Day 5

Sanna Bay road to banks of Loch Ailort

It was a surprise to see a pop-up cafe (run by the welcoming couple Jackie and Johnnie and named NightFly after the album The Nightfly by Donald Fagen, co -founder & -songwriter, and keyboardist of Steely Dan. The cafe has a huge window with a great view and sipping an excellent coffee while chatting and listening to good music was an unexpected pleasure at that time on a sunday morning.

The following images of the selection of opening times of businesses in Kilchoan show the mental acuity required to make the most of the facilities.

Board at roadside of pop-up cafe in Kilchoan

Opening times displayed on front door of community centre
Board of info for The Wheelhouse
Hours for buying alcohol at shop

Before leaving Kilchoan, outside the impressive community centre, there was a chance re-meeting with a cycling couple Rona and Dave with their young son Calum who had fared well on a challenging climb in Ardnamurchan.

At Cafe Tioram in Acharacle (my favourite cafe) the food and coffee were as enjoyable as ever and I bought their teeshirt, which I was to show off during the rest of the tour. Towards the end of the return journey, on a ferry (to be detailed in due course), it prompted the offer of this amazing photo of the nearby castle after which the cafe is named.

Follow this link to see the photography credentials of Duncan McEwan, a fellow traveller: https://www.scottish-photographic-federation.org/duncan-mcewan-made-pcpc-honorary-president.

I wonder who else gets the same pleasure from looking at it for a while rather than moving on at pace.

My intended destination was a campsite near Arisaig, but this spot on the banks of Loch Ailort was irresistible. These three photos from the wild campsite looking across the loch go from leftwards through straight ahead to rightwards.

Looking left from wild site on Loch Ailort
Looking ahead from wild site on Loch Ailort
Looking right from wild site on Loch Ailort

It was no surprise to see a caravan site not far away the next morning. My site had evidence of fires and a rusty tent peg and is unlikely to be free late in the day during the summer.