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Post created with https://apps.rhiaro.co.uk/no-ceremonies-are-necessary
Another hike to Lamlash, via a different inland route. Found a community woodland/orchard, and R finally hit upon agates. I had lunch and read/wrote at The Drift Inn again by myself. Staff were exceptionally kind, and found vegan mayo to go with my croquettes and mac-n-not-cheese, and a vegan chocolate for me when I went to pay the bill. I stuck my head in the Old Pier Cafe; they had some vegan stuff, but it was cramped and busy.
I returned by bus, and read on the beach.
Some clouds provided a bit of relief from the sun, but still a beautiful day. We took the bus to Whiting Bay, then walked from there to Kildonan. We weren't sure if it was accessible along the beach the whole day and ended up doing quite a trek along a road which wasn't ideal.
From there we bussed to Blackwaterfoot, and finally managed to hike to the King's Cave. We found a fossil dinosaur foot/handprint and some excellent rock formations, and beautiful views.
We did a circular route which, once again, was longer than expected. We marched to Shiskine for the last bus back to Brodick.
R went off for one final rock hunting trip on his bike, and I wandered into Brodick. Finally got to Wooley's Bakery, which had an astounding amount of vegan options, sweet and savoury. I started with an excellent sausage roll and a brownie, and bought more things for the journey home.
Posted a postcard, cleaned up our campsite, and read and wrote on the beach until R got back. Then we headed for the ferry back to Ardrossan, and three trains home.
Max and I had a restful day to ourselves while R went off on his bike to look for rocks. We started in the Little Rock cafe in Brodick and.. stayed there reading and writing and eating for a while. Finally we got our act together and set out south around the coast, towards Lamlash. Another glorious day, and another beautiful rocky path.
The next stop on the food tour was The Drift Inn, which had several great vegan options. I had a cracking Beyond burger with melted smoked not-cheese in a pretzel bun. It was perfect, and the location was gorgeous too.
We returned via an inland route, across some hills and through a bit of woods. Then spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach.
Awake for a glorious sunrise on the beach.
We took the bus to Corrie, then walked along the coast to Sannox, checking out various interesting rock formations. We stopped for breakfast at Mara Deli, which was really delicious - kedgeree with crispy tofu, and excellent coffee. They have banana blossom tacos too which I was sad I didn't manage to return to try. A lovely outdoor location with a sea view, and dog-friendly.
From Sannox we took the bus to Lochranza, then embarked on a far more substantive than expected hike over the hills. It was very glorious. Max met a boxer dog called Betty who wanted to affectionately punch him in the face over and over, and he wasn't sure what to make of that.
When we finally made it to the coast, by Laggan Cottage, I read on the beach for an hour while R went off to look for fossils. Finding none, we continued, only to discover the fossils had been in the direction we wanted to walk all along.
The return route around the coast was beautiful too, a bit rugged, and I was running on fumes. We were absolutely knackered by the time we made it back to Lochranza, in time for the 5pm bus.
We got off in Blackwaterfoot, on the west side, having had the original plan to explore there as well. But we were too tired, and just waited for the next bus back to Brodick.
We got very excellent sourdough pizza (with king oyster mushrooms) from The Parlour in Brodick, as well as nice sorbet, and ate it on the beach.
Tuesday evening departure for the Arran adventure. We caught three trains to Ardrossan, then camped on some empty scrub near the port.
We awoke at sunrise for the first ferry to Brodick. A bad night's sleep - as the first night in the tent usually is - left us feeling pretty heavy, so we had a slow day. We first pitched the tent in some woods up a wee hill. It was a good out of the way spot, but it was very midgey. Subsequent scouting - after a very good breakfast at Little Rock - yielded the beach to be a much better location. We relaxed at the (very interesting) Arran Heritage museum for a while. I had a nice cup of tea and a vegan cinnamon swirl, and wrote and read, while R and I took it in turns to visit the exhibits and chill in the garden with Max.
Then we moved the tent to the beach, though were beaten to the best spot by another very smug camper by about 5 minutes.
Midges were less persistent because of the breeze, but still around, so Max slept in the tent (after what happened last time). He loves it.
