It was overcast and warm, with not a breath of wind. The road was easy until Loch Awe, then a rollercoaster ride along the west shore, nudging 40 mph on one of the downhills through Inverinan Forest. We’d expected nothing until Oban and hadn’t seen a car for an hour or more, so we were delighted to spot a sign proclaiming a shop and café as we approached Dalvich. On the counter was a coffee machine stacked with beans, in the display cabinet was some lovely moist carrot cake. This was the best café of the holiday, superb coffee and… did I mention the cake? We heard from the locals about the wildlife in the area and it was almost lunchtime before we were underway again. If you ever pass this way, don’t miss the Wild Rowan Café.
The road was a little easier after this, with the occasional car and a few houses. With just a few miles to go, it started to rain, and we plodded on to the SYHA hostel at Oban. The weather forecast for the coming week was mixed, so Christine was keen to book into Tobermory hostel on Mull for Tue/Wed rather than just Wednesday. I preferred to keep our options open but was too tired to argue the point.