Day 45 – Port Erroll – 4th July – 0 nm
The campsite was lashed by the rain and rattled by the wind
all night long, but within the security of the van all was fine. I'm glad I didn't have to flap my way through through that lot in a tent.
The fog hasn't gone anywhere, the view extends no further
than the hedge at the edge of the camp field. The forecast is for 20 mph wind and
with a large swell, on the hilltop outside it’s breezy but not 20 mph. Today’s
route involves get-out-free cliffs for the first hour or so – I fancy taking a
look before I commit.
We get soaked as we fight our way down a soggy, overgrown
track to the cliff edge, only to find there is not much to see – through the
fog we can make out the water at the base of the cliffs but little more. There
is a large swell running, the cliffs are buffered by a width of white foam that
fades into the fog. But we can’t make out anything beyond this. We can hear
more than we can see.
We drive further along the cliffs and go for another wander.
On the way to the cliffs we pass a returning group of bemused French tourists
who are trying to find a good viewpoint. Today? Try Machrihanish I reckon.
Once again there isn't much to see, but one thing is obvious
the 20 mph wind just isn't there – it’s calm. Bugger.
Another faff as we head back down to the harbour at Port
Erroll, here the swell is obvious as it climbs up the sandy beach. Here we go again - it’s now crappy decision
time.
I believe it’s not going to be nice along those cliffs with
the swell, but I can’t say for sure, because we just can’t see it. It may be ok around the corner, or it may be nasty, who knows? I wish someone would make
the decision for me...
We are 6 weeks in now and physically I feel pretty good - we need the miles, I
want to be able to crack in the miles. Today is frustrating as there is no wind
– without the swell it would be a fairly straightforward paddle. But the combination of swell, fog and cliffs
is too much perhaps? Drop any one and things could be on.
As we head to the reliability (and calories) of the supermarket
cafe I suspect it’s going to be a paddle-free day, with a good serving of second-guessing and
doubt...
Just for a change.
