Millport

Since October, I have pretty much not done any exercise or walking out with normal day to day activities. With time going by, this was playing on my mind and for the last 6 weekends or so, I've been planning some kind of walk to get back into it. Between the snow, ice, other crap weather and having stuff on, my plans always ended up scuppered.

This weekend, I had nothing planned and the forecast was looking favourable so I decided a wee trip to Millport was on the cards with the 12 mile trek of Great Cumbrae the objective. As good as the plan was, I had reason to be a bit weary. I have had mild sunstroke like symptoms twice in my life and both involved Largs. The first was a few years ago, after I cycled round Cumbrae and the second was the aftermath of my walk up the back of Largs last June.

The plan was set and nothing was going to stop me. This was definitely enforced by the weather on Saturday morning. Spring had definitely arrived. One of the appeals of walking from Largs is that the bus stop is literally 2 minutes from my house. However, the bus station is not there at the moment, so my day began with a brisk jog to the temporary replacement stop a few blocks away.

Half an hour later, I was in Largs and buying my ticket at the ticket office on the pier. The ferry that runs between Largs and Cumbrae Slip is quite frequent with a departure every half hour and the total trip only taking about 12 minutes.



I arrived on Cumbrae and was ready to set off just after 11:00. My route started by turning right off the ferry and following the road north.



That is the main road on the island but as it mainly caters for walkers and cyclists, there is next to no traffic on it. An advantage to this is that the conditions underfoot are ideal as the road follows the circumference of the island. Just shy of a couple of hours later, I was walking along Millport's main street having completed about half of the intended 12 miles.



A few minutes for a rest and a couple of photos of Little Cumbrae, and it was time to set off back to the ferry. The original plan was to follow the full outline of the island, but at this point I decided to cut out the south-east section which would put my total hike around about the 8 mile mark. Thus meaning, the final trek up Ferry Rd should see me land at the ferry in about 2 miles time.



Of the whole day, this was [mentally] the longest section. My feet were starting to get a bit of a strain, and the scenery was rubbish and the road never seemed to end. Eventually, Largs and the Clyde came into view again and eventually the pier and ferry. The final slog around the corner and I was back in the queue waiting for the outbound ferry to return.



The route taken covered 14.1 km (or 8.7 miles if that's your unit of measurement). It was a good day out. I'm glad I done it and it was a good kick start into some exercise for 2011 especially with the lighter nights and good weather starting. The day was rounded off with a visit to Uncle Stewart's for a bite to eat and the England - Wales Game.

2011-03-26 - Cumbrae

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