17th - 20th December

17th December day 287

That morning I woke quite late, I was feeling tired but that wasn't going to prevent me from clearing a few more miles off the trek. This time I would leave the daysack behind and empty out any unnecessary gear from my backpack leaving only the pack raft for the corran ferry crossing later that day. Before setting off I checked the tide times on my phone and arranged with iain to meet him by the narrows so that we could get a couple of photos of me paddling the open waters.

The drive from Lochaline was now taking longer and by the time we arrived at the place I'd been picked up the evening before I was left with two hours to walk to the shore before high tide and the best time to attempt to cross the tidal race from the loch to the open seas.

Immediately we arrived I slung my pack on and headed for the coastline along the beach a mere 50 feet from the road. I was able to continue along the beach for at least a mile before I was forced up onto the road. 

Making my way along the tarmac road was easy going compared to the stony beach and considerably simpler than the wild excursion the day before. Using my ipod to drown out the sound of cars passing me and loosing myself in the ambient tones of the music I followed the road stopping at a small cave I could see to my left.

The cave was barely large enough to sleep two in and a small stone wall had been constructed as a wind break across the entrance. I was later told that tramps had occupied the cave dwelling several years previous.

As I left the cave the weather slowly began to deteriorate. According to the weather forecast we could expect snowfall and possibly storms over the following days. I just hoped the weather for that afternoon would hold back, I needed calm winds and preferably no rain or I'd have to reconsider the crossing in hoolley. 

As I approached the beach that lead to the slipway at corran ferry, about half a mile away, a heavy mist began to obscure the far side of the loch and the wind began to pick up. It wasn't looking good. Thankfully the closer I got the better the weather improved. The water was looking choppy with a small swell and a few breakers approaching the narrows. The far side a mere quarter of a mile away. 

Iain was down on the shore when I finally arrived, looking across the unsettled waters. "I can't watch this" he said as I lay my pack down on a tuft of grass and began to inflate hoolley. All set and ready to go I made my way towards the narrowest part and gazed out out watching intently at the way the waters moved. It wasn't to be the roughest crossing I'd made on the trip but like always I had to retain respect for the unseen forces that lurked beneath the waves.

The mist had now cleared up and thankfully the winds had dropped once more. Seizing the opportunity I placed hoolley down on the shore, the water was fairly calm there, I climbed in, pushed off and began to paddle away from the shallows to into the main channel. The swell was increasingly dominating the way across and to avoid an accidental capsize I turned hoolley against the flow to ride safely over the crests occasionally turning about so as not to get caught in the tidal surge and strong currents that could, if not paddled correctly, drag me out into the Atlantic ocean. It was a tough paddle I'll admit, often it didn't feel like I was making much progress but gradually and after reassuring hoolley we were nearly there I managed to ferry glide against the drag and into the shallower shores on the far side.

While planning my crossing I'd decided on three possible places to land. The first a little way down the loch and onto a small beach and the other two places almost directly opposite. Not feeling all that confident I decided not to head along the loch but instead to aim for the slipway used by the cars crossing on the ferry which was considerably closer and safer. Pushing my paddle blades into the shingle I pushed myself and hoolley ashore. Another successful paddle.

Iain was waiting back on the other side so after deflating hoolley we both boarded the ferry to rejoin him and head back to my temporary base. While driving back, hoolley now stowed back in my pack iain suggested I stopped for xmas. A lovely gesture and an offer I couldn't refuse. With Christmas a week away and no sign that the weather would improve it seemed like a good plan, the days would also be getting longer by then and hopefully the weather would improve too.

18th December day 288

Over the previous weeks I'd not managed to get far along the coast but was satisfied that I'd at least made a little progress. I was now about seven days hiking from oban but without knowing when I would set off again I couldn't be sure when I would be passing through. Steven rae, a reporter for the oban times, had contacted me about popping by for and interview and photo opportunity and having a day free I figured it would be an ideal opportunity to visit their offices and make use of the free promotion. The trip would also give me the advantage of being able to recce the route that lay ahead. Driving along the road I'd be hiking after Christmas was insightful. On the whole it was relatively flat and for the most part the road and cycle paths followed the coastline closely. 

Arriving in the large town, similar in size to my home town of Bournemouth, I immediately noticed a difference in my surroundings. I'd been so used to being in the wild or passing through small villages that the hustle and bustle of oban was quite contrasting. The single track lanes had been replaced with two lanes and a series of traffic lights, the calm rustling of leaves in the trees had been replaced by the droning sound of a procession of motor vehicles and the uninterrupted views of the hills obscured by a concrete jungle. Although I had been used to town life before the trek I found the experience to be quite unsettling. It felt like the first time I'd been to a metropolis. It was something I knew I would experience more and more in the coming months as I would gradually make my way back into England and further south. 

With the car parked up iain and I walked through the streets of the town, our first stop, oban fm, the local radio station to see if we could get an interview live on air organised for the next day followed by an interview and photo opportunity with Steven the oban times reporter. After the interview I also enquired about the story I'd been told about the way the oban times had covered the sinking of the titanic in 1912. Apparently the headline "argyll man drowns at sea" had been a local myth although we were unable to confirm this as the papers archives didn't start until 1934, several decades after the incident. 

Before heading back to Lochaline though we paid a visit to the oban lifeboat station, gwen and ian from the quarry had organised a pickup from the pharmacist of the prescription I'd been given in Kilchoan. The pills had been waiting at the station for several days now. There was also a package from Andrew carter, another of the trek supporters. Andrew had sent a durable heavy duty head torch, a couple of packets of sweets and a chocolate bar which was a pleasant surprise and a gift most welcomed.

19th December day 289

The next day the weather, once again was miserable and once again we jumped in the car to head back to oban for a 3pm interview with ian the presenter of the afternoon show. We arrived early so while iain disappeared to do some shopping I stopped at Carolyns cafe for a coffee, mince pie and friendly chat with the natives. The time flew by and before I knew it I was sat in the warmth of the studio at oban fm and chatting away with the presenter about the challenge. I think it went well but as per usual the ten minutes of fame came and went all too quickly and iain and I were soon headed back to Lochaline. 

On our way back iain asked why I hadn't worked in radio professionally to which I had to remind him that I had and owned the worlds first and largest global community radio station wwsn radio. I did admit though I would enjoy producing shows on other more localised stations should the opportunity arise.

20th December day 290

The weather had still not improved by the morning, in fact it appeared to be getting worse. Scotlands west coast was certainly living up to its reputation of being wet n windy. Not wanting to waste the day though we iain and I went out to finish a couple of chores around the cottage that needed finishing. Firstly we leveled and repositioned the winter fuel tank and then we knocked down and removed a small vegetable patch that hadn't been too successful. I, quite selfishly, took great pleasure in being able to help out and return some of the favours gracefully handed out to me by iain during my short stay.

That evening I was also able to treat iain to a taste of my signature dish, pepperoni lasagne. A recipe I'd fine tuned over the past nine years and gradually perfected. I think it went down well, noticing iain helping himself to seconds.