There can be fewer more scenic locations for a tea stop than the Oyster Bar on the banks of Loch Fyne. What could be more enjoyable than lounging in the conservatory, taking in the mountain view and devouring a delicious buttered slice of tea loaf?
I'd been looking forward to this leg of the trip since I first sketched out the route. It would be my first day into the Highlands and the first time I've visited my sister Jacqui and her husband Angus in the twenty years or so they've lived in Scotland (yes, shame on me!)
The tea stop came after climbing and descending the "Rest and be Thankful" pass, which takes you up and away from the head of Loch Long and over to Loch Fyne. It's a beautiful stretch of road and, with the gentle gradient, a joy to climb.
I made good progress today, and realised that if I didn't stop again, I might make it to visit Jacqui's school just before the end of the school day. So I pushed on down to the coast, over the Connell Bridge and back up the loch to Ardchatten. I didn't quite make it and was twenty minutes late. However, once they heard I arrived, all the kids came back to school to see me... all three of them!
Jacqui and I then cycled her "commute" home. Climbing out of the valley, there can be few more striking journeys to end your working day
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