Now Finished Blog Part 2
Yesterday was going home day and its blog refers back to Wednesday, as does today's posting. The "home James" schedule was:-
0615 : Luggage outside room
0715 : Breakfast
0800 : Depart
2030 : arrival back at fbb mansions
With a total journey time of 125 hours, fbb felt that blogging would be mentally and physically impossible upon arrival at fbb mansions. There was little free time during the three middle days, and what free time there was was impeded by poor wifi.
So the start of this post was actually prepared on Friday evening just before your travel weary author slid exhausted between the sheets! The finish was added this morning.
It proved impossible to complete this diurnal work of literary genius! But this is waht ws ready before departure from Dalriada, Alba, Pays d'Ecosse, North Britain, Caledonia, Sturgonia etc. etc.
In yesterday's blog, however, we were making our way to Inverary and had we had stopped at the Rest And Be Thankful transport interchange!
The frame shows a multiplicity of services using the lavishly equipped stop.
926 Citylink Glasgow to Campbeltown ...... shows about five journey each way at the "Interchange"976 Citylink Glasgow to Oban ...
... provides two 976 journeys each way.302 is Helensburgh to Carrick Castle ...
... has approx three journeys each way.
At 10 summated journeys (maybe less in winter which starts at the end of October) each way it makes this middle-of-nowhere stop busier than some suburban tie points!
Whilst the 926 and the 976 simply follow the A roads, readers may be intrigued to know where the 302 goes.
The 302 goes to Carrick Castle which is near the mouth of Loch Goil, Which, in turn, is a few miles up the "watter" from Helensburgh. On the map below, Carrick Castle is top left, Helensburgh is bottom right.
In days gony by, your route would be easy - you would take a steamer!
Nowadays your only possible transport option is about one and a half hours' by Garelochhead Coaches 302 bus!
The bus will take you via Loch Lomond side to Artrtochar, past the fbb's holiday gaff at Ardgarten and up tp the Rest And Be Thankful interchange.
From there a dotted orange road takes you via Monevechadan to Lochgoilhead, a small community at the head of Loch Goil (the Scits have a canny way of naming their little villages!) That road is the B828,
From Lochgoilhead the bus takes the gloriously scenic unclassified road to the Castle ...
... where be a few houses and a former hotel.
And, no, fbb's Lochs and Glens coach did NOT visit Carrick Castle, (BOO!) but it did take the B838 and the B839 Hells Glen (!) en route to Inverary!
Riding in seats 1 and 2 in a long six-wheeler coach down a "single track road with passing places" was a heart in the mouth occasion. But driver Steve coped magnificently ...
... oveer undulating roads, tight corners ...
... and avoiding oncoming traffic of which there was, mercifully, very little; except, that is, for a convoy of four lorries carrying loads of road mending stuff. We crossed this convoy in the appropriately named Hells Glen - refer back to map above!
One little touch to delight your Biblically knowledgeable blogger. Some kind Minister of God had decided that a simple source of refreshment was needed in the darkness of Hells Glen.
So he created a simplified version of the incident where Moses, leading the Israelites to the Promised Land, struck a rock which gushed forth essential liquid refreshment for their desert wanderings.
The Lord said to Moses, “Take some of the leaders of Israel with you, and go on ahead of the people. Take along the stick with which you struck the Nile. 6I will stand before you on a rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” Moses did so in the presence of the leaders of Israel. (From Exodus Chapter 17)
The "Moses Rock" in Hells Glen did not actually gush ...
... it dribbled - but would have provided easy access water for hardy souls trudging to Inverary.
The coach park at Inverary was created long before modern coaches plied the "land Scots mile" **, but Andrew maneged to reverse in by using the controls which enabled the mega Volvo to shrink in width and bend in the middle.
Through the trees is a sharp left hand turn to get to the road and ...
... a narrow exit!
And so north to Oban!
** "Lang Scots miles" from Burns' "Tam O'Shanter ...
... which, in summary, says that when you go to the pub and get sloshed, you don't think of the long walk home, or of the welcome awaiting you from your nearest and dearest.
Next Variety blog : Sunday 16th Octoiber
Monday to Friday it is also possible to reach Carrick Castle from Dunoon on the 486 operated by West Coast Motors. The timetable is a bit variable depending upon the day and school term times.
ReplyDelete