Oban to Fort William : ferries, beer and deer

I woke early at 5:15, with one of the other hostel guests snoring gently in the room. I dozed for a while then got up at 6:45, sorted my panniers out and left the room, accidentally setting off the room door alarm by not shutting it properly! I collected my bike from the cycle store and set off on the short ride to the ferry terminal to catch the first ferry over to Craignure at 7:55. It was an absolutely glorious day, not a cloud in the sky and with little wind. 

Two other cyclists were already at the muster point waiting for the ferry, and we swapped stories of our plans. One of the cyclists mentioned that the Corran ferry, which I was due to take on Sunday, was free for Over 60s, which I made a mental note of. We boarded the ferry, secured our bikes and then I went up onto the deck for the rest of the journey. Disembarking I made a quick toilet stop and bought some water at the shop, then headed off west towards Salen.

I had planned to photograph the Salen boats, which I hadn’t done on my last trip in September, but with five miles to go to Salen I realised I wasn’t going to make it there and back to Fishnish to catch the ferry for Lochaline, so turned around and headed back. At the ferry terminal I saw a heron on the slipway, seemingly waiting for the ferry to arrive, which it did within ten minutes. The heron flew off, and I boarded for the short trip over to Lochaline, where I headed straight for the Morvern Community Cafe to get some breakfast. After a breakfast bap and coffee I went to Lochaline Stores to get some supplies and then headed off for Ardgour along the same rolling roads I’d ridden last year. This time though, I turned off on the B8043 which was a new road for me, and which proved to be a treat with some stunning views of Loch Uisge and Loch a Choire. It was a rollercoaster of a road, with some fast downhills and some short, steep ramps. I stopped to take a photo at one point, and a passing motorist checked to see if I was ok which was very nice and appreciated. The weather was getting a little grey by now, and on reaching Kingairloch Church it began to drizzle a little, providing me with a view of a rainbow. It didn’t last though, and by the time I reached the shores of Loch Linnhe it had stopped and blue skies were again the norm. Turning north I was treated to the sight of snow capped mountains in the distance.

In due course I joined the A861 at Inversanda, which was a much busier road with traffic, and so I switched my lights on. Traffic hurried past, heading for the Corran ferry I assumed, and indeed when I arrived at the ferry terminal there were a number of vehicles that had passed me in the queue waiting for the ferry to arrive from Corran. I headed on to Ardgour where I stopped for a sandwich, with an amazing view looking along Loch Linnhe towards Fort William in the far distance. Setting off again I had only gone a short distance when I came across Ardgour Ales brewery which was open, and so I stopped for a pint (very nice) with another amazing viewpoint. After finishing my beer I set off again on the road hugging the shoreline, with superb views over the deep blue loch to the snow capped peaks.

 

At one point I came across a stag helping himself to some hay from a sheep’s feeder. I stopped to take a photo, and the stag ran off to the other of the field, from where he watched me, presumably waiting for me to go so he could return to his feed. Further along the road I came across a large herd of deer in a field between the road and the loch. Stopping to take another photo the deer also ran away from me en masse – I was beginning to get a complex! I was getting closer to Fort William with every pedal stroke, and the snowy mountains loomed larger. 

I rolled up to the Camusnagaul Ferry landing point and waited for the boat to arrive from across the loch. A local bus turned up and waited at the bus stop, then minutes before the ferry arrived it left again. The ferry docked and an old man got off and started walking up the slipway, but when he saw there was no bus he turned around and got back on the boat. My bike was loaded onto the ferry roof for the short journey over to Fort William, where I disembarked. Ahead of me across the road I could see the Black Isle Bar which was very tempting – I’d had a sensational pizza there previously and the beer is good too! Sadly though I had to find my way to the campsite in Glen Nevis, so with a rueful backwards glance I set off. It didn’t take long to find the campsite, and I quickly set my tent up and got showered. Being situated underneath Ben Nevis, it was a very scenic campsite, but very cold. I didn’t wait too long before getting into my sleeping bag to try to get some sleep. For some reason there were several helicopters flying around in the evening, and the mountains echoed the noise from their blades making it very noisy indeed. I hoped I’d get a decent night’s sleep ready for tomorrow’s efforts.