The morning started brightly and we made fast progress along the busy highway to Broadford despite the strong headwind. We caught the occasional glimpse of the narrow winding old road which Christine and I had cycled along in the seventies, much more pleasant and in tune with the landscape but alas no more. We were glad to turn off along the lovely single track road to Elgol, busier than we’d expected with tourist traffic, the postbus and the occasional impatient lorry driver. We must have passed the postbus half a dozen times. As we entered the village, a lorry pulled out of a passing place just a few feet in front of me and forced me off the road, the usual brainless redneck smirking in the driving seat with cigarette in mouth. Earlier I’d pulled in to allow this vehicle to pass and observed a “Fair play on fuel” sticker at the back.
We stopped for coffee in the village, the owner allowing us to leave our bikes while we sailed across to Loch Coruisk aboard the Bella Jane. We glimpsed the Cuillin ridge for a few seconds as the clouds thinned briefly before re-forming. This boat trip included an hour and a half ashore to walk to the loch, inaccessible by road, before arriving back at Elgol at 17:45. We considered staying overnight and found a likely looking hotel but the £9.95 they were charging for a nut roast deterred us. There was nowhere else to eat so we returned to Broadford, reaching the SYHA hostel just before eight. The hostel was again very busy with tourists but we still managed to get a family room.