Caledonia Way links the town with Inverness
A Cumbrian couple pedalled from Kintyre last week on the last leg of their journey to produce a cycling guidebook. In July, Janet Moss, 58, a former chartered surveyor, and Pete Martin, 56, an ex-careers adviser, will publish a spiral-bound guide to the 237-mile Caledonia Way. The cycle route, including both on and off road sections, follows Sustrans route 78, from Inverness to Campbeltown. The Kintyre starting point for the Caledonia Way is a Sustrans signpost, installed in the year 2000 and funded by the Royal Bank of Scotland, opposite the ferry terminal. The pair, who publish under the brand name ‘The Offcomers’ have pedigree in writing and photographing cycle guidebooks. Their bestseller, available direct through Amazon, with 1,500 volumes sold, is a guide to the Hebridean Way priced at £14. In addition, they have completed a guide to the V4 route in Brittany and the Bay Cycle Guide to Morcambe. Mr Martin said: ‘The Caledonia Way covers some of Scotland’s best scenery with plenty of emptiness. ‘The guide has full listing sections including complete Ordnance Survey maps of each section, a comprehensive accommodation guide and locations where cycle spares might be found. ‘We have cycled the route at least once in both directions although much of the research has been during the winter months. ‘Some of the toughest bits of the route are between Campbeltown and Oban. ‘We are adding a detour to Southend, along the Learside road, to ensure Caledonia Way tourists sample Muneroy’s magnificent meringues. ‘In other parts, there is great variety with much off-road cycling on smooth Sustrans routes.’ Last week a section of tarmacked off-road trail was completed between Carradale village hall and the primary school. The work was funded by Sustrans and completed by Argyll and Bute Council contractors G McNaughton who built a wooden bridge and surfaced the track. Johnny-Ella Durnan has already made a short video of a ride on this section which features on the Courier Facebook page. Commenting on Facebook, Catriona Trott said: ‘Brilliant news in my opinion. ‘So grateful to the men who built this and the kindness and good humour they showed. ‘It will be a great asset to the school and to everyone who uses the path. ‘Wheelchair users and people with pushchairs should be able to enjoy the path and it links to other lovely paths through the village and down towards the beach.’ Mr Martin added: ‘A guidebook is still very important in areas like Kintyre where tourists cannot rely on mobile devices either because of the phone signal or unreliability of GPS. ‘Jan has recently bought an electric bike which is also a great way to see countryside.’ A couple from Switzerland, who visited Carradale last week after driving from Inverness, said that the driveable parts of route 78 were just as beautiful from a car window.