we will be touring with our nearly 3 year old our plan is
ardrossan - lochranza stay ay yha hostel
cross kintyre to Gigha stay i hostel on gigha independant
gigha to islay stay in hostel at port charlotte
islay to jura stay B&B
jura to colonsay stay in hostel
colonsay to bute via kintyre hostel in bute
back to ardrossan
any obvious flaws???
thanks
1 week tour from ardrossan in may route idea
I don't like Lochranza YHA as the bike shed is nothing more than a shack.
I leaned my precious Mercian up against a wooden post and the rough cement wall and crossed my fingers. Later that evening, I went down to check all was well, and loads of bikes had turned up - one or two leaning against mine! These weren't nice bikes, they were cheap and nasty things, the sort of bikes that people use to ride rather than walk and don't really care about. They were just slung willy-nilly in the shack.
I withdrew mine, and then took it up to the dorm, leaning it snuggly and warm next to my bunk!
The next morning, I checked out carrying my bike down stairs, and the warden-lady said, "We have a bike-shed, you know." "Yes, I know." I replied, "It's rubbish, and I don't want to leave £1000 worth of bike in there."
Her reply left me stunned:
"Why do you want to bring a bike like that on holiday with you?"
I leaned my precious Mercian up against a wooden post and the rough cement wall and crossed my fingers. Later that evening, I went down to check all was well, and loads of bikes had turned up - one or two leaning against mine! These weren't nice bikes, they were cheap and nasty things, the sort of bikes that people use to ride rather than walk and don't really care about. They were just slung willy-nilly in the shack.
I withdrew mine, and then took it up to the dorm, leaning it snuggly and warm next to my bunk!
The next morning, I checked out carrying my bike down stairs, and the warden-lady said, "We have a bike-shed, you know." "Yes, I know." I replied, "It's rubbish, and I don't want to leave £1000 worth of bike in there."
Her reply left me stunned:
"Why do you want to bring a bike like that on holiday with you?"
Mick F. Cornwall
Just make sure you check out the times of the ferries on http://www.calmac.co.uk as I think you can only travel from Colonsay to Oban or Islay.
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rualexander
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colnagokid
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- Joined: 5 May 2008, 4:37pm
May tour/island hop
I agree with the advice from Cyclepath.As an Ardrossan resident, touring cyclist and frequent user of Calmac ferries, I check their website or listen in to BBC Radio Scotland 93.9-94.6FM which gives excellent hourly travel reports including ferries on weekdays.
Already this winter there have been several Clyde ferry cancellations/re-routings due to the squally weather.
From memory,May '08 was a fine spell here on the west coast so you may be fortunate in experiencing similar this year.
Please bear in mind we can literally have all 4 seasons in one day even in "summer" and I have experienced a snow blizzard in mid-june, so be prepared for all eventualities.
Don't quite follow your penultimate stage as the ferry to Bute(Rothesay) runs from Wemyss Bay on the mainland.There is no direct link to the western isles.
If you pm your address I can send you a copy of the Calmac 2009 ferry brochure when it becomes available if you like.
Good luck anyway.
Already this winter there have been several Clyde ferry cancellations/re-routings due to the squally weather.
From memory,May '08 was a fine spell here on the west coast so you may be fortunate in experiencing similar this year.
Please bear in mind we can literally have all 4 seasons in one day even in "summer" and I have experienced a snow blizzard in mid-june, so be prepared for all eventualities.
Don't quite follow your penultimate stage as the ferry to Bute(Rothesay) runs from Wemyss Bay on the mainland.There is no direct link to the western isles.
If you pm your address I can send you a copy of the Calmac 2009 ferry brochure when it becomes available if you like.
Good luck anyway.
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rualexander
- Posts: 2646
- Joined: 2 Jul 2007, 9:47pm
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From the Calmac timetables for summer 2009 it looks like only on a Wednesday you can go from Colonsay to Kennacraig via Port Askaig, then you would have to overnight on Kintyre before getting the Tarbert to Portavadie boat to cycle round to Colintraive for the ferry to Rhubodach on Bute. From Bute the main ferry is to Wemyss Bay as mentioned above from where you would have a short but busy road cycle to Ardrossan.
We did a similar thing last Easter, with our 3-year old. It was a great trip. We didn't head up to Colonsay, and we came back via Arran, instead of Bute as we'd planned. This was due to strong (Force 6-8) winds. From our experience, I'd say you'll have a great time, but I'd just get one of the multi-trip ferry tickets, see how you go, and be prepared to change plans. I'm sure you're aware that you need to be even more flexible when travelling with a youngster. We were camping though, which makes life easier.
Don't think you can go directly from Jura to Colonsay.
You will need to go back to Port Askaig from Jura and then on to Colonsay. The Port Askaig/Colonsay ferry only runs once a week on a Wednesday so you would need to organise your route in order to be at Port askaig on a Wednesday.
A bike does more miles to the banana than a Porsche.
You will need to go back to Port Askaig from Jura and then on to Colonsay. The Port Askaig/Colonsay ferry only runs once a week on a Wednesday so you would need to organise your route in order to be at Port askaig on a Wednesday.
A bike does more miles to the banana than a Porsche.