Arriving at Oban near to 12 we parked the car in an
unlimited, free space on the road that led to the ruined castle. We then built
the bike and cycled back to the ferry port to buy tickets for Lismore. Eating
at Weatherspoons we could keep an eye on the bike and enjoy some real ale and
steaks for under £8, it being Steak Day. We had 50 minutes before the next
ferry.
It was more of a walk than expected to Lismore ferry’s
departure point and when the boat arrived it looked rather small! How would
they squeeze more than 2 cars on as well as bikes and people? The drivers had
to reverse on. An older gentleman handed over his car keys to a dock official,
as the chances of his manoeuvre going wrong were quite high. A small lorry with
a mattress, boxes of fruit, drink and long planks of wood, obviously a regular
run, squeezed on. Another car and a people carrier used up all available space
except for passengers legs when they sat on the patio chairs on the deck with
knees against the dirty cars. Bored children were tooting horns and climbing in
and out of the vehicles. An elderly lady from Battle near Hastings had bought
the £6 return journey for the sea trip only, which lasts 50 minutes just one
way. It was best to stand and watch the beautiful scenery pass by hoping for
seals and dolphins in the calm sea. If it had rained there was some covered
seating but then no views.
We all disembarked, in considerable heat, except for the
lady from Sussex who had the boat almost to herself for the journey back. Bob
and I now had 3 hours to ride the island as far as the roads would take us. We
went left from the ferry with some hills but not so steep, until the road
petered out. The views were wonderful and next to the road were clear streams
and wildflowers particularly white astilbe. Unlike Ulva these were proper
tarmac roads. Lismore is 10 miles long by 1 mile across with about 150
inhabitants.
The opposite
direction took us past the Heritage Centre with a cafe, earmarked for later and
a little shop with a post office. This direction seemed windier especially when
we reached the other ferry point- the road terminus. A ferry was coming in and
there were a few cars here hopefully not trying to get on the boat which was smaller we
thought than the one we came over on being for passengers only. This ferry
takes a mere 10 minutes to cross. There were more cyclists than any other sort
of passenger and we could see why as on a day like today it was glorious
cycling. The one draw- back for us however was the lack of facilities. Although
the cafe was open during the days its hours didn’t seem to coincide well with
the arrivals and departures of the ferries. We spoke to one of our ferry
co-passengers ( the island was small enough to keep bumping into each other)
who said they thought the cafe might be closed and it was only just after 4.
With tongues hanging out we rode as fast as we were able to
the Heritage Centre which was indeed closed. Someone was sweeping up at the
cafe but people sat at the tables outside. I asked if they were still open and we
were asked what we would like. Full of a sense of bonhomie we relaxed and
waited for our sandwiches and tea. They were counting up the money and later
the sweeper upper told me they actually closed at 4. I couldn’t stress to them
how grateful we were. After lovely sandwiches I offered to pay and was
horrified when it came to several pounds more than £20.When I questioned the
amount the girl said they put a surcharge on after hours. Another couple paid
£10 for a tea and cake. They had taken care not to say that they were either
closed or that everything cost more after 4 when I ordered. Nowhere did a sign
say when the cafe closed. We felt ripped off and the initial feel good factor
completely disappeared. Apparently the cafe wasn’t open till 10.30 well after
the first ferry arrival which didn’t make sense either.
By contrast the man in the shop nearby couldn’t have been
nicer!
The next and last ferry arrived just after 6. We thought
Lismore a beautiful island though there wasn’t a lot to do except roaming and
the beach.
The boat arrived and before we could embark the ferrymen
were cleaning the decks of sheep manure that fell from the trailer while they
were aboard. The lorry empty from delivering the mattress etcetera was going
back to Oban. A friendly dog kept children entertained by expecting a stick to
be thrown for him to chase. It was an uneventful ferry back arriving at the car
around 7 pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment