Island in the Sun – Part 4

All things must end and so 3 days of glorious sunshine came to and end as we woke up to this

It had been a wild night with strong winds tearing at the tent in booming gusts. We knew it was coming so the tent was well battened down and was solid, although sleep was harder to come by. We had a long walk out so we were up early, breakfasted, packed an away sharpish. No views to detain us on this morning

 

It was a wild day and the wind was strong enough to blow you off balance, accentuated by the still heavy packs

At the col below Cir Mhor we lingered briefly to try standing up in the wind and then pressed on around the path that traverses the western flank. The wind from here to the point of descent into Glen Rosa was ferocious and picking through the bouldery path with a heavy pack was arduous. We had talked of walking out over the ridge of Beinn a Chliabhain but we plunged into Glen Rosa without a pause. Once down the first steep section the wind dropped and suddenly all was calm again. There were even signs that it might clear

Glen Rosa was a superb walk. Broad and wide open with a gorgeous clear stream and plenty of wild swimming pools for warmer weather. The sun became more visible with each step

Slowly but surely all the tops appeared except Cir Mhor which stubbornly refused to show itself

By the time we reached the corner to turn towards Brodick we were in full sun again and it was warm and balmy as it had been on the first day. Glen Rosa needs another visit

In my dreams I’d imagined that Brodick harbour was just down the road but this was a cruel deception. There followed 3 miles of slog down an admittedly stunning valley on tracks and Tarmac and I was feeling the heat and the pain in my knees from 4 days walking and heavy pack on hard roads. GM left me trailing as we walked, or in my case, limped into Brodick under a now cloudless sky

The seafront in Brodick is rather pleasant and we found a cracking spot to wait for the next ferry having just missed one. Several bottles of fizzy pop and a healthy portion of fish and chips from an excellent and well hidden chippy restored our spirits and we sat and whiled away a few hours ready for the boat home

8 Miles

The folly of just missing the previous ferry became apparent. The reason we had just missed it was that it was the earlier ferry that was now an hour late. Problems with docking in Ardrossan meant it couldn’t use it’s normal berth. By the time it had turned around a come back it was well over an hour late and the queue was enormous. We rather sneakily just slipped into the head of the queue, found a spot to sit on the sacks for a swift exit and departed the jewelled Isle

More messing about at Ardrossan meant we were pushing 2 hours late leaving and we had a long drive home. Still, after 4 days of amazing walking the journey seemed to fly by and I was back home in Hereford not long after midnight. Last years trip to Glen Scaddle was unbelievable but I think this year topped it. A long held dream to climb Arrans rocky summits fulfilled under perfect skies. Sensational stuff! 🙂