Loch Doon to Lochranza

It felt good to have a 6:15 am start and to have plenty of time to catch the 10 am Arran ferry. It was also satisfying to cover the 29 miles before any breakfast. The new, well-equipped Glen Sannox ferry is on loan to Oban and its replacement does not have a cafe or restaurant. However, a new cafe at the Troon departure point serves good coffee and snacks for those in good time.

Arran continues to be a wonderful place to spend some or all of a holiday. My cycle from Brodick to Lochranza was remarkable for good road surfaces and absence of potholes. At a carpark before the 600m climb I asked a couple among a group of cyclists if they had done the climb before and they said that they could not remember. I expressed surprise that they could not be certain about such a tough-looking and testing ascent before they told me that they had spent years on electric bikes! I was touched that they stopped at the summit to applaud me. The couple live with Criffel visible from the other side of the Solway Firth than Dumfries.

Here at Lochranza, staff and fellow campers are as pleasant and helpful as ever and there is a lovely atmosphere combined with its setting in especially fine countryside.

Stats for the day were a distance of 43 miles with an ascent of 1680 feet and maximum altitude of 846 feet (near the elevated Loch Doon campsite). As expected for a day of less ascent, the active calories at 920 were significantly lower than for yesterday, despite my unusually high heart rate up the main ascent on Arran.