Five Ferries Cycle Trip
As an artist, I’m always keen to set my eyes on new sights and landscapes for inspiration. So, for my birthday weekend we decided to tackle the Five Ferries cycle challenge, taking in 70 miles across beautiful Scottish scenery, island hopping from Arran across the Argyll peninsula and onto Bute before finishing on the West coast mainland.
The route is often completed in a day, but, being my birthday and all, we decided to go at a more leisurely pace - and I’m glad we did! I was fairly tired after two days on the bike but I suppose that’s what you get for not getting much practice in beforehand.
As we were only taking our bikes onto the ferries and didn’t have a car, we were able to buy our ferry tickets upon arriving at the terminal, before boarding.
We boarded our first CalMac ferry from Ardrossan to Brodick and had a fry up for breakfast to set us up for the day.
Brodick to Lochranza
It was already raining when we arrived into Brodick so we were a little unsure of how the weekend would play out if this weather continued.
Nevertheless, we set off and quickly forgot about the rain, instead taking in the beautiful views and shifting mist and moods around Arran’s hills, including Goatfell.
Having cycled clockwise round Arran last year, I had already tackled the long, steep climb out of Lochranza so I was looking forward to cruising down it this time round.
It didn’t disappoint.
Whilst waiting for our second ferry, we refuelled with some very tasty sandwiches from The Sandwich Station in Lochranza.
Claonaig to Tarbert
Back into the saddle and already feeling a little sore, we continued on our way, arriving at Tarbert and eating many a Haribo in the drizzle while we awaited our next ferry.
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Portavadie to Colintraive
We split this section in two, opting to stay overnight at Tregortha Guest House. I’d highly recommend this charming art-filled B&B. Our host, Karmen, made sure we were well looked after with homemade bread and jam at breakfast and our room was nice and cosy.
We had dinner at The Royal an Lochan in Tighnabruaich which had exquisite views across the Kyles of Bute.
The next morning, we started off with a steep climb out of Tighnabruaich to wake us up. We were rewarded with a stunning view at the top before meandering along the peninsula to our next ferry at Colintraive.
Rhubodach to Rothesay
We barely had time to step foot (and wheel) on the ferry and 30 seconds later we had landed on Bute. The rain held off and we enjoyed an easygoing, flat cycle to Rothesay where we devoured burgers at the friendly Ambience Café.
Wemyss Bay to Ardrossan
Back on the mainland, fuelled by a chocolate bar, cappucino and a quick snooze on the ferry, we tackled the road back to Ardrossan.
Headwinds, driving rain and a very busy road made this stretch type two fun for me. I think the last break we had might have been counterintuitive to my motivation as I could have happily finished upon arriving on the mainland.
But we completed it and I was glad to get home for showers and good food!
Now, onto the next adventure…
