Scotland Day 3 - A spot on forecast, a horrible start, but what a stunning finish to the day!!!!.

I woke at 6.45 with my alarm, it is the time I usually set when I am at work and thought I might as well keep it, my way of thinking is that if it is a nice day then I can get up early and take advantage, however if it is not so good like this morning I can look out the window or tent and then turn over for another hour or so, and this is what I did this morning, finally getting out of bed at 8.15 packed my stuff up had a quick shower and shave then down for breakfast. As you can see from the photo, there was nothing to race for, however the forecast said it was going to get better. At a quick stop at the Bank in Dunoon it was off on my way, before turning off to and head over the hills through the very woody part, I was amazed by the amount of Forestry Commission land around these parts and they are managed on an industrial scale with massive one man, tracked machines, that not only cut down the trees, they trim them, cut them to the right lengths then load them onto a trailer they are towing behind.Half way along this section I came to the head of Loch Slieven, with the mist and rain that had been following me, now creating this eerie sight as it now presented this thick wall of mist, luckily I wasn’t going back down it straight away.

My immediate route was to take me down to the A84 and turn left through St Catherines and then onto towards the Colintraive to get the ferry over to the Isle of Bute, my first Island on this Scottish leg, it was a great piece of road with wonderful swooping bends that I could just relax and let the bike do it’s own thing almost, with just small amounts of reverse steering, ( a simple technique) rather than pulling the left handlebar towards you as you go into the bend, you actually give it a little push away, which means the front wheel starts to go to the right and the bike then falls to the left and you are into the perfect lean into the bend, then you then balance the amount of lean with the throttle, in fact you can up to a point lean the bike further the more throttle you apply, a simple matter of centrifugal force. Science lesson over - back to the ride.

About 100yds further on I spotted a grey seal basking on top of a rock, unfortunately by the time I was able to turn around an come back he had moved off, luckily the second time I spotted a seal doing this I didn’t miss out.

On arriving on Bute the road down to Port Bannatyne is not only lovely it is also very picturesque and offered me a view of the RFA ship I had got close to yesterday but too close to photograph if you know what I mean. RFA Orangeleaf, which is a fleet refueling tanker and from this picture you can just make out the giant fuel tanks hidden in the hillside just to it’s right, you can also see the 4 container ships, moored up from another angle.Sorry you can’t really see The Orangeleaf well but she is a 40,000+tonne tanker that was originally a commercial tanker that was subsequently converted in 1984 for fleet refueling. Along with her sister ship the RFA Bayleaf they were both built at Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead. By the way the two images were taken a short time apart and it was amazing how the day was clearing up.

Carrying on as I came to Rothesay I was able to see Rothesay Castle (48) the castle has been described as "one of the most remarkable in Scotland", for its long history dating back to the beginning of the 13th century, and its unusual circular plan.

The castle comprises a huge curtain wall, strengthened by four round towers, together with a 16th century forework, the whole surrounded by a broad moat. Built by the Stewart family, it survived Norse attacks to become a royal residence. Though falling into ruin after the 17th century, the castle was repaired by the Marquess of Bute before passing into state care last century. During the Wars of Scottish Independence, Rothesay was held by the English, but was taken by Robert the Bruce in 1311. It then returned to English hands in 1334, before being taken again by the Scots. Following the accession of the Stewarts to the throne of Scotland in 1371, the castle became a favourite residence of kings Robert II and Robert III, who died here in 1406. Robert II granted the hereditary keepership of the castle to his son John, ancestor of the Earls and Marquesses of Bute. Robert III made his eldest son David Duke of Rothesay in 1401, beginning a tradition of honouring the heir to the throne of Scotland with this title. In 1462 the castle survived a siege by the forces of John of Islay, Earl of Ross and the last Lord of the Isles.

Rothesay was garrisoned for the Royalists during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, then for the occupying forces of Oliver Cromwell, who invaded Scotland with his New Model Army in the early 1650s. On their departure in 1660, the troops partially dismantled the structure. What was left was burned by the supporters of Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll during his rising of 1685, in support of the Monmouth Rebellion against James VII.

Following a long period of neglect, the 2nd Marquess of Bute employed 70 men to excavate the ruins, clearing large amounts of rubbish from the castle in 1816-17. But it was not until the 1870s that the ruins were stabilised. The 3rd Marquess, a keen restorer of historic buildings, embarked upon a series of repairs and restorations, following surveys and advice from his regular architect William Burges. His "restorations" continued until 1900, and include the clearing and shaping of the moat, as well as the red sandstone additions to the forework, which reinstated the hall roof while significantly altering the character of the building. In 1961 Rothesay Castle was gifted to the state, and is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument, in the care of Historic Scotland.

After touring around Rothesay, which struck me as cross between a commercial seaside town and a county town, as if it couldn’t make up it’s mind what it wanted to be, that or it was playing both sides to ensure economic survival. It was then along the A844 for a while before turning off on the only back lane I would take around the coast on Bute, past Piperhall and then on to Kingarth then past the Golf Course before the next photo overlooking Arran, just as I entered Kerrymenoch. Okay it was an A road again but it was still tight for two cars to pass each other.I have been wondering what my challenge for next year would be and now I think I have it.!
My son has asked me whether we can go camping next year and play some links courses, he suggested Cornwall, while there is no slight meant in this comment, however if you want to play links golf, the only place is Scotland and I don’t mean the big name courses. For example The Isle of Bute is host to 3 courses alone all of which can be described as links style golf. I have played on a number of courses in Scotland and village 9 hole courses are as good as anything you will find, they usually don’t have pro-shops etc. just an honesty box for you to put your green fees in. So the plan next year is to play on two of these courses each day for 5 days and write about them and rank them.

One course that doesn’t count that I have played is Lochmaben, focused around the (Clubhouse) village hall it was a stunning 9 hole course that dated back nearly 100 years that was compromised when they added a further 9 holes, okay I played it 10 years ago and it may have changed but the original 9 hole were stunning.

Although it was meant to be an A road it was very tight and I was met with a family out for a cycle ride and a car coming the opposite way, great just what I needed, the problem being the female cyclist wouldn’t get out of the middle of the road, the children, the father all got out of the way, in the end we all got held up, the car couldn’t pass, because she would stop, I couldn’t pass because she was in the middle of the road, in the end the husband had to shout at her to stop and pull over. I honestly don’t know whether she was ignorant to what was going on around her or she was just being bloody minded, however in the end she had hacked me off but more importantly one of the locals. I just don’t get it. I was in London today walking around The City on business, but the last thing you should do is walk across a pedestrian crossing on Green unless you have double checked each way then checked your health insurance. Bloody Cyclists!, even today I had to pull back twice. Why is it these so called Green Anarchists believe they are a law to themselves and they don’t have to obey traffic signals like the rest of road users. I think I have told the story of when I almost got in a fight with a cycle courier who went across a traffic signal and rode straight into me and then argued that I wasn’t looking what I was doing. The crossing was on green and he was on red, so when he threatened me I was close to punching his lights out.

Anyway after finally getting going again, it was up to a viewing point at Quien Hill to take another photo over towards Kintyre taking in Inchmarnock in the near distance.

The day was really turning out to be a revelation, the weather, the scenery, the people and the roads, Today I really had some serious fun, long may it continue.

Coming back onto the roads that had lead me to Port Bannatyne I quickly turned left to go back towards the ferry over to Colintrave where I took the following photo of the ferry, the sister ship to which I would meet later in my travels. I pulled up alongside another biker near the front of the queue, sorry those car drivers I overtook but usually ferry companies put two bikes in the space of one car, so the fact I jumped the queue didn’t hinder anyone, if anything it helped people out.

The ferry at this point is the Loch Dunveggan and it is said for the distance it covers across the narrows it is the most expensive form of transport available. More expensive than Concorde on a cost per mile basis, it cost me and the bike costing me £9.20 for the return journey of a few hundred yards in each direction. To give an example I used one of the Highlands Ferries a little later at Corran and that cost me just £1.90 for a single.

Back on the Ferry despite the shortness of the trip I ran up the ladder to take a photo of the crossing point, looking up the Kyles of Bute, I only had time to take one before I had to run back down and put my helmet back on and get sorted out on the bike, because I would be let off first.

Back on the mainland it was back on to the A886 for a short while before taking the more coastal road of the B886 and a tough piece of riding that turned out to be as it was yet another stretch of road that has been tarred and chipped and very recently as the everytime I came to a corner either the front or rear wheel would skid, either under braking or accelerating, this made me ultra cautious and therefore it took me a long time to get back to A 886 after a quick 5-6 mile run along the Loch.

Once I reached Ormidale I was turning back on myself along the other side of the Loch on the A8003 this steeply climbing road produced a wonderful sight at the viewing point just after Craig Cottage. This point had one of those metal panorama signs that highlight all the peaks and points of interest for miles around.

Right the way down the Kyles of Bute, although it cannot be really seen from this photo but right in the middle literally is the Loch Dunveggan, the ferry I had returned from Bute on less than an hour ago, once more on the Bute side. Looking back at the bike I was able to view some of the mountains back towards ‘Rest and be Thankful’ that I had crossed yesterday and I would pass close by once again this afternoon.The next hour or so was spent negotiating some very tight and narrow roads, after leaving the A road at Tighnabruaich it was on to Kames then down along a track to Ardlamount House and coming back up to Millhouse before getting back on to the B8000. The road at this section wasn’t too bad in fact it was one of those sections that was one and a half tracks wide so in most cases when cars coming in the opposite direction used their brains it was easy for both of us to pass each other just by slowing down or speeding up rather than stopping completely in one of the ‘passing places’.

However after passing through Drum and just before Kilfinan I was passing through part of the Estate owned by Otter Farms, when I abused all my rules about stopping in passing places, to take some time and a number of photos as I watched a couple of Scottish Black Angus Cows giving birth in a field. I missed the first calf by about 20 mins, by the looks of things as it was on it’s feet and suckling however I didn’t miss the second within minutes the mother was mooing away and licking the calf trying to get it to stand. I stayed around for as long as I could and the second calf was very close to standing before I got under way, I won’t bore you with all the stages, I’ll just post the last one I took. The mother is the one on the left, however the one on the right was very protective almost like an Auntie and was trying to help it get on the feet as well.

A little further up the road I came to Otter Ferry and no sign of a ferry which made me think. So I did some research; Otter Ferry lies on the eastern shore of Loch Fyne, and was once connected to the western shore of the loch at West Otter Ferry by a ferry which began operating some time in the late 1700s, and only ceased operation in 1948. Operating from a jetty and quay built by James Campbell in the late 1700s, the mile and a half crossing provided an alternative to the long trek around the north end of the loch. In 1791 the fare was 3d for a man and 9d for a horse.On the road to Strachur I did pass a historic site although on first sight it didn’t seem that much, yet again it was another Castle number (49) Strathlachlan is the home to the Clan Maclachlan; Euan Maclachlan of Maclachlan is the 25th Clan Chief. Old Castle Lachlan was built at the beginning of the fourteenth century about the time of the Battle of Bannockburn.

It remained the home of the Maclachlan of Maclachlan until it was bombarded from the sea in 1746 by an English warship following the defeat of the Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden. This was retribution against the Maclachlans for joining in the unsuccessful rebellion. Lachlan Maclachlan, the Chief, ADC to Bonnie Prince Charlie was killed in the battle.The New Castle started life as a Queen Anne style house at the end of the eighteenth century. At the end of the nineteenth the Scottish baronial transformation was undertaken. Now the whole house can be booked for either weddings or special events, the only warning it is not cheap but it could be very, very special.

I was pushing on at pace, as I was starting to feel it, my backside was aching, however the weather was getting better all the time. And it was becoming a real pleasure to ride, this said I had set myself a target of getting on to Arran tonight, and finding somewhere to stay, if I was to achieve this I needed to get a wiggle on.

It was then on to the A886 and then again on to the A815 for the run up to St Catherines and Ardno before joining the A83 and the quick turn around the head of the Loch to be almost stopped in my tracks by a relatively massive Oyster Restaurant selling Loch Fyne Oysters which to be honest are famous the world around. I wasn’t hanging around and I was shortly in Inverary where you cannot avoid the sight of the Castle (50) The initial design for the castle was made in 1720 by the architect Sir John Vanbrugh, who also designed Blenheim Palace. This design was later developed by the architects Roger Morris and William Adam, who oversaw the beginning of the castle's construction in 1746, commissioned by Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll. It was completed in 1789 for John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll and his wife, Elizabeth. Built in an eclectic mixture of architectural revival styles, it stands on the original site of the village of Inveraray - when Archibald Campbell decided to build the castle he had the village demolished and rebuilt a mile away, so that it would not impinge on the castle's outlook.

The castle was damaged by two major fires, in 1877 and 1975, but most of its important artefacts and features survived or have been restored. It contains outstanding furnishings and interiors from the 18th and 19th centuries. The elaborate decoration of the castle's State Dining Room, completed in 1784, is the only surviving work of the French painters Girard and Guinard, who were also commissioned by the then Prince of Wales (later George IV) to decorate his London residence, Carlton House. The Armoury Hall, which contains a display of wall-mounted weapons dating from around 1740, has the highest ceiling in Scotland (21 metres, or nearly 69 feet).

Inveraray Castle is the home of the current duke (Torquhil Campbell, 13th Duke of Argyll) and his family, but its distinctive appearance, beautiful interiors and attractive setting make it a popular tourist attraction, and it is open to visitors at certain times of the year.

My god this is taking me longer to write about than it took me to ride at times and this is one of those sections when it wasn’t the case, don’t get me wrong the A83 is wonderful coming down the A83 alongside Loch Fyne and in fact this day I enjoyed the experience so much I didn’t get too carried away. I will return to Lochgilphead in the following post as I was able to really enjoy it’s main feature, The Crinan Canal.

Just before reaching Lochilphead there is another castle however it is one of those faux 19th century affairs I have decided to ignore on this trip. However further down the road when I was becoming increasingly desperate for a fuel stop I entered Tarbert, a town with two sides having ferries going in opposite directions, to the East lies Portavadie and the mainland from the West and Kennacraig they run to Islay and Jura. It was then I came upon the following view whilst I was refueling.

Shortly after which I met an Italian couple on their BMW R1200GS Adventure that I would come across at various locations over the following three days. Also whilst in Tarbert I came across Castle (51) Tarbert Loch Fyne Royal Castle. Tarbert Castle was a strategic royal stronghold during the Middle Ages and one of three castles at Tarbert. The castle overlooks the harbour and although pre 14th century in construction, the tower dates back to 1494 and the visit of James IV to the Western Highlands.

In 712, Tarbert was burned by King Selbach mac Ferchair of Cenél Loairn and of Dál Riata and in 731 by his son, Dúngal mac Selbaig. King Edward II of England handed control of the castle to the Scottish King John II de Balliol in 1292. A fortified structure was built in Tarbert during the 13th century. It was reinforced with the addition of an outer bailey and towers in the 1320s by Robert the Bruce, to protect it against the Lords of the Isles. A towerhouse was added in the 16th century, which is the most noticeable part of the remains. The castle occupies high land above Loch Fyne, providing views up East Loch Tarbert and beyond to the Firth of Clyde. This castle was captured from John MacDonald by James IV of Scotland as part of his campaign to destroy the power of the Lords of the Isles. In 1685 the castle was involved in another skirmish when Walter Campbell of Skipness Castle seized it as a stronghold for the Clan Campbell.

There are only a couple of standing walls left and they are considered unstable. The castle has a very commanding view of the water approaches.

Skipness castle would be one of my last points on the mainland today as I headed towards Arran. After refueling I was off further down the A83 before turning off just after Kennacraig and on to the B8001 towards Skipness Castle and the ferry from Claonaig to Lochranza on Arran. The B8001 gave me my first view of Arran as I approached Glenreasdell Mains.

After which I had a quick run to Skipness Castle (52) and back to the ferry point at Claonaig. Skipness Castle was begun in the early 13th century, when Argyll was ruled not by Scotland but by Norway. The builder was probably either Suibhne (Sven) ‘the Red’, founder of Clan MacSween, or his son Dugald. By now, though, the writing was on the wall for Norway. In 1263, when Hakon IV was repulsed by the Scots at the Battle of Largs, he was compelled to return the Hebrides to Scotland. The MacSweens, having backed Hakon, were forced out of Knapdale and Kintyre.

By the end of that century, Skipness had passed to the MacDonalds of Islay and Kintyre. By now Scotland was at war with England. The MacDonalds initially supported the English, and it may have been with English support that they comprehensively rebuilt Skipness much as we see it today – a formidable curtain-walled enclosure, bristling with arrow slits.

The MacDonalds remained lords of Skipness until their downfall in 1493. Thereafter, the castle was held by the Campbell earls of Argyll. During their tenure the lofty tower house at the NE corner was built. By 1700 the castle was unoccupied.

The Ferry point at Claonaig is not a harbour just a basic ferry ramp, with a bus stop close by. But on this day what a setting! Whilst sitting there waiting I was able to watch a pod of Dolphins sweeping through The Sound, whilst I had the binoculars out doing that I was also able to watch the Gannets diving from a considerable height to catch fish from the same shoal the Dolphins were chasing, to be blunt it is absolutely jaw dropping to watch this live. Maybe from the next couple of photos you can just imagine.

And then all of a sudden there was the ferry that would take me across. I took advantage of the opportunity to take a number of photos on the way but wow! This was the best part of the whole 10 trip in my view. The Loch Tarbert is a 16 car Ferry that runs during the summer months between the mainland and Arran. The photo was taken just as it started to drop it’s bow ramp. It just doesn’t get much better than this, however just wait until you see the pictures from the crossing the following morning. Within minutes of leaving the ferry, I was at the campsite I had thought about using a guest house but after landing at Lochranza the Camping and Caravan Club authorised site at the nine hole golf course was literally minutes away, so I thought given the weather, what the hell!.

It turned out to be a great little campsite although the Polish Caretaker was a bit surly at being disturbed, having booked in I met another Africa Twin owner, Yves, he was over on tour from Germany and had just arrived the day before from the mianland. He was also planning to go off to Islay, Jura before Mull a couple of days later.

He became an instant hero after witnessing the modifications on his bike and even more so when he pulled a can of lager out of his tent. I do intend to carry out a couple of the mods, Yves had built into his bike.

After sorting out my tent and getting my stove going for my evening meal, it was time to educate Yves about the fearsome Highland Midge. Luckily I had some insect repellant, on top of which I have never suffer too badly with them, it is only when they go after my eyes and nostrils, the two parts that the spray won’t work.

Beyond the fence you can see in the photo above is the barrier to a stream where all the Midges were coming from at the same time it was an ideal cooler for my Milk bottle which I was able to tie to the fence before I threw it in.

Before turning in after another long day, I took a quick walk despite the bloody midges and too the following two photos of the two mountains, yes both were by 50-80 odd feet Torr Meadhonach and Torr Nead an Eoin.

To be blunt, it was a fabulous campsite and the weather this evening was wonderful, just a shame about the midges.

Take care and as Mick says ‘You don’t stop riding when you get old, you stop when you meet another Africa Twin Owner!!!

Scotland Day 2 - Back on the road with a warning of bad weather to come!!!!.

I woke early, decided that 6.45 was too early and decided to snooze a bit longer which then turned into and hour and half later. No problem as I had been told breakfast was from 9.00am onwards so I packed my stuff brought it downstairs only to find that breakfast was well under way and it was on just after 8.30am.

Dumping my stuff in the bar I then got on with having an excellent traditional cooked breakfast but I could have had a range of products from the local smokehouse. On leaving the owner was very gracious when he found out what I was doing by taking out a contribution from his own wallet.

He gave me directions to get back to Monckton which was as far as I had reached the night before on my search for a bed for the night. Once more my luck had really held with probably the best overnight stay so far and I’ve had a few to describe so far.

I headed back to Monckton through the back lanes to get on the road to Troon it took me past what you may think is Prestwick Airport but it is so much more, it is certainly airfield (42).In the past it has been RAF Heathfield, and RAF Ayr and in fact part of it still is, it was RNAS Wagtail and is now RNAS Gannet, with a detachment of Royal Navy HAR Sea Kings. Interesting point, the RAF call them SAR (Search and Rescue) the Royal Navy call them HAR (Helicopter Air Rescue) being an ex-crabfat (RAF) I know what’s right.

Even researching this airfield I found so many different stories and recollections, it would mean a huge blog just for this former and in fact current airbase.

The area was no stranger to such activity, as the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) had established a school of aerial gunnery to the south, on the site of Ayr Racecourse, The racecourse continues to occupy the site, and had utilised at least two of the original RFC hangars for its own building. Both heavily modified, one served as the course tearoom until 1991, when it was demolished to make way for a supermarket. The second survived until 2004, when it was demolished for reasons of safety, leaving a clear area now used to host events and for parking.

The airfield at Heathfield lay to the north of the original RFC site and the racecourse, and was commissioned as RAF Ayr early in World War II, later to be shared with the USAF during the war. Towards the end of the conflict, ownership passed to the Royal Navy and Fleet Air Arm (FAA), when it was commissioned as HMS Wagtail. Paid off at the end of the war, the site was acquired by the USAF during most of the 1950s, after which the airfield was closed, and the land subsequently developed for housing and retail use.

RAF Ayr should not be confused with RAF Prestwick which was a completely separate facility, and would develop into Prestwick Airport. Located adjacent to Prestwick, Ayr became home to transatlantic operations arising from the Lend Lease agreement between Britain and America, which explains the significant American operation on the site.

The United States Air Force (USAF) operated the latter named base in 1952 on the site of the original airport using former Royal Air Force (RAF) facilities (the USAF Military Air Transport Service (MATS) 1631st Air Base Squadron), and in 1953 on the Monkton side of the airport, both used by the USAF MATS. The USAF base closed in 1966, though part of the site is still occupied by the Royal Navy.

Prestwick Airport is also considered to be the only piece of United Kingdom territory on which Elvis Presley ever set foot, when the United States Army transport plane carrying him home stopped to refuel in 1960, whilst en route from Germany. A lounge, bearing his name, and a marker reflecting this event were inaugurated in 2006. However, on the 21st of April 2008, during a BBC2 radio interview with Ken Bruce, theatre impresario and chairman of Everton F.C., Bill Kenwright, claimed that Elvis visited London two years prior to this, with his friend, Tommy Steele. Immediately after, Airport authorities issued a statement requesting that photographic, or other evidence of the said visit be provided, lest they shall continue with their current claim. ‘Our Bill’ has worked wonders at Goodison since rescuing my team from an admitted Red***** Peter Johnson but I would also want some further evidence if you were going to overturn such a classic event.

Today, as well as the thriving no-frills segment, Prestwick has continued its traditional strategic role as a refuelling point for military aircraft – the USAF, RAF and the Canadian Forces Air Command are frequent visitors for example. Cargo traffic has also become another stronghold of Prestwick with the vast majority of Scotland's Boeing 747 Freighter traffic entering via the airport. There is also an RAF involvement to this date RAF Prestwick (formerly RAF Ayr) is the home of the "Scottish Air Traffic Control Centre (Military)", which is located within the civilian Scottish and Oceanic Area Control Centre.

The Scottish Air Traffic Control Centre (Military), or "ScATCC (Mil)" as it is also known, is staffed by RAF Air Traffic Control Officers and Air Traffic Control Assistants. Both military and civilian aircraft are controlled by RAF controllers who provide a variety of air traffic services predominantly outside controlled airspace or within airspace designated as Military Training Areas. An "Alerting & Fixing Cell" is also located at "ScATCC (Mil)", specifically tasked to assist aircraft in distress and/or encountering emergency situations.

In 2003, NATS announced plans to invest £300m in a new ATC Centre at Prestwick, which is planned to become operational in November 2009. It is intended that "ScATCC (Mil)" will continue to share the ATC facilities with NATS in this new building. To this date there is also an RAF Station Commander.

By the way when I did some research on this airfield I looked on Google Maps, once I hit the satellite button I was met with the image of 3 yes 3 giant USAF transport aircraft. Whether it was because they were so large or for security reasons they were parked up on the secondary runways, rather then any of the dispersal or cargo areas.

Very shortly afterwards I arrived in Troon passing Royal Troon golf club on the way and I made my way down to the harbour just in time to see the High Speed Ferry to Northern Ireland heading out, This is a summer only sailing and seems quite popular.

To the left is a small cargo vessel being loaded with timber that has been harvested from the area South of Ayr.

Heading back up to the A78 to head to Irvine and beyond, I was able to getting a further photo and one of the large ferry that runs between Ardrossan and Broddick on Arran. Thankfully all my gear was dry and at this time of the morning, just after 9.30 in the morning the sun was out and even at this time of the morning I could feel the warmth coming through.

The black spot on the first image is a bird flying by and what looks like smoke is the exhaust fumes from the vessel, not a very clean vessel.

The next hour or so turned out to be a really rewarding section of the ride, up through Irvine which provided something of a weird site, next to the large Leisure Centre there are signs for the regeneration of the area, however they seem to have stalled a few years ago, or part of it has stalled for the time being. The bridge over to what appears to be some sort tourist centre has a huge section missing.And it looked as if this has been the case for some time, with the amount of rust and corrosion apparent.

What was more heartening was just along the way in the harbour itself. When I saw one of the classic Clyde Puffers, something that featured in one of my father’s favourite BBC TV series Para Handy.

The Clyde puffer is essentially a type of small steamboat which provided a vital supply link around the west coast and Hebrides islands of Scotland, stumpy little cargo ships that have achieved almost mythical status thanks largely to the short stories Neil Munro wrote about the Vital Spark and her captain Para Handy.

Characteristically these boats had bluff bows, crew's quarters with table and cooking stove in the focsle, and a single mast with derrick in front of the large hold, aft of which the funnel and ship's wheel stood above the engine room while the captain had a small cabin in the stern. When publication of the Vital Spark stories began in 1905 the ship's wheel was still in the open, but later a wheelhouse was added aft of the funnel giving the puffers their distinctive image. Their flat bottom allowed them to beach and unload at low tide, essential to supply remote settlements without suitable piers. Typical cargoes could include coal and furniture, with farm produce and gravel sometimes being brought back.

A small number of puffers survive as conservation projects, though most have diesel engines The Spartan, a diesel engined "puffer", is on display at the Scottish Maritime Museum at Irvine. "Spartan" has recently undergone restoration work on her hull, and is still being refitted but now back in the water.

The next stop was Ardrossan, I had taken a picture of the Ferry closing on Arran earlier so it was no surprise to see the dockside empty. Apart from the harbour there didn’t appear to be much more to the town, although when I came out on the A78 to West Kilbride and Largs, I was able to get a beautiful view of Arran, under the clouds.

The road between the two towns brings two sights that makes you really think the first one is and also poses a question. It is the giant elevator and conveyor lift for taking coal to the major Coal terminal at Hunterston and the very name should give you a clue of what is next door. Hunterston Nuclear Power Station. I had mentioned that when I visited Heysham that I was aware that the huge proportion of Nuclear Power Stations had been place well away from the local population; why? is beyond me. To be frank; 3 Mile Island!, Chernobyl!, it was irrelevant how far away from civilisation they were because in this country you couldn’t get them far enough away, if they are badly managed.

I have visited the former or at least the entrance to it and it is one of the most benign sights you will ever see. Three Mile Island is so named because it is located 3 miles downriver from Middletown, Pennsylvania and I passed this way on one of my trips from Washington Airport to Harrisburg, the state capital of Pennsylvania, where my company’s HQ was. The power station had a very mixed history including a box office smash hit with the film China Syndrome and even now has still not been fully de- commissioned.

Hunterston B started generating electricity on 6 February 1976. Its net electrical output is 1,215 MW. Operating at its current (May 2008) reduced level of around 70% of full output, Hunterston B is capable of supplying the electricity needs of over 1 million homes.

In 1977 there was a minor incident but such were the safety procedures that it was contained
When maintenance work was carried out on the reactor and the pressure in the gas cooling system was reduced, sea water was able to flow back up this bypass pipe and into the reactor. The residual heat of the reactor was such that the seawater evaporated rapidly, leaving deposits of salt in the reactor around the gas circuit. It was estimated at the time that the reactor could be out of operation for a year, that the repairs could cost £14 million, and that electricity tariffs would have to rise by between 1 and 2 per cent. Extensive modelling work was performed in the Nuclear Power Company's (NPC) Whetstone, Leicestershire, fluid flow laboratories to determine where the salt would have been deposited, and the salt was successfully removed by technicians using vacuum cleaners and the plant returned to operation without too much delay. It is currently scheduled to be decommissioned in 2016.

The nearby Hunsterton A was opened in 1959 and operated from 1964 to 1989 and is currently in the middle of decommissioning.

Without stopping it was up to Largs which is deemed to be one of the jewels of the North Ayrshire coast and I cannot argue, it was not only attractive, it was very busy the landing stage area for the ferry to Great Cumbrae Island was crammed full of cars and cyclists, despite the road running round the Island I had decided to give it a miss, as it was a long time on a ferry for 15-20 mins of riding it would take to get around the Island.

It was then up to Skelmorlie and Then Wemyss Bay before turning off on to the A770 where I pulled over to take the following photo of the ferries that run between Gourock and Dunoon it made me think of one of the rather surreal animations in children’s TV programme Teletubbies when they show a number of ships sailing in formation.

It was now turning out to be a beautiful day and I was keen to cover as much ground as I could, as the forecast for this evening was not good and I had already decided that I was going to find a small hotel or B&B probably around Dunoon area. Shortly after this I pulled up at McInroy’s Point on the outskirts f Gourock to have a quick look at the competing ferry for the run over towards Dunoon, Western Ferries run two boats between this point and Hunters Quay near Dunoon, it appears that it is a quicker run, however according to the timetables it is exactly the same time as the Caledonian MacBrayne ferries from Gourock.

As I said I was enjoying this section of the ride so it was quickly underway once againand I was through Greenock before stopping at Port Glasgow for fuel close to Newark Castle (47) The castle was built in 1478 by George Maxwell when he inherited the Barony of Finlanstone (Finlaystone). The original castle had a tower house within a walled enclosure or barmkin entered through a large gatehouse. All that remains of the outer defensive wall is from one of the original corner towers. It is thought that there would have been a hall and ancillary buildings such as a bakehouse and brew house inside the walled enclosure.

In the late 16th century the castle was inherited by Sir Patrick Maxwell, a powerful friend of king James VI of Scotland who was notorious for murdering two members of a rival family and beating his wife who left him after having 16 children. In 1597 Sir Patrick expanded the building, constructing a new north range replacing the earlier hall in the form of a three storey Renaissance mansion. At this time the barmkin (defensive) wall was demolished except for the north east tower, which was converted into a doocot. (Scottish for Dovecote).

In 1668 the Glasgow authorities purchased 18 acres (7 hectares) of land around Newark Castle from Sir George Maxwell who was then the laird, and developed the harbour into what they called "Port Glasgow". The last Maxwell died in 1694 and the castle had a series of non-resident owners. An early tenant was a ropemaker called John Orr who also dealt in wild animals such as big cats and bears which he obtained from ships visiting the Clyde and often housed in the castle cellars. The cellars and gardens were later rented by Charles Williamson who blocked access from the hall to stop the joiner John Gardner who rented the hall from stealing fruit stored in the cellars.

Newark Castle came into state care in 1909 and is now a property of Historic Scotland with excellent visitor facilities.

From here I carried on down the A8 and took the slip road for non-motorway traffic up through Bishopton before taking the turning for Erskine Bridge to cross the River Clyde, yes according to the ordnance survey map, at this point it stopped being the Firth of Clyde and became the River Clyde, hence I felt justified crossing at this point and getting on the A82 for a short section before it split and I took to the A812, which took me through Old Kilpatrick and into Dumbarton and the unmistakable image of Dumbarton Rock and Dumbarton Castle (48) which has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Great Britain.

At least as far back as the Iron Age (and probably much earlier) this has been the site of a strategically important settlement, whose residents were known to have traded with the Romans. The presence of a settlement here is first recorded in a letter Saint Patrick wrote to King Ceretic of Alt Clut, (or Clyde Rock) in the late 5th century.

From the fifth century until the ninth it was the centre of the independent British Kingdom of Strathclyde. The King of the Britons of Dumbarton in about AD 570 was Riderch Hael, who features in Norse legends. It is said that during his reign Merlin stayed at Alt Clut. In 756 the first (and second) losses of Dumbarton Rock were recorded. A joint force of Picts and Northumbrians captured Alcluith after a siege, only to lose it again a few days later.

By 870 Dumbarton Rock was home to a tightly packed British settlement that served as a fortress and as the capital of Alt Clut. The Vikings had laid siege to Dumbarton for four months, eventually defeating the inhabitants when they cut off their water supply. The Norse king Olaf returned to the Viking city of Dublin in 871, with two hundred ships full of slaves and looted treasures. Olaf came to an agreement with Constantine I, King of Scots, and Artgal of Alt Clut. Strathclyde's independence may have come to an end with the death of Owen the Bald, when the dynasty of Kenneth mac Alpin began to rule the region.

In medieval Scotland, Dumbarton (Dùn Breatainn, which means 'the fortress of the Britons') was an important royal castle. It sheltered David II (Robert the Bruce's son) and his young wife, Queen Joan, after the Scottish defeat at Halidon Hill near Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1333. Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell, was Captain of Dumbarton castle on April 1, 1495. In 1548, after the equally disastrous Battle of Pinkie, east of Edinburgh, the castle protected the infant Mary, Queen of Scots for several months before her removal to France for safety.

The castle's importance declined after Oliver Cromwell's death in 1658. But threats posed by Jacobites and the French in the eighteenth century caused new structures and defences to be built and the castle continued to be garrisoned until World War II.

Today all visible trace of the Dark-Age Alcluith, literally Clyde Rock its buildings and defences, have gone and precious little survives from the medieval castle. The most interesting structures today are the fortifications of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, which illustrate a painful struggle by military engineers to adapt an intractable site to contemporary defensive needs. The splendid views from the twin summits of White Tower Crag and The Beak remind us why this rocky outcrop was chosen as 'the fortress of the Britons' all those centuries ago.

The castle is open to members of the public who wish to climb the 557 steps to the White Tower Crag and view all the other features on a daily basis during the summer season and Saturday-Wednesday in the winter.

Dumbarton Rock itself is in state ownership and is legally protected by the Scottish Government as a Scheduled Ancient Monument, to conserve it for future generations. Activities such as rock climbing are forbidden as any change or damage caused is considered a criminal offence.

Leaving Dumbarton once again I had a section of really enjoyable riding, through Cardross, Helensburgh and Rhu. And as I approached Shandon, I was strcuk by a large but very, very messy Peace Camp on the side of the road, irrespective of their views, they do themselves no favours in the way they look, it really was a mess.

The reason it was there is quite simple the massive Faslane Base HMNB Clyde, which is the home of the UK’s Nuclear Submarine base, I was staggered by how big it actually was, it seemed to go on for miles, eventually I pulled into Garelochhead and found a lovely little coffee shop at the top of the Village. it was now just after 2.30pm in the afternoon and I was desperate for a cup of tea, I was also a bit peckish so I had a lovely Ploughmans Lunch, I had expected something half the size of what finally arrived but it was delicious.

Back under way I headed off round the peninsular on the opposite side of the loch and separates Gare Loch from Long Loch, just touring around I had my eyes opened to the huge significance this area has to both the Royal and also US Navy. Immediately around the coast I stopped to look across to Faslane and then down the Loch itself.

When I got down to Kilcreggan I stopped again for a quick photo looking over towards Gourock.

After this I head back up the other side past the armaments depot at RNAD Coulport where all the weapons used by the Royal Navy in this part of the world are stored. For obvious reasons I didn’t even attempt to take any photos for the next hour or so, even when I was taking the back roads up to join the A814 to Arrochar, I had thought of stopping at one point for a photo, looking down over the base at Faslane only to have second thoughts when I spotted an MOD Police landrover patrolling just inside the security fence to my left.

Soon after getting back on to the A814 itself I was soon struck by the sight of Fort Rosalie a vessel I had discussed in an earlier post when I came back from Northern Ireland and mentioned Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead. I had mentioned that she was in dry dock there, well I was wrong she had actually come out a few months prior to that date, it is now here sister ship the Fort Austin that is currently going through a major refit.

I was able to stop and have a chat with the MOD Policeman armed with his Heckler and Koch machine pistol a little further on but didn’t dare pull out my camera again. The road was wet and I would suffer this more and more during the rest of the day as the furtehr North and West I went the showers seemed to be coming in. A sight that could be seen more clearly when I pulled over at ‘Rest and be Thankful’ on the A83.

Before taking the B828 and B839 over the hills to Ardno near the top of Loch Fyne. A point I would go through again approx, 24 hrs later, this time I was to head south on the A815 towards Dunoon alongside Loch Eck.

Shortly afterwards turning off to take the track through Glen Finart to Ardentinny then down to Blairmore before getting on the A880 which was firstly called Shore Road and then more aptly for this part of the world MIDGE Road. For the run around Holy Loch.

Another piece of history was immediately sparked in my brain, purely by the name. In July 1960 the Holy Loch was designated as ‘Site 1’, to provide forward servicing facilities for the USA’s first SSBN Squadron in the UK. It was the only such base outside US waters and was strategically vital because of the limited range of the Polaris missile.Submarine Squadron 14 arrived there on 3 March 1961 followed by the USS Patrick Henry (SSBN 599) on 8 March 1961 for a major refit. The number of submarines being supported by Squadron 14 varied over the years. On 2 April 1987 the 2500th Ballistic Missile Deterrent Patrol was completed by USS Mariano G Vallejo. However with the reduction in European tension after the end of the Cold War, it was announced on 6 February 1991 that the Holy Loch base would close.

On 6 March 1992 the last US Navy ship – the familiar submarine tender USS Simon Lake - sailed out of the Holy Loch, ending thirty one years of America presence in the Dunoon area. The tradition of friendship and cooperation between the US Navy and the people of Dunoon which endured for 31 years is a cherished part of Site One’s history.In the wake of the base were necessarily large-scale plans for environmental cleanup, beginning with Robertson’s Yard, which serviced some small American boats but latterly became a scrap heap. It was purchased by Argyll and the Islands Enterprise as part of a plan to spearhead the regeneration of the loch and the immediate area. A number of substantial tourism projects were also under construction within a year of the closure of the base, aiming to replace some of the revenue generation of the base in the area.

This latter work has proved to be extremely successful, riding around the loch towards Hunters Quay and ultimately on to Dunoon there is now no outward signs of the former use of the loch.

From Sandbank and Hunters Quay, the road runs around the front to Dunoon and rding along this section I had to make a double take, a business contact from Cisco I had been speaking to only a few days previously was walking along the front with his family and their dog. I then turned around road back along checked again and it was Darrell so once more I turned around and went up to great him, he looked at me totally bemused, surprise, surprise. Helmet on black visor down, who the hell was going to recognise me?. So after lifting the visor and introducing myself, he was as surprised as I was that we came upon each other in this part of the world.

After exchanging good wishes for our respective holidays I made my way into Dunoon, it was now just after 5.00pm and I though I would have an early finish, the forecast wasn’t brilliant and whilst I could have made it to Rothesay on Bute I didn’t know when I would get there and there was no guarantee whether I would find anything when I did get there, at least here I had found a Tourist Info office that was still open.

Young Christine behind the counter worked hard and found me a room for the night in the Esplanade Hotel, yep just how it sounded, part of a small group of tourist hotels on the West Coast. With the confirmation in place I decided that I was going to explore a little further around the coast and tick that off before morning. With that in mind I continued on down the A815 to toward and took one of the last photos of the day, overlooking my destination for tomorrow, The Isle of Bute.

Further around the coast the road diminished to a single track road, firstly to Port Lamont and the ultimately the end of the lane at Glenstriven. The end of this lane brought about yet another surprising sight. RFA Orangeleaf, at her moorings. RFA Orangeleaf (A110) is a Leaf-class fleet support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

RFA Orangeleaf saw action in the Gulf War in 1991 and was one of the first units to hear the code "Walkman" which was to signify the start of the offensive against Saddam Hussein's forces in Kuwait.

During early to mid-2004, the ship took part in a deployment with a French carrier battle group, centred around the Charles de Gaulle to the Indian Ocean. She also appeared in the International Fleet Review of 2005.

As MV BALDER LONDON, before joining the RFA, she saw action in 1982, carrying aviation fuel to the Falkland Islands from Ascension. At the end of the conflict, she entered San Carlos water.

RFA Orangeleaf was built by Cammell Laird shipyard at Birkenhead, being launched in 1973. She was accepted into service in 1979. Over 30 years later she is still in Active service, Just goes to show the quality produced at Cammell Laird.

As it is the end of the track I created a bit of a stir and an MOD policeman soon popped his head out of the window of the security hut, with that in mind I waved to him and pointed to the 4 container ships tied up, further up the loch before taking my photo.

It wasn’t until the following day when I took a photo from the other side of the loch and then look at Google Earth did I see the huge Fuel Tank Farm, cut and hidden in the hillside behind the tanker.

I then made my way back to the Hotel, across some streets that were being re-surfaced, with raised man hole covers, Christ! Were they raised, when I hit one I thought I had damaged the wheel. Shortly afterwards I arrived at the hotel, which turned out to be a little better than I expected, the views from the upper lounge were stunning, despite the increasingly grey sky. It was owned by an Indian family and staffed by a mixture of Poles and Russians, okay I had come to expect this in London but I though hotels in this part of the world would have more locals involved.

I arrived just in time, as I was unloading the bike and getting it parked up underneath an overhang that would keep it dry and secure overnight a large coach party arrived and started disgorging it’s contents which made me lock and unload the bike faster than I’d ever done before.

In my snug but very comfortable room, I noted a heated towel rail, so I took the opportunity to was some socks and underwear for the next day. After which it was download the camera and then go downstairs, with the view of having a quick drink before walking into Dunoon to get something to eat, a task that got as far as walking out of the back entrance of the hotel to find the forecast rain had arrived and it was getting heavier. I then performed a quick paced walk around the block before coming in the main entrance again. Straight to the bar another pint and then it was up to my room and opened up my supplies box and made myself a couple of sandwiches. I didn’t fancy eating in the restaurant, in fact I never do even when I am away with work, it is either somewhere away from the hotel or I buy a Salad bowl and some additional items in a local supermarket. I must save my company a fortune.

Half an hour of writing up my notes and I can feel my eyes closing, so it was off to bed again, well before 10.00pm and I’m starting to think I am a wuss, but in my defence I’ve been on the road for nearly 9 hours today and weather permitting I plan to get going as early as possible tomorrow morning.

Take care and as Mick says ‘You don’t stop riding when you get old, you stop when you use Tourist Information!.

Scotland Day 1 - Like fine wine, the start refreshing, the middle was okay, I then had some doubts And THEN the finish was spectacular!!

The morning dawned bright yet a little breezy with the forecast for the day ahead to be a little mixed as I reached the end of the days riding on the Ayrshire coast. After a hearty breakfast I got on the road relatively early and soon picked up my route where I had left off last time on the outskirts of Carlisle. It was quickly out through Kingstown and Cargo before being brought to a halt by a level crossing just after Rockliffe. Unfortunately I didn’t get my camera out in time to catch the high speed express flashing through. Well it was really travelling.After this the map gave me the impression that I was going to either get on to the A74 or at least cross it, however with the upgrade to Motorway status there is a small road that runs along side it, separated by a barrier and a screen, a little way along this I was able to pull over close to a farm entrance to get a shot of my first look at the Solway Firth beyond the power lines. I then got a move on, I wanted to really cover the miles today, so it was into Gretna and then immediately out on the B721 through Eastriggs before changing to the B724 in Annan to continue the run along the coast before turning on to the B725 which took me down to Caerlaverock Castle (41) it is a 13th-century triangular moated castle in the Caerlaverock Nature reserve.

Being very close to the border with England, it had to be defended several times against English forces. One such occasion was the Siege of Caerlaverock of 1300 by Edward I of England who had eighty seven of the most illustrious Barons of England in his host, including knights of Bretagne and Lorraine. The Maxwells, under their gallant chief, made a vigorous defence, showering upon their assailants such heavy missiles that they retired time and again; but in the end the garrison were compelled to surrender, when it was found that there were only sixty men all told, and that they had defied the whole English army for a considerable period. In recent years, Historic Scotland has organised re-enactments of the Siege.

Possession of the castle was subsequently restored to Sir Eustace Maxwell, Sir Herbert's son, who at first embraced the cause of John Baliol, and in 1312 received from Edward I an allowance of £20 for the more secure keeping of the castle. He afterwards gave in his adherence to Robert Bruce, and his castle, in consequence, underwent a second siege by the English, in which they were unsuccessful.

But fearing that this important stronghold might ultimately fall into the hands of the enemy, and enable them to make good their hold on the district, Sir Eustace dismantled the fortress, a service and sacrifice for which he was liberally rewarded by Robert Bruce.

I pulled up in a small picnic area close by with what appeared to be a very strange sign.

Behind the high gorse bushes and high hedges was part of the Nith Estuary, just to the right of the picture was a very overgrown stile giving access to the marshes and sand flats beyond.
I decided to go and stand on a Picnic bench close by and was able to get a much clearer view of the estuary that runs up to Dumfries. A little further on I stopped on the banks of the Estuary to get a better picture and came across a local tradition for the first time. Although the picture and caption talks about catching fish in the nets close to this spot it also talked about Flounder Tramping. This method of fishing was used in the coastal waters and river estuaries of South West Scotland for centuries. Once trapped the fish were often secured by impaling them on a leister before being bagged. A leister is the local name for a trident or three pronged long handled spear.

It was then quickly into Dumfries for a quick refueling stop before heading down to the village of New Abbey, I hadn’t originally planned on stopping to take a picture of the Sweetheart Abbey but entering the village it provided such a striking image I just had to turn around and come back to this spot.It was a Cistercian monastery, founded in 1275 by Dervorguilla of Galloway, daughter of Alan, Lord of Galloway, in memory of her husband John de Balliol. His embalmed heart, in a casket of ivory and silver, was buried alongside her when she died - The monks at the Abbey then renamed the Abbey in tribute to her. Their son, also John, became king of Scotland but his reign was tragic and short. The depredations suffered by the Abbey in subsequent periods, have caused both the graves to be lost. The abbey, built in deep-red, local sandstone, was founded as a daughter house to Dundrennan Abbey; this Novum Monasterium (New Monastery), became known as the New Abbey.

I didn’t go much further before stopping again to get a photo across the Solway Firth.Although it doesn’t show on the photo but I could just make out the aerials at the former RAF Cardunnock; I then spotted an information point that gave some details on what could be seen, back down the coast towards Caerlaverock castle and further along to Carsethorn.The small port of Carsethorn, even something as small and out of the way as this it still has made it’s mark on history. When Edward Longshanks was attacking the nearby Carsethorn Castle he moored 97 ships here full of troops and supplies. It is also the port from where the founder of the US Navy; John Paul Jones, who we have mentioned previously for his attacks on the Royal Navy off the coast of the UK and his abortive and somewhat comical assault on Whitehaven, sailed when he emigrated from Scotland in 1760 aged 13.

Back on the A710 it was a great road and I was quickly into Dalbeatie and back out on the A711 and I shortly came to the most amazing banner outside a Campsite at Palnackie. The World Flounder Tramping Championships, yep! you read it right.

On the first Saturday each August, this small village on the Urr Water, hosts the World Flounder Tramping Championships. Several hundred competitors walk out onto the mud flats of the Urr Water estuary, south of the village, at low tide. They feel for flounder hiding beneath the mud with their toes, and trap the fish beneath their feet. The competition is held to raise funds for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

Along certain parts of this morning’s ride I had been getting views of a huge offshore wind farm if anything the largest one I had seen so far on my trip EON one of the UK's leading green generators, announced in 2007 they were starting offshore construction of its £325m Robin Rigg Wind Farm in the Solway Firth. It is now well under way.

The company used the jack-up vessel MV Resolution in the mammoth task of installing the 60 turbine foundations, each weighing up to 280 tonnes - the equivalent of around 70 fully grown African elephants - and two substation foundations.

The Resolution will used six massive legs, each almost half the length of a football pitch, to lift itself out of the water and create a stable platform for the work. Using an 80 metre crane to lift the foundations off the deck of the vessel and then drive them into the sea bed with a 140-tonne anvil a form of incredibly powerful hydraulic ram.

Each foundation consists of a monopile, which is a steel cylinder 50 metres long and 4.3 metres in diameter, and a large yellow transition piece, which is fixed over the top of the monopile and forms the base to which the turbine towers and substation platforms are fitted. The turbines supplied by Danish firm Vestas and are 80m to hub height with a blade diameter of 90m, meaning they are a maximum of 125m above sea level.

The MV Resolution is the world's first purpose-built vessel for carrying out the installation of offshore wind farms and is one of only a handful of vessels capable of carrying out the construction of what will be one of world's largest offshore wind farms.

Now my point on all of this, having seen so many wind turbines as I have been going around the coast and a large number stood apparently idle I am now starting to question what we are doing here. There is a huge green lobby calling for more and more of these, a current government that seems to encourage their use, yet I don’t see any form of lobby about the environmental and wildlife impact of these things, The Solway Firth is the home of a large number of migratory birds, that come to winter and feed on the muds flats. Has anybody done any research on what impact this huge artificial reef will have on the currents and the mud flats in years to come. There were a number of well documented reports of these Wind Turbines causing the deaths of migratory birds in the past.

Secondly if any body tries to convince me that these things are Carbon Neutral, watch out, I believe they have a huge Carbon Legacy, that will take years to recoup, in fact I would suggest, each one has legacy that will last beyond it’s useful life. Don’t get me wrong I am as worried about the future of our planet as anyone else but I would hate to see propaganda drive us head long down another route to disaster.

Carrying on along the A711 I then turned off through Townhead and Balmae on the way back onto the A711 I stopped to take the following photo of Kirkcudbright Bay.

As you can see the clouds are starting to build up and it is still before lunch time. When I arrived in the town I was quite surprised by how quaint and touristy it was. It was nothing like what I had expected, possibly I had got the wrong impression about this part of Scotland, something that was reinforced during over 70% of the places I visited on this trip.

After a quick run down he back lanes through Borgue and Knockbrex it was back up on to the A75at Gatehouse on Fleet, passing Cardoness Castle (42) It is a well-preserved 15th Century tower house just south west of Gatehouse of Fleet, It was originally owned by the MacCulloch family of Galloway also known as the MacCullochs of Myreton. They abandoned the castle in the late 17th Century, following the execution of Sir Godfrey McCulloch for the murder of a Clan Gordon neighbour. Fleet Bay can be seen from its battlements. It is now in the care of Historic Scotland.

A little further on I came to Carsluith Castle in the village of the same name. (43) The lands of Carsluith were held by the Cairns family until 1460, when they passed to James Lindsay of Fairgirth, Chamberlain of Galloway. He was probably the builder of the main tower at Carsluith in the late 15th or early 16th century. His son, Sir Herbert Lindsay, was killed at Flodden in 1513. The castle then passed, though a daughter of James Lindsay, to Richard Brown. The Browns (or Brouns) of Carsluith added to the castle, building the stair tower on the north side in the 1560s. A Roman Catholic family, the Browns feuded with the Protestant McCullochs of Barholm, and in 1579 Richard's son John was fined £40, when his son, also John, failed to appear on a charge of murdering the Mculloch laird of Barholm.

Another descendant of Richard Brown was Gilbert Brown of Carsluith, who served as the last abbot of Sweetheart Abbey, previously mentioned, before the Protestant Reformation. Later it was alleged several times that Gilbert was sheltering Jesuit priests at Carsluith, and in 1605 he was arrested for his Catholic sympathies. He was banished to France, where he became rector of the Scots College, Paris. He died in Paris in 1612.

The Browns of Carsluith emigrated to India in 1748, and the castle has not been occupied since. In the early 19th century, new farm buildings were built on to the castle, forming a U-plan steading which remains. Today the castle ruin is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, in the care of Historic Scotland.

Looking at the time I decided to push on it was now well past lunchtime and I had a personal target of getting beyond Ayr before pitching my tent, the forecast had been hopeful, although it did warn of showers at some point along the route. After a quick run into Newton Stewart it was back out on the A714 to Wigtown.

It is well known today as Scotland's National Book Town and is home to a wealth of second-hand book shops. And despite the time I took the opportunity of stopping over to have a look in some of them and see what I could find, as I hadn’t brought a book with me this time around. I was also looking to see if I could find a decent Map I had bee working off the Collins A-Z map of Scotland and although it wasn’t bad, it missed out on some the things I had become used to with the Ordnance Survey Road Series Maps, I have been using to date, such as contour lines and better definition on points of interest, such as castles etc, but the two worst points were the size of the text, I struggled to read it, as well as missing out complete villages that I came across on my ride which at times made me think I was going wrong. To cut a long story short after searching in four or five of them, I didn’t find anything I really wanted to read, although a couple of Ellery Queen classics had me interested but they were special edition hard backs and I didn’t want to buy them and end up ruining them by getting them soaked during my travels, nor did I find the type of map I was searching for.

Leaving Wigtown and heading the Isle of Whithorn which is at the tip of The Machars peninsular I passed airfield (40) the former RAF Wigtown, an airfield that has pretty much returned to agricultural use. The area was originally covered with anti-invasion defences at the start of World War II, to deny its use to enemy aircraft, but these were cleared once the site had been allocated for wartime use.

The airfield opened in 1941 as a training school, and hosted No 1 Air Observers School from September 13, 1941, to February 1, 1942, and operated in conjunction with a tracked target range near the coast to the southeast. Initially constructed with grass runways, flooding of the land soon caused these to become unusable, and two concrete runways were installed during 1942.

Operations at the airfield came to an end in 1945 with the end of the war, and the field passed to Maintenance Command and was placed in care and maintenance, transferring to No 14 Maintenance Unit from July 1, 1946, to March 1, 1948, when the airfield was finally closed.
A quick stop at Garlieston for a quick picture of the harbour and I was quickly underway again.
On to Isle of Whithorn and the following photo.

Back up to Gasserton and then onto Monreith, I stopped to take a photo of this very hardy group in the sea and the grey skies out to sea, it looked increasingly likely that I was going to get wet at some point. I then had the great fun of riding up o Glenluce on the A747 before turning off to take the back lanes through Stairhaven and then Milton before joining the A75, which was an experience all by itself, Since leaving Gretna the traffic had been fairly light and certainly none of the huge 40 tonne atics. As I waited at the junction 6 of these leviathans blasted past on their way to either Stranrear or Cairnryan for the ferry to Northern Ireland. There was a huge line of traffic held up behind them but I was soon able to get out and finally past the cars and eventually the artics as they slowed to climb a small rise.

No sooner had I done this when my turning onto the B7077 and B7084 came up, this brought airfield at West Freugh (41). Dating back to 1936, RAF West Freugh first opened as an Armament Training Camp in 1937. With the arrival of World War II, its facilities were expanded to provide training for observers, navigators, and bomb aimers, with the addition of a bombing range and creation of a Bombing Trial Unit. The airfield remained operational after the war ended, and a large area of surrounding land, and sea within the bay, now serve as an MoD bombing range, MoD West Freugh, located three miles (5 km) northeast of Sandhead and five miles (8 km) southeast of Stranraer, extending over the foreshore and much of Luce Bay. The site has also been developed as a satellite ground station, primarily used for the reception of satellite based imagery. Although full time operation of the airfield ended in 2001, it still maintains a main runway of 1,841 metres (6,040 ft), and a secondary runway of 914 metres (3,000 feet) on care and maintenance by defence contractor QinetiQ, who took the facility over at that time. This allows the range to be reopened on a campaign basis to provide a controlled air space in which bombing trials can be conducted and monitored, and short range surface to air missiles (SAM) and rockets can be fired. Fixed and rotary wing machines guns may also be fired into the land or sea ranges.

There was no stopping at this stage it was on to the A716 and down to Drummore at the tip of The Rhins Peninsular before coming back up using the back lanes towards Port Logan and then into Ardwell for the second time where I overshot the turning and had to retrace my steps, as I have said the map I was suing is not the best and I had gone over my route using a highlighter pen which if anything had made things worse. All of this was compounded by the lack of a road sign. I finally worked out that the single track lane I turned on to was the only option and thankfully it became clear I had made the right choice when I went through Ardwell Mains, although it wasn’t on my map it made sense I was going in the right direction. Although it was signed as a Single Track road with passing places, it was actually much wider than that and I could pass a car coming in the other direction if they used their brains and pulled out of the centre of the road. The only downside was the fact that it appears that the local council had decided to re-surface these lanes with that horrible tar & chip application, that leaves a big pile of stone chips, right on the riding line, so when I braked or applied any power the bike would try and get away from me, so I slowed right down to make sure I made it in one piece.

At the end of these lanes is Portpatrick and Dunskey Castle (44) It is a ruined, early 16th century tower house. The three-storey L-plan structure is sited on a promontory, with a rock-cut ditch, although the building is now a roofless shell. The north-east wing is of a later date, and the foundations of a south range are visible. Near the castle are the remains of a watchtower, built on the cliff edge.

A medieval fortification on the site was destroyed in 1489 by Sir Alexander M'Culloch of Myrtoun. The present Dunskey Castle was built by the Adairs of Kinhilt, who also possessed the Castle of St. John in nearby Stranraer, around 1510. In 1620, it was acquired by Hugh Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery, who extended the building. In 1648 it passed to the Blair family, but was ruined by 1684. The current owners have restricted public access to the castle, which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Category A listed building.

Leaving Portpatrick on the B738 I set out on my loop around the northern part of the peninsular I made really good progress, all the way around and into Kirkcolm before getting on the A718, during which I felt my first rain but thankfully , I seem to keep ahead of the shower all the way until I reached St Mary’s Croft, unfortunately I wasn’t wearing any waterproofs at this stage but thankfully it was very quick and I was soon in Stranrear, where I immediately pulled over into a filling station, so I could not only refuel but also shelter whilst I put my Waterproofs on. I just wish I had paid more attention when doing so.

Close by the Filling Station was the aforementioned Castle of St John (45) The Castle of St John is a medieval tower house in the centre of Stranraer. It was built around 1500 by the Adairs of Kilhilt, one of the most powerful families in Wigtownshire. Over the centuries the Castle has been used as a home, a local court, a military garrison and a prison. Videos and reconstructions are used to tell the story of: the medieval landowners who built and lived in the Castle; the Government troops who used the Castle as their headquarters during the "Killing Times" in the 1680's; and the criminals and debtors imprisoned in the Castle during the 19th century. It is currently run as a Museum by the local council.

Back on the A77 Northbound towards Ayr I was brought to a sharp halt by the following scene over Cairnryan a few miles further on.

It was seriously throwing it down and I wondered whether I should stop for a while find a diversion, find a hotel/campsite around Stranraer, unfortunately the nearest campsite is right in the middle of that rain storm, it did not look nice. I thought what the hell, I’ve got my waterproofs on so I went for it.

I didn’t take long before I was regretting not paying more attention when putting my waterproofs on. The water started coming down my neck, it was running up off my hands and up my sleeve, and I was even feeling wet around my waist, which I couldn’t understand until I stopped much later to see the bottom of my jacket was sticking out beneath my waterproofs and it was acting like a huge sponge and just the water sucking up. I didn’t have much time to even think about how wet I was getting as the roads where more like a river, and given all the lorries coming and going form the Ferry Port at Cairnryan my eyes were on stalks looking for the telltale signs of diesel on the road.

Thankfully is was very intense but relatively short lived and by the time I got to Ballantrae it was starting to ease and by Lendalfoot it had stopped. Along this section I passed the signs for Glenapp Castle, however I have not listed a couple of castles of this type previously and I have decided not to count this one either, Glenapp Castle was built in 1870 - a strikingly beautiful example of the Scottish Baronial style of architecture.

Designed by the celebrated architect David Bryce in 1870 for Mr James Hunter, the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Ayrshire, the castle’s mellow sandstone battlements are topped by soaring turrets and towers, earning Glenapp a rightful place as one of the most romantic castles in Scotland.

The castle was purchased in 1917 by James Lyle Mackay, who later became the 1st Earl of Inchcape. The Inchcape family owned the castle until 1982, during which time they expanded the estate considerably and enlarged and altered the castle to its present form. Local hoteliers, the McMillan Family purchased the castle in June 1994, by which time it had, sadly, fallen into a very poor state of repair. Their daughter and son-in-law, Fay and Graham Cowan, made the castle their home and embarked upon a lengthy restoration following which it opened as a 5 Star Hotel.

Then I got to Girvan the sun was actually out and I was able to get my first real sight of the famous Ailsa Craig.

Shortly after leaving Girvan I came to Turnberry the home of the 2009 Open Championships a few weeks before I visited in fact a full two weeks after the final Saturday some of the temporary stands and scoreboards are still in place.

As you can see from the sky the time is getting on and given how wet and cold I was feeling, I decided I was going to get myself a room for tonight, try and dry my gear and get another early start tomorrow. However before that I had a few more sights to see.

In fact I was sat on one of them RAF Turnberry (42) was a World War I aerodrome and World War II airfield which occupied a small headland, now better known as Turnberry Golf Course. The A719 Maidens to Turnberry road passes through the site of the former airfield. Turnberry aerodrome served as one of a pair of air gunnery schools located in Ayrshire during World War I, and operated by the Royal Flying Corps. Air Gunnery School No 2 was located at Turnberry, The aerodrome opened in 1917, and closed in 1918 with the end of World War I.

During the 1930s the site was reactivated, when it was then described as an anti-aircraft landing ground. The airfield had been used as a base by the Auxiliary Airforce until 1942, when a tarmac runway was laid. The airfield was then used for training units of the RAF in torpedo bombing at the nearby River Clyde torpedo ranges, and for air sea rescue missions. It seems some 1,200 men were stationed at Turnberry.

Reconstruction of the airfield by Wimpey had started in 1941, when it was structured as a formal training facility. The airfield reopened in 1942, but the layout of the surrounding land meant there was no possibility for expansion, and it closed in 1945 with the end of World War II.

In use, the layout proved less than ideal with approaches being made over the sea, or from the hills to the east. Both routes were compromised by the prevailing winds which generally blew inland from the sea.

Following the closure of the airfield, the accommodation was used to house Prisoners of War (PoW) until 1946.

Abandoned after the war, the airfield reverted to its use as a golf course - which has reclaimed a section of one runway, but much of the runway network has survived to some degree, and is clearly visible in aerial images of the area. The main runway 04/22 ran northeast to southwest and was 6,250 feet long, with two subsidiaries: 00/18 ran north to south and was 4,500 feet long, while 09/27 ran east to west with a length of 3,900 feet. The hills to the west housed the bomb store and technical site.

The former control tower is now a private house, and there may be a few other remains scattered around the site. The remaining serviceable section of runway, running southwest to northeast, were reopened during the 1960s and serve as a private landing strip for light aircraft which sees regular use during the annual Open Golf Tournament held on the golf course.

At Turnberry I turned off the A77 and went along to A719 along the coast and past the first of two castles in fairly quick succession, Culzean Castle (46). It was the constructed as an L-plan castle by order of David Kennedy, 10th Earl of Cassilis. He instructed the architect Robert Adam to rebuild a previous, but more basic, stately house into a fine castle to be the seat of his earldom. The castle was built in stages between 1777 and 1792. It incorporates a large drum tower with a circular saloon inside (which overlooks the sea), a grand oval staircase and a suite of well-appointed apartments.

In 1945, the Kennedy family gave the castle and its grounds to the National Trust for Scotland (thus avoiding inheritance tax). In doing so, they stipulated that the apartment at the top of the castle be given to General Dwight Eisenhower in recognition of his role as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during the Second World War. The General first visited Culzean Castle in 1946 and stayed there four times, including once while President of the United States. An Eisenhower exhibition occupies one of the rooms, with mementoes of his lifetime.

Since 1987, an illustration of the castle has featured on the reverse side of five pound notes issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland.

In between the two castles is a phenomenon famous throughout the area and even beyond. This oddity at Croy Brae famous, though under its more usually applied name of Electric Brae, a name first given by someone who presumably thought that gravitational forces were being overcome by some sort of electric force.

There is a warning sign about slow vehicles as people experience the feeling of rolling uphill a Layby had been constructed in recent years to make things a bit safer.

The truth is less mysterious. As the stone placed by the layby explains, the effect is the result of an optical illusion. The inland end of this stretch of road is actually 17 feet higher than the coastal end, giving an overall gradient of 1 in 86. Yet because of the way the surrounding landscape slopes, the road appears to incline the opposite way, from its coastal end down to its inland end. The illusion is a powerful one, and the resulting effect is very weird, even when you know its cause. The layby was full so I had no space or time to take a photo so I pushed on to a viewing point a little further on.

Dunure Castle (47) stands in ruins on a rocky promontory on the Carrick coast, protecting the small Dunure harbour. The site dates from the late 13th century; the earliest charter for the lands dating from 1256, however the remains of the building are of 15th and 16th century origin. One tradition is that the castle was built by the Danes and another states that the Mackinnons held the castle from Alexander III, as a reward for their valour at the Battle of Largs.

The castle is the point of origin of the Kennedys of Carrick, who once ruled over much of south western Scotland and were granted the lands in 1357. This family though should not be confused with the famous American Kennedy family which came from Co. Wexford in Ireland.
In August 1563, Mary, Queen of Scots visited the castle for three days during her third progress round the west of the country It has another more gruesome part in the history of this part of Scotland. In 1570, a dispute arose between Gilbert Kennedy, 4th Earl of Cassilis, and Allan Stewart, the succeeding lay Commendator of Crossraguel Abbey over the ownership of some of the abbey lands and their rental income. The Earl's uncle was Quintin Kennedy, the last true abbot of Crossraguel. Gilbert had expected to secure the Commendatorship, however Allan obtained it through the influence of his relative, Captain James Stewart of Cardonald. Gilbert, with sixteen men, caught Allan Stewart unawares in Crossraguel Woods whilst a guest of the Laird of Bargany, and tricked him into journeying to Dunure. At the castle he was deprived of his horse and weapons and guarded by six of the Earl's men.

For two days Gilbert left the commendator to consider his fate and because he was obstinate and refused to sign over the lands and rentals he tortured him twice, roasting and basting his feet and body over a brazier in the Black Vault of the castle, aided bizarely by his cook, baker and pantrymen. As a result of the torture sessions of the first and seventh days of September 1570, the lands were signed over to Gilbert.

The Commendator was rescued from his confinement by the Laird of Bargany, Allan's brother in law, who arrived with a body of men; first hiding in the chapel and then storming the castle. The rights to the abbey lands were settled, partly by the Earl providing Allen Stewart with sufficient funds to allow him to live 'comfortably' for the rest of his life. In the meantime he had been taken to the Cross of Ayr where he had denounced the Earl of Cassillis. The Earl however was never fully brought to book for his actions by the Privy Council and Allen Stewart never walked again.

It was now the relatively short run into Ayr and to start the search for a bed for the night and to try and get my gear dry and a game of cat and mouse with 3 Italian guys in a hire car.

I tried a private but relatively large private hotel at the northern end of town just before it becomes Prestwick first, and as I was asking the manager if he had any space one of the Italians was behind me, when I had finished, he waited to get exactly the same information and directions.

I then tried the Holiday Inn Express as recommended as I thought I could use my priority points, but again they were full. The duty manager was more than helpful and pointed me in the direction of a couple of hotels, as I now had the Italian behind me again, I thought I would throw him off the scent by making him think I was going elsewhere, more fool me, he had signal on his phone and was able to phone ahead and get a booking, thankfully I was still able to get a room in the Stair Inn, wow! What a find! If you are ever in the area, either on business or pleasure, this should be your base, very inexpensive and better quality than most things you find. I had been informed about a Country House Hotel a little closer but that would have come in at £120 a night, The Stair Inn were apologetic, that they only had a Twin Room left at £50 for Bed and Breakfast and to be frank the Bedroom was top rate, I would be more than happy to take someone there for a romantic weekend, the bathroom was Snug shall we say, but adequate, deficiencies were more than made up for by the staff, everyone had a smile on their face. The food is better than good.

One other guest asked me what I was doing and when he heard his comment was ‘you’ve lucked out here’ and I totally agree with him If it was only to meet Caroline at the Stairs Inn. It takes a bit of finding but you’ve just got to make the effort.

After getting a quick shower it was now rapidly approaching 8.00pm so I wanted to get down to the bar and get something to eat. I had not ate anything since 8.30am this morning so you could say I was a little hungry.

A lovely meal, washed down by a couple of pints was just what the doctor ordered and took some time to write up some of these notes as I sat there, tiredness soon started to lay its heavy hand on me, so it was off to bed, for a great night’s sleep despite a busy pub being underneath me. Before I did I made sure that I had laid my gear out in the best way possible so it could dry.

Take care and as Mick says ‘You don’t stop riding when you get old, you stop when you find a little jewel!.