I think you'll find that was a sea eagle....H captured this Golden Eagle pouncing on prey in the reeds. I'll never forget this momentView attachment 272722
More to follow tomorrow.
Ride Report: Island Hopping: a five day Scottish tour
- Thread starter retroman
- Start date
You might well be right, but I thought Sea Eagles have white tails? Either way, it was huge.
Whatever they were, we saw loads of eagles on Mull. Incredible birds.
Doubt you'd ever see a goldie eating anything from the water....there's lots of both on Mull..
He grabbed a mouse or vole from the reed beds, not the water. It was amazing to watch. Hovered in the breeze then BOOM.
That looks a great little trip. So often one looks to go South or East when there is so much North. Weather makes a difference mind and didn’t you have that. 
Good one Dave .... great report, great photographs
Enjoying
Enjoying
That looks a great little trip. So often one looks to go South or East when there is so much North. Weather makes a difference mind and didn’t you have that.
Thank you both. More to followGood one Dave .... great report, great photographs
Enjoying
Once off the ferry at Kilchoan, it was a short hop to the stunning location that is the lighthouse and foghorn at Ardnamurchan Point. I was last here about 15 years ago, when Hein Gericke Twat Suits were de riguer for all members of UKGSer.com. Times have changed!
I would never have thought back then that the next time I would visit this place, I would be accompanied by this chap - who is due to marry my daughter at some point in the future!
Some things don't change. I'm on the same bike!
There is an excellent cafe here which is a must-visit. Local ice-cream and a cold drink were very welcome.
The plan from here was to ride to Mallaig for a snack, refuel, then return to Oban via Ardgour and the Corran Ferry (...I know that this ferry has been out of service for some time but I'd checked online previously and a "restricted service" was operating, without a definition of what this actually was!). We had placed a strategic curry in the fridge at our digs, so we knew that a meal awaited us at the end of the day.
We followed the wonderful coastal road inland to Salen (seem to be a lot of Salens hereabouts!) before heading north via Glenuig on the superb A861. Again, no photos as we didn't want to spoil the flow of the ride!
At Lochailort it was left turn onto the fantastic A830 to Mallaig. By now my fuel was getting low but I wasn't worried: SatNav showed petrol stations at both Mallaig and Morar, a few miles south on the return. So of course, we hooned it to Mallaig without a care in the world, burning fuel like it was going out of fashion ....
At Mallaig, the petrol station was shut with signs on the pumps saying NO FUEL
. Oh, bugger. OK - no worries - Morar it is.
On arrival at Morar it was clear that the info supplied by my ZUMO was hopelessly out of date. The dusty forecourt and shuttered shop made my heart sink. This place had clearly gone out of business months if not years previously.
I spoke to a neighbour who was out in her garden, "Oh aye, there's a big problem hereabouts, no fuel anywhere, we all have to go into Fort William for petrol ...."
Fort William is 40 miles from Morar
As we left Morar I had one bar showing. Despite careful riding at 52mph on one of the best biking roads in the country, the RESERVE light came on at Glenfinnan. I thought at this point I was doomed ... H had already been briefed to ride on and fetch a can if the worst happened (H was, of course, on his R1250GS ADV with a petrol tank the size of Loch Ness).
In the event (... and after an arse-twitching few miles that seemed to take forever) I coasted into the first petrol station at Fort William and literally kissed the ground on the forecourt. Judging by my petrol receipt, my bike must have been running on vapour by this point. All part of the fun ....
It was now quite late in the day so a quick visit to the Golden Arches Restaurant for a snack was in order. We'd already passed warning notices advising that the Corran Ferry was foot-passenger only so we had no option but to take the A82 south for the A828 on towards Oban. As it happens, it was late in the day so all the wobble-box crowd and truckers were off the road. An absolute peach of a biking road without traffic ....
We arrived back at 9pm - still broad daylight due to the latitude - for our curry, a good bottle of red and another Dram.
An unforgettable day. We looked forward to our next destination: the wonderful Isle of Arran.
I would never have thought back then that the next time I would visit this place, I would be accompanied by this chap - who is due to marry my daughter at some point in the future!
Some things don't change. I'm on the same bike!
There is an excellent cafe here which is a must-visit. Local ice-cream and a cold drink were very welcome.
The plan from here was to ride to Mallaig for a snack, refuel, then return to Oban via Ardgour and the Corran Ferry (...I know that this ferry has been out of service for some time but I'd checked online previously and a "restricted service" was operating, without a definition of what this actually was!). We had placed a strategic curry in the fridge at our digs, so we knew that a meal awaited us at the end of the day.
We followed the wonderful coastal road inland to Salen (seem to be a lot of Salens hereabouts!) before heading north via Glenuig on the superb A861. Again, no photos as we didn't want to spoil the flow of the ride!
At Lochailort it was left turn onto the fantastic A830 to Mallaig. By now my fuel was getting low but I wasn't worried: SatNav showed petrol stations at both Mallaig and Morar, a few miles south on the return. So of course, we hooned it to Mallaig without a care in the world, burning fuel like it was going out of fashion ....
At Mallaig, the petrol station was shut with signs on the pumps saying NO FUEL
. Oh, bugger. OK - no worries - Morar it is.On arrival at Morar it was clear that the info supplied by my ZUMO was hopelessly out of date. The dusty forecourt and shuttered shop made my heart sink. This place had clearly gone out of business months if not years previously.
I spoke to a neighbour who was out in her garden, "Oh aye, there's a big problem hereabouts, no fuel anywhere, we all have to go into Fort William for petrol ...."
Fort William is 40 miles from Morar
As we left Morar I had one bar showing. Despite careful riding at 52mph
on one of the best biking roads in the country, the RESERVE light came on at Glenfinnan. I thought at this point I was doomed ... H had already been briefed to ride on and fetch a can if the worst happened (H was, of course, on his R1250GS ADV with a petrol tank the size of Loch Ness).In the event (... and after an arse-twitching few miles that seemed to take forever) I coasted into the first petrol station at Fort William and literally kissed the ground on the forecourt. Judging by my petrol receipt, my bike must have been running on vapour by this point. All part of the fun ....
It was now quite late in the day so a quick visit to the Golden Arches Restaurant for a snack was in order. We'd already passed warning notices advising that the Corran Ferry was foot-passenger only
so we had no option but to take the A82 south for the A828 on towards Oban. As it happens, it was late in the day so all the wobble-box crowd and truckers were off the road. An absolute peach of a biking road without traffic ....We arrived back at 9pm - still broad daylight due to the latitude - for our curry, a good bottle of red and another Dram.
An unforgettable day. We looked forward to our next destination: the wonderful Isle of Arran.
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And lamb too. A friend was walking up Ben More on Mull and saw a Golden Eagle take a lamb.
Again, far more likely to be a sea eagle, which are munching their way through shepherds flocks on Mull....there is a compensation scheme, since the sea eagle population is a successful result of reintroduction.
Once off the ferry at Kilchoan, it was a short hop to the stunning location that is the lighthouse and foghorn at Ardnamurchan Point. I was last here about 15 years ago, when Hein Gericke Twat Suits were de riguer for all members of UKGSer.com. Times have changed!
View attachment 272778
I would never have thought back then that the next time I would visit this place, I would be accompanied by this chap - who is due to marry my daughter at some point in the future!
View attachment 272779
View attachment 272780View attachment 272781
Some things don't change. I'm on the same bike!
View attachment 272782
There is an excellent cafe here which is a must-visit. Local ice-cream and a cold drink were very welcome.
The plan from here was to ride to Mallaig for a snack, refuel, then return to Oban via Ardgour and the Corran Ferry (...I know that this ferry has been out of service for some time but I'd checked online previously and a "restricted service" was operating, without a definition of what this actually was!). We had placed a strategic curry in the fridge at our digs, so we knew that a meal awaited us at the end of the day.
We followed the wonderful coastal road inland to Salen (seem to be a lot of Salens hereabouts!) before heading north via Glenuig on the superb A861. Again, no photos as we didn't want to spoil the flow of the ride!
At Lochailort it was left turn onto the fantastic A830 to Mallaig. By now my fuel was getting low but I wasn't worried: SatNav showed petrol stations at both Mallaig and Morar, a few miles south on the return. So of course, we hooned it to Mallaig without a care in the world, burning fuel like it was going out of fashion ....
At Mallaig, the petrol station was shut with signs on the pumps saying NO FUEL
On arrival at Morar it was clear that the info supplied by my ZUMO was hopelessly out of date. The dusty forecourt and shuttered shop made my heart sink. This place had clearly gone out of business months if not years previously.
I spoke to a neighbour who was out in her garden, "Oh aye, there's a big problem hereabouts, no fuel anywhere, we all have to go into Fort William for petrol ...."
Fort William is 40 miles from Morar
As we left Morar I had one bar showing. Despite careful riding at 52mph
In the event (... and after an arse-twitching few miles that seemed to take forever) I coasted into the first petrol station at Fort William and literally kissed the ground on the forecourt. Judging by my petrol receipt, my bike must have been running on vapour by this point. All part of the fun ....
It was now quite late in the day so a quick visit to the Golden Arches Restaurant for a snack was in order. We'd already passed warning notices advising that the Corran Ferry was foot-passenger only
We arrived back at 9pm - still broad daylight due to the latitude - for our curry, a good bottle of red and another Dram.View attachment 272783
An unforgettable day. We looked forward to our next destination: the wonderful Isle of Arran.
Great words
I was out that way in early May for the SSDT and heading out on that peninsula from the Mallaig road, I had to calculate how far I could venture down the A861 past Loch Ailort to watch the riders, for fear of not getting back to FW
On a small tanked bike it’s an issue
Still at least the weather was amazingly warm
A Goldie on this occasion Gerry. Yer man's a seasoned mountaineer and has done all the Munros (some several times) and knows their wildlife well.
Great words
I was out that way in early May for the SSDT and heading out on that peninsula from the Mallaig road, I had to calculate how far I could venture down the A861 past Loch Ailort to watch the riders, for fear of not getting back to FW
On a small tanked bike it’s an issue
Still at least the weather was amazingly warm
At Fort Bill there were two German riders on KTMs parked up, I thought I would do the diplomatic thing and advise them of the petrol drought heading West. They both laughed and pointed out the auxiliary cans they were both carrying. Seems that one of them ran dry in the middle of nowhere on the Western Isles the previous year
Readers, take notice & be prepared!!
Day 5: Oban to Isle of Arran
We were up at 07:00 for breakfast. Time to pack up and clear out ... I wanted to make the 11:20 ferry off Claonaig for Lochranza on Arran, to maximise our day exploring the island.
The black shed was our Chalet. We hope to return!
One thing I learnt from this tour - SatNav ETA means nothing in Scotland. GPS calculates ETA using the road speed limits. Most of the roads we travelled were National Speed Limit (i.e. 60mph) when it is only possible to bimble along at 20-35mph in most places on the Islands. So add an extra 50% to your timings if you head this way ....
I had planned a route from Oban to take in a loop on the B8024 towards Kilberry, re-joining the A83 at West Tarbert for Claonaig. In the event we abandoned this diversion and stayed southbound on the A83. A wise move as it turns out ... we'd have missed our ferry by a country mile
Hop 4: Claonaig (mainland) - Lochranza (Isle of Arran)
What a bleak old place Claonaig must be when the weather is inclement. Facilities include the slipway, a bus shelter - and, er, that's it. Fortunately for us, the God of Climate was pulling levers in our favour again.
Time to top-up the sugar levels with this potent local brew
Good for the cholesterol, so I'm told!
Yet again, a four-wheeled wobbling House had beaten us to it. And yes, it grounded it's fat lazy arse on the bleddy ferry ramp whilst boarding.
Next stop: Lochranza.
We were up at 07:00 for breakfast. Time to pack up and clear out ... I wanted to make the 11:20 ferry off Claonaig for Lochranza on Arran, to maximise our day exploring the island.
The black shed was our Chalet. We hope to return!
One thing I learnt from this tour - SatNav ETA means nothing in Scotland. GPS calculates ETA using the road speed limits. Most of the roads we travelled were National Speed Limit (i.e. 60mph) when it is only possible to bimble along at 20-35mph in most places on the Islands. So add an extra 50% to your timings if you head this way ....
I had planned a route from Oban to take in a loop on the B8024 towards Kilberry, re-joining the A83 at West Tarbert for Claonaig. In the event we abandoned this diversion and stayed southbound on the A83. A wise move as it turns out ... we'd have missed our ferry by a country mile
Hop 4: Claonaig (mainland) - Lochranza (Isle of Arran)
What a bleak old place Claonaig must be when the weather is inclement. Facilities include the slipway, a bus shelter - and, er, that's it. Fortunately for us, the God of Climate was pulling levers in our favour again.
Time to top-up the sugar levels with this potent local brew
Good for the cholesterol, so I'm told!
Yet again, a four-wheeled wobbling House had beaten us to it. And yes, it grounded it's fat lazy arse on the bleddy ferry ramp whilst boarding.
Next stop: Lochranza.
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I wondered who that bike belonged to. It's nearly always parked there. The Buccleuch certainly has the best Pies in town.
Great report, thanks for posting
John Ferguson (in his book) recommends the Sandwich Station, turn right off the slipway. We were rather hungry after the crossing & noted a long queue of cyslists at the serving hatch (always a good sign IMHO) so stopped here for lunch. I had the Smoked Mackerel sandwich with Arran mustard on warmed Heritage Bread ... and it was so good I didn't stop for photos. Here's the linky ... it's worth visiting Arran just for this place!
The roads on Arran are basically a ring road around the coast, with two East-West passes: The String out of Brodick, and The Ross along Glen Scorrodale, to the south. The road surface is pretty shite across the island, full of potholes, gravel patches and overbanding, so care is required ... with spectacular views wherever you go.
Out of Lochranza we turned left & south towards Goat Fell and our accomodation: The Corrie Hotel on the eastern side of the island. We called in to see if we could check-in early, but they weren't ready for us. No matter: we elected to do a figure of eight and get both mountain passes in before check-in.
The String is a great road with amazing views. Again, no photos. Too much fun to be had
We got to the turn off for The Ross via the southerly junction, only to be met with the dreaded ROAD AHEAD CLOSED signs. Nevertheless we decided to give it a go. It's a fantastic single track road through some dense forests. Two happy GSers:
We pressed on and on, didn't see a soul or another vehicle. We'd done 90% of the pass when we came across a couple of local walkers. They had a good moan about the closure, apparently it's been ongoing for months and the locals are getting steamed-up about the delay. They weren't sure about a physical closure so wished us well as we set off. About a mile later we encountered this .....
That gap is about 18 inches wide. With a steep drop on one side and a stream on the other, it was decided that a tactical withdrawal was in order (Micky, if you are still reading this, my Royal Enfield Himalayan would have sailed through!).
We waved to the walkers on our return ... more great views from this lovely road, with Kintyre visible in the distance across Kilbrannan Sound.
THE SANDWICH STATION
Since 2017 The Sandwich Station has been our family business serving visitors and residents alike superior sandwiches made from the freshest locally sourced ingredients. While we have fantastic...
thesandwichstation.weebly.com
The roads on Arran are basically a ring road around the coast, with two East-West passes: The String out of Brodick, and The Ross along Glen Scorrodale, to the south. The road surface is pretty shite across the island, full of potholes, gravel patches and overbanding, so care is required ... with spectacular views wherever you go.
Out of Lochranza we turned left & south towards Goat Fell and our accomodation: The Corrie Hotel on the eastern side of the island. We called in to see if we could check-in early, but they weren't ready for us. No matter: we elected to do a figure of eight and get both mountain passes in before check-in.
The String is a great road with amazing views. Again, no photos. Too much fun to be had
We got to the turn off for The Ross via the southerly junction, only to be met with the dreaded ROAD AHEAD CLOSED signs. Nevertheless we decided to give it a go. It's a fantastic single track road through some dense forests. Two happy GSers:
We pressed on and on, didn't see a soul or another vehicle. We'd done 90% of the pass when we came across a couple of local walkers. They had a good moan about the closure, apparently it's been ongoing for months and the locals are getting steamed-up about the delay. They weren't sure about a physical closure so wished us well as we set off. About a mile later we encountered this .....
That gap is about 18 inches wide. With a steep drop on one side and a stream on the other, it was decided that a tactical withdrawal was in order (Micky, if you are still reading this, my Royal Enfield Himalayan would have sailed through!).
We waved to the walkers on our return ... more great views from this lovely road, with Kintyre visible in the distance across Kilbrannan Sound.
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Cheers MzokkGreat report, thanks for posting
Re-tracing our steps to the coast road, we turned left for Bennan Head and Kildonan, at which point the skies cleared and we were gifted these fabulous views across the Firth of Clyde.
The (unoccupied) Island of Pladda:
This great lump is called Ailsa Craig. Apparently they make the best Curling Stones from it
As Guy Garvey once sang, "One day like this a year would see me right ..."
The (unoccupied) Island of Pladda:
This great lump is called Ailsa Craig. Apparently they make the best Curling Stones from it
As Guy Garvey once sang, "One day like this a year would see me right ..."
Having followed to coast road back to Corrie, we were now able to check-in at the hotel and dump some kit. With a few hours to kill before dinner, we decided to retrace our steps via The String to the western side of the island, and ride the section of coast road we were still missing - northwards to Lochranza again.
I'm glad we did. What a wonderful road, affording incredible views across to Kintyre.
I'm glad we did. What a wonderful road, affording incredible views across to Kintyre.
