UK 7 The way to the Mull of Kintyre
Thursday, 27 September 2018 5:03 pm
Last night was a camp up a forestry track after a drive in the heavy rain till 8.30pm
Today, it is still raining !
We head up over the Glen Coe Pass on the A82 - A great drive.
The pass is made famous by the ‘3 Sister Peaks’
Turning off the A82 onto a one lane road ( B8074 ).
Then on to the A85 and down to what remains of the Kilchurn Castle.
Built by the Campbell Clan in 1450 on a small island in Loch Awe.
For a couple of hundred years it was added to and improved.
By marriage it passed to the MacGregor Clan, but by the early part of the 17thC a violent feud between the clans happened and the Campbells retook possession.
Camp E27:
Forestry Camp on Loch Awe
Cost: Nil
Altitude: 55 metres
Today : 214 Kms.
UK Total : 4,487 Kms
...still raining !
Thursday 27th September 2018:
This Temple Wood Stone Circle dates back to 3000 BC.
This area is actually very rich in ancients sites.
The circles connected the peoples with the heavens.
The drawing depicts the midwinter sun set over the open end of the circle.
At this very spot in 1098, the Scott’s King Edgar signed a treaty with Norway’s King Magnus Barefoot giving him all the land he could sail around. So with King Barefoot at the helm of his longboat his men pulled it across the narrow isthmus here and thus claimed the peninsula to Norway.
This is not just another isolated track, that leads to a dead end.
It leads to a Mull...
A mull is the rocky knob on the headland at the end of a peninsular.
it’s the Mull of Kintyre.
YES, the one from Paul McCartney’s Wings album.
From the gate is a 2km track that leads down to the lighthouse 350m below.
30minutes down and 45 minutes up.. not bad for a steep climb !
Mull of Kintyre Camp
Cost: Nil
Altitude: 368 metres
Today : 145 Kms.
UK Total : 4,632 Kms
Our evening finishes with Hot Chocolate with a good dash of Scotch Whisky listening to the music by Wings, FleetwoodMac, and Queen !
Friday 28th September 2018:
‘Wild’ Stag as we drive away from the Mull.
Yet another ferry over to the Island of Arran, and a quick visit to the 16th Century Lochranza Castle .
Later in the evening a ferry onto the mainland arriving in Ardrossan and then a late night drive to the P & O Port at Carinryan, where we camped in the Car Park ready for a 7.30am departure to Ireland.
Camp E29: P&O Car Park Carinryan
Cost: Nil
Altitude: 40 metres
Today : 231 Kms.
UK Total : 4,867Kms
Ireland here we come !