Mull to Glasgow via Tarbert – 166 miles


9 to 11 August


Cycling is addicting. Add a few good mates and heart opening landscapes and you find yourself planning new trips at every odd day. Laughs, fresh air, endorphins, you just want more and more.


This one was another 3 day route, from Oban to Glasgow. Sor and me got an early train on Friday morning and spent the day cycling Mull, 21 miles each way from Craignure up to Tobermory and back. 

We agreed to meet the guys – Walter, Zazzu and Damian - who were getting an after work train, in Oban, and together we would find a spot to camp. By the time we get started it was night. We decided to start following the NCN hoping to find some green suitable patch along the way. It took us a 1/2h cycle, out, and up, of Oban to find something, and we were not even sure if it was suitable, and were we were... Walter spotted a hole in a fence, and after a 5min walk up a hill we placed our tents. I woke up in the morning hearing a sniffing sound, and was very glad it was a horse rather that a Highland cow...

Day 2 was a continuous up and down road, very up and down road all the 64m down to Tarbert I remember saying at some stage “I've never changed gears so many times in my life”. 

But it was a beautiful ride. The road was not busy, warm and not too much rain, the mood was high and the view of the village was just heart opening. 

We stopped for a reward beer break by the shore of the sea, and then started looking for a camping spot...which after some discussion we settled here:

We then went up the hill behind the village and sat on the ruins of the castle telling stories and laughing more, and ended the night at the pub as per the tradition.

Day 3 was a 60 miles in total but started very slow. We had to catch the ferry to Arran, and we were incredibly lucky with the weather. The sky was so blue that it was difficult to distinguish it from the sky! This was the travelling circus at its best, we were all in great shape and mood and enjoyed the ride up and down Arran.

In Brodick after lunch our path divided though. Sor and Damian decided to go back home, Walter and Zazzu decided to spend a few more ours in Arran and get a later train. And me, I was determined to get all the way to Glasgow.

The route from Ardrossan to Glasgow via NCN 7 can get boring after a while. It's flat, straight, and nothing much but a wee lake. From Paisley to Glasgow is then a maze and you have better not miss a sign! I lost the track many time but eventually made it to the Central Station, in pour rain, exhausted, but with a big smile on my face.