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Heading down to Kintyre for a short holiday, the island of Gigha sat temptingly in the sunny seas west of the A83. We only had a couple of hours between ferries so opted for a walk to the island's high point and back.
Despite it being November and the weather forecast predicting April-like showers, it felt almost summery stepping off the ferry at Ardminish.
Cloud was coming in over the mainland as we headed up the road from the ferry terminal.
Ardminish is tiny - no more than a few houses clustered nearby the island's only t-junction. It does have a shop and a phone box though. Turning right, we headed up the arrow-straight north-south road. It was surprisingly busy with cars heading up and down the island, perhaps to the shop or the jetty.
Past the golf course, we headed left onto the track opposite Druimyeon More farm. The track was very muddy in places, and was briefly almost impassable at a deep puddle, surrounded by extremely deep mud and sandwiched between fences. Luckily the puddle had a hard surface underneath, and good boots just about stayed dry. Just beyond the crest on the track, we headed right onto a steeper, drier grassy path towards the summit. Cloud was encroaching from the south, threatening to dampen spirits and clothes imminently.
This part of the path is an interesting little hillwalk, with rocky knolls, vegetation and a narrow, winding path. The views south over the rest of Gigha improved all the time, but the shower was ominously moving closer.
There were a few more wet patches as the summit grew closer, and then the trig point came into view.
The rocky summit (watch out for the slippery rocks if wet) has great views - today varying from stunningly clear air to the north, to mist and murk to the south. Looking north:
Jura to the northwest about to be engulfed by cloud:
South over Gigha and Kintyre, into the rain:
Back down by the way we came to catch the ferry as the rain started, light at first. Once back on the road it came on with a vengeance, the southerly wind blowing it in our faces as we headed south. We did get to shelter in the village shop for a few minutes, unlike these cows:
Gigha's out-of-the-way location probably means we won't get another chance to visit, so it was worth spending a couple of hours there on the way down to the Mull of Kintyre.
Next day: Island Davaar:
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