Unusually for this column, I am writing a “Part Two” to tell the rest of my three nightstay in Dunoon, but also to reflect on on the “nearly zero carbon” nature of my journeys in this long-running series which in some magazines goes back to 2003. Each time I travel, I usually go by train and occasionally by bus, these being vehicles which will make the journey anyway, whether I am travelling on them or not. Accordingly, if I am riding on a train the extra fuel cost (in electricity or diesel) to move my 100kg is tiny, whereas if I take a car real carbon is emitted to move not only my weight, plus any passengers, and the weight of the vehicle itself. In terms of real carbon emissions, going by bus or train is hugely more beneficial.
I had spent Saturday out in Inverary and the Mull of Kintyre and returning on the last ferry from Tarbert to Portavadie. The hourly ferry was a good deal more frequent than the bus, but the bus – even at 1900 Saturday – was well used with local people making the journey between villages. On the Sunday morning I took a taxi (my mode of last resort) to the outskirts of town to join the congregation of the Episcopal (Anglican) church, where the minister is Rev David Rushton, formerly of St Chad’s College, Durham. Unfortunately he was out of town, After a rousing family service, I was given a lift into the town by two members of the congregation, and ended up at the Argyll Hotel where I was staying.
Options were rather limited for Sunday afternoon. First choice, even though rain was forecast, was Benmore, a branch of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. I had passed it the previous day on the way up to Inverary and was looking forward to seeing their Giant Redwoods and special gardens featuring plants from Chile and Bhutan. Their leaflet referred to a shuttle bus from Dunoon to the gardens, seven miles north. I phoned several times for details, but no answer, and I wondered why they could not just give fuller details in the leaflet or on the website.
Despite its pleasures, a wet Sunday afternoon stuck in Dunoon itself did not appeal. I decided to repeat my experience of using a mobile bus ticket, for the £7.40 Dunoon/Cowal 24 Hour Area. There’s only one bus, route 489, out of the depot on a Sunday, which runs between Ardentinnyand Toward (yes, towards Toward!) which is a single shift for one driver. It serves all the coastal communities on the Cowal peninsula, andoffered the chance to visit Blairmore and Inellan with fine coastal views. There was also the opportunity to look inland to see the fine Victorian and Edwardian houses built for families who did well out of the industrialisation of the River Clyde.
Whilst I would not particularly recommend an afternoon shuttling between the villages, I had a very good afternoon tea at Blairmore and a walk on the pier and the beach, and a pootle around the village of Inellan with a textbook style public toilet and waiting facility, pictured. The 24 Hourarea ticket was, of course, still valid on the following morning. Caledonian MacBrayne don’t operate at certain times to allow for crew rest periods, so I was able to use my bus ticket to reach Hunters Quay where the competing Western Ferries service sails to McInroy’s Point, Gourock. A short bus ride into Gourock station had me quickly on the train to Glasgow and onward to Carlisle and home.
