The Great Escape – Days 8 to 11 – The Ardnamurchan Peninsula then home…….

Day 8: 10 May 2022 – Lighthouse ahoy…..

I awoke to more rain…….I decided to plug on to my next campsite near Mallaig, if nothing else to dry out. I’d put a couple of “rest days” into the schedule at this point anyway, so i could use the time to decide what to do about the rest of the trip.

After a great Scottish Breakfast, it was off to the  Fishnish Ferry terminal. It continued to rain…….

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Going this way to the Peninsula meant more driving miles, but they turned out to be well worth it, as the sun thankfully broke through, enough to show Scotland in all its glory – but still windy.

Spectacular scenery, including an extinct volcano, with sensational views especially after leaving the “main” road at Salen. Another single track road (the B8007)  with not many stopping-for-pix places, unfortunately.

My target was Ardnamurchan Point, the most westerly point on the UK mainland, where there is also a lighthouse, which can be visited ( fee payable).

The wind obviously played well with the sea, providing some spectacular photo’s.  After a coffee and carrot cake slice, it was back along the single track (all 25 + miles of it) , then hot footing it up to my next campsite stop at Camusdarach, just south of Mallaig – the next planned ferry jumping off point.

IMG_6510I’d decided to stay there for the planned 2 nights, mainly as a “chill”/rest break.  Turned out I needed the time to dry everything out, including the car interior – it smelt!  This also gave me the ideal opportunity to use my 2 man so called “emergency” tent, to see if I could survive the remaining 30 + days living out of the boxes in the back of the car.

One reason for stopping at this particular campsite was the spectacular local beaches. Apparently, they’d been used for the Burt Lancaster film LOCAL HERO. Certainly was worth a pic.

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So, let’s see what the morning brings……

Day 9: 11 May 2022 – Mallaig

Naturally enough, despite some overnight rain, it was blue sky wall to wall! Somewhat annoying……. IMG_6515 After much consideration, I made up my mind that it was not really on. If  the failure had been close to the end of the trip, I might have battled on. So it was an hour or so on the mobile to cancel all of the remaining ferry crossings, campsites, etc. I have to say that most people were OK about it and there weren’t too many admin fees that had to be paid.  Also booked a Travelodge halfway back home.

So had a look/walk round Mallaig  (and a spot of lunch !), then a quick drive to the village of Morar. Scotland seems to have had hydroelectric power generation for aeons and the set up at Morar is very typical, ie try and blend it into the scenery as much as possible.

Back at camp, I started to pack things up for an early start ( 330 miles tomorrow….) with assistance from my little friend here. IMG_6522

Days 10/11: 12/13 May 2020 – Homeward bound…..

So a quick cuppa first thing, then off south.  Got a good early start – away before 7 am – and trundles off down to Glasgow, then M74, M6, M5, etc, etc. Why is Scotland so far away…………

Bit of a shame I had to curtail my trip, especially after all of the work before hand. Anyway, none of it was wasted, as I can pick it all back up virtually where I had to abandon. The bit that I did get completed was great; Mull is beautiful (when it’s not lashed by bad weather….) and I still want to visit Staffa, Iona and the rest.

Inspecting the tent afterwards, it was easy to see the issue. Looks like the failure of the sewing, rather than the cloth itself. Let’s hope that the manufacturer is in a good mood when I put in my warranty claim !

“Battered, bruised but unbowed” I think is the overall correct phrase. Now where’s that Scotland map and CALMAC ferry timetable for September ??????

PS: The tent WAS replaced completely and I also got an upgrade to the new Version 2 as well – thank you Zempire.

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