Kildonan

A long day. Internet is sketchy at the campsite. I’ll add the details tomorrow.
Woke early and was an hour earlier leaving. Road for the first few miles, then into a plantation where the track dropped down to Kings Caves. The King would have needed sensible shoes to visit his caves - the constant sections of jumbled rockfalls were good fun to start with, but the novelty was wearing thin. The granite boulders are very grippy, but the weight on my back was hampering my natural grace and balance.
Blackwaterfoot had a lovely golf course and a long sandy beach. A dog walker assured me that I could get food at the clubhouse. The man in the pro shop sold me a bottle of Coke, a lovely coffee and two Mars Bars. He also told me about a shop up the road where I could ‘stock up on supplies’. Well, it sold all sorts of everything like Felton’s with a book section), but no food.
The next coastal path reminded me of Scarlett. The fields were open onto the foreshore and I walked past disinterested cows and sheep. There were geese grazing too, and despite regular stops to look at the rocks and weed, I hadn’t seen an otter.
The signs for the Arran Coastal Way are few and far between. I crossed two largish river mouths before realising that I had missed the turn-off away from the beach. I wobbled over the first via stepping stones, but the next one was wider, deeper and home to a pair of swans. I had to take my shoes off and slip and curse across.
Then it was back onto the road to Lagg. Or I thought I was. Turns out I’d missed Lagg by staying on the beach and was about four miles further on. So I strolled into Kildonan eager to find the ‘Sealshore Campsite’ and somewhere to eat.
The campsite looked a bit unloved. The man who came to the door as I peered in said ‘sorry we are closed’. I whimpered and gave a disappointed/distraught look and he changed his mind. ‘Tenner cash and I’ll turn the showers on. Pitch where you like’. The wind was picking up and rain was forecast, so I pitched behind the tallest wall on the site.
The shower was on a timer, but I didn’t know that. The joy of hot water and soap was short lived, but I was clean and ready to hit the bar next door. Except it was closed on Wednesdays. The campsite man confirmed what I already suspected - that there was nowhere in Kildonan to get any food.Read more