Kilmelford to Lochgilphead via Melfort Hotel and Ardfern

Loch Melfort Hotel advertises from the main road the view available from its rooms and grounds. This is the first time I have been tempted to test their promises and indeed the lounge and patio offer an impressive panorama and a coffee was most enjoyable. It looked the sort of place that would attract weddings, but those that require full use of the hotel inevitably cost more than most can afford. This was not a good time for food but on another occasion a meal early in the evening would not need a booking and inspection of the menu persuaded me to try it on Lap 2.

Fellow tourists had reported good food at Ardfern and so this was my next stop. Some hotels do not have the staff to open on Mondays but The Galley Of Lorne Inn and Lucy’s cafe at the village were not serving food this Tuesday either. However, “Ardfern Village Store stocks locally and internationally sourced food, drink, fresh fruit & veg, daily papers & magazines as well as many household items”. What is more, the village store was open. Ardfern was a pleasant spot:

The Ardfern Yacht Centre had a useful shop with a surprising range of products including vibration-resistant thermal gloves that I am testing for cycling over deteriorating road surfaces.

Cycling from Kilmartin towards the Crinan Canal I had a chance meeting with Chris Maddox, owner of a campsite for trekkers and bikepackers who happened to be mending a fence at the roadside at Slockavullin at the time. He showed me up the hill to the places for tents in a wildflower meadow. This photo is taken from the meadow.

Chris had built a long-drop toilet and there was a shelter to be fitted with a solar panel and charging points. Down at his house there were other facilities and a makeshift shower had been used in the past. Weeks later on my return trip I saw a sign by the roadside indicating that the site was ready for campers.

Lochgilphead is a reliable campsite, well-equipped and handy for local shopping in supermarkets. As it happened, a stop here proved to fit in well with a ferry to Islay the next day. Islay was on my bucket-list but not necessarily for this lap.