MY TAKE; doses of Wild YAM : Menoxplorer

On the Friday, I took my second look at 2 Alexandria Terrace. I knew I was going to be offering on it. However, I did still want to revisit the two top contenders back over on the Isle of Bute.

Google Images

There is a bus from Dunoon round to Rothesay, via Colintraive. This has got to be the best value tour you are ever going to have. It is a regular commuter service and the journey takes one hour ten minutes from point to point. It is the bits between those points which blows the mind...and remember, this trip was being made mid-winter!!

Even in the looming and spitting clouds, the countryside was amazing. My only sense of regret is that one couldn't simply stop when wanted and run the camera. Many burns gushing forth with the additional wet, trees standing ominously observant of the moisture and carrying the debt of mosses and rot. Rocks rugged and jutting giving the place a draconian feel. All the shades of brown, red, green and grey possible, which makes for quite a palette. One can do no justice to the beauty of a landscape which sings its own song.

On that map above the figure '1' is beside the route taken, up the side of the Holy Loch then cuts across and round the head of Loch Striven. The road is mostly single track with passing places spaced at regular intervals. Much of the landscape is taken up with old-growth, albeit farmed, pine forests. Many of the trees were well over the 100 feet and harvesting was in evidence. Managed forestry plays a big role in Scotland's history and in this family's - dad's Father, Granda MacLean, was a forester. When not pines, Silver birches and rowans were the principal cast, with an oak and beech or two in the mix.

Eventually we come down the edge of Loch Riddoch and Kyles of Bute waterside to Colintraive (imagine that without the 'a' for pronunciation). The ferry trip was hardly worth the happening. Barely five minutes. But it would have been a chilly swim. Some highland cattle watched mournfully through their fringes having nowhere to shelter. Would they have liked a bus ride I wonder? Before a blink we were in Rothesay. Apart from the viewings of the flats, I was able to play tourist.

Went round to the Victorian Toilets which I had missed visiting last time and got some nice photos of the glorious edifice of defecation! It's worth the fuss. Then to the little town square where there were some info boards I had also missed previously.

Then into the Musicker for a stunningly good bowl of vege minestrone soup and sundried tomato bread roll. They remembered me and I was warmly welcomed and greeted away also...even though its seems I end up in Dunoon, I KNOW I will be making regular visits!

4 comments:

Kathy29 January 2014 at 01:26
Gosh, so much has happened for you in the week or so I've been away that I can hardly catch my breath, Yam. :-) SO pleased to hear about the accepted offer on the Dunoon flat and I've very much enjoyed your glimpses of your future home-town. Fingers crossed everything goes smoothly with the legal details.
WFT Nobby29 January 2014 at 02:30
Funny, just the other day at work we were having a lengthy discussion about public toilets in the west of Scotland. (Yes really! It's what happens when you share an office with two geologists who run field trips for oil companies sometimes!) anyway, I mentioned the facilities at Rothesay, which they were unaware of, and then we wasted come more time trying to locate them on Google Earth...
Cheers!
Gail.
Ps the bus ride sounds great.
SquirrelQueen29 January 2014 at 11:38
You have been very busy while I was away from the computer for a bit. The tour sounds so beautiful and interesting. I love the structure in your post below.
Yamini MacLean29 January 2014 at 17:08
Hari OM
Perpetua - glad to see you 'up and about'! Yes, eventful times!!

Bertie/Gail - heheh, beats the old "Dallas by the water cooler" stuff that used to happen when I was corporate!!

SQ - yup - and the next few weeks are going to be a it of a flurry...but it's all good!