrshire. Alongside other towns like its island neighbour Rothesay it used to be a popular destination for holidaymakers coming doon the watter on paddle steamers from Glasgow.

In the 20th century, Millport became a tourist destination with thousands of families taking trips from Glasgow, Greenock and other Clyde towns. Some would stay in Millport throughout the summer with fathers taking the boat to join their families at the weekend. At this time there were hundreds of pleasure steamers linking all the Clyde costs towns. Today, the paddle steamer Waverley (last seagoing paddle steamer in the world) continues this tradition with regular visits to Millport in the summer months.
For today’s meander by car, foot, boat and bike we are joined by Emma’s good friend Janice from Lowestoft who has taken six days sabbatical in Scotland to recharge her batteries. To get there we take the ferry from Largs on Scotland’s west coast. The crossing only takes 15 minutes. The small car ferry alights on the islands north shore and from here it takes a leisurely 10 minutes to the timeless hamlet of Millport. Once you arrive, the traditional way to see Great Cumbrae is by bike. It's only 11 miles round and the road is flat thus making it a great place to cycle. We quickly hire our cycles and take off around the coastline, taking in the delights of the island's nature and wildlife, sandy bays and pebble beaches.

Our first stop off point is 3 miles in to the trip as we feast on tea and cake at Fintry Bay a renowned café and popular resting place for the thousands of cyclists who circumnavigate the island each year. Shortly after Fintry we view the first of several bizarre rock formations that has evolved on the island over the years ‘Indian Rock’. The Indian's face was possibly done by Fern Andy who lived in a cave near the area in the 1920's. It is probable that the eyes of the Indian were painted as a guide point for boats sometime previously.

Further around the island we encounter ‘The Lion Rock’. Its proper name is Houloon Keipel Dyke & it's a natural rock formation from volcanic lava - but the folklore story is that good elves were building a bridge to the mainland, the bad ogres tried to copy them but didn't do it very well, so kicked holes in the bottom & it ended up looking like a lion. As lions are frightening to elves, they all ran off & you'll never see an elf on the east side of the island today!

On returning to Millport we pass perhaps the most famous of the islands legendary rocks ‘Crocodile Rock’. The crocodile was painted by a retired architect, Robert Brown, in the early 20th century. He came out of the tavern after his regular lunchtime tipple & remarked that the rock looked remarkably like a crocodile, the next day he took it upon himself to paint it. It's been freshened up many times since but the black, red & white colours you still see today are the same colours used by Robert Brown.

As we return our bikes after our 3 hour sojourn around an island that remains unaffected by the passing of time we venture over to The Royal George Hotel for rehydration and rest before ascending to the highest point on the island to capture a panoramic image and then speeding down off the hill to catch the ferry we have been tracing coming over from Largs and quickly clambering aboard it’s opening bow securing us back to the mainland.