The first part of the day was a 5 mile trip the wrong way in order to see the Eilean Donan castle of Monty Python and the Holy Grail fame. We didn't go in but had a good look at the place from outside and it is certainly a picturesque place. So after that we headed straight back up the road and passed the campsite an hour after we left it the first time.
A little before the bridge into Skye we met another cyclist in a layby who had been in the same campsite and pointed out how funny it was watching us trying to put up a tent and slapping at midges at the same time. He was out on a 5 day tour and was currently stopping for a breather while simultaneously puffing on a cigarette. We admired the view across Loch Alsh and had a chat before moving on towards Skye, over the bridge and West until we turned off along the A851 heading south. The landscape here was quite open and barren and with the sun out it had a parched, desert-like look.
Soon enough we were cycling along the coast and while the road tended to deteriorate it became prettier and more enjoyable to cycle this part. It was a bit windy and undulating but before long we reached the ferry at Armadale. Unfortunately the ferry had just gone so we had to wait an hour for the next one and we ate lunch at the nearby cafe in the meantime. The ferry trip was soon negotiated and we were back on the mainland at Mallaig in glorious sunshine. It was frankly a little too hot, but soon we were under the cover of trees as the road wound through the hills. I was feeling pretty energetic and had left Sam well behind before long, not stopping at all on the A380 but waiting in a bus shelter at the junction as it began to rain. How quickly the weather can change in this part of the world!
Sam caught up, waterproofs were put on and we headed out into a much different climate than it had been a few hours before. The next section was pretty dull with a dark, dark sky and plenty of spray coming from the road into our faces. It was picking up again by the time we reached Acharacle and we stopped at a hotel for a pint before popping over the road for a pizza and scampi at the takeaway. 80 miles in and about 20 to do, or so I thought. A sign appeared saying 27 miles to Kilchoan and as that was where we were staying things didn't look too good. As it happened it was another case of lax Scottish signposting as the actual distance was about 21 miles. A bit of a relief.
The road from Salen out onto the Ardnamurchan peninsula was a windy and undulating one and by this point of the day we would probably have preferred a gentler route. After climbing up past Ben Hiant we were rewarded by some excellent views and a few encounters with wildlife. This was a really excellent stretch and the sun was still out despite it being about 9pm.
This photo is of Loch Mudle about 5 miles from the end of our journey.As we headed down towards Kilchoan we were treated with the sight of a massive heard of deer. As Sam hammered downhill a deer wandered out in front of him and didn't look too interested in moving. It wandered off as Sam grew very close, but as we went through a gate our views opened out to see another 60 or so deer on the hill to our left. Quite spectacular. To cap it off we think we saw a Peregrine Falcon. It was pretty close but with light beginning to fade we didn't get a perfect look and have to assume we saw one rather than knowing for sure. It wasn't a buzzard anyway so that's a start.
When we arrived in Kilchoan it was clear that we would be leaving our trip to the point (most Westerly part of the mainland) for the next day. It was already late when we arrived and we put the tent up, largely without midge-based dramatics, before going to sleep on a rare occassion without beer. I woke up at 2am scratching my legs - the midges seemed to be less of a problem here but some certainly got me.
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