Endurance star Mark conquers wilds of Argyll

HAVING already conquered the Paps of Jura and the iconic Cobbler, it’s fair to say that Mark Beaumont has been the man on top of Argyll, as he continues on his Wild About Argyll challenge.

Over the past seven days of the adventure, which have been masterminded by Argyll and the Isles Tourism Co- operative (AITC), Mark has rowed a longship with Vikings, cycled the 87-mile Mull Sportive route, kayaked 30km along the Argyll Sea Kayak Trail and galloped along Carradale beach on horseback.

The adventure continued this week as Mark bagged all of Colonsay’s 22 MacPhies, and gave a talk to a packed audience in Oban’s Corran Halls last night (Wednesday).

The challenge, which started on Sunday July 24 in Dalmally, has seen Mark travel to Tiree and Coll, wherem as well as taking on the Tiree half-marathon, he spent an afternoon cliff- diving. He’s covered Mull by bike and conquered kayaking, running and mountain biking challenges from Oban to Kintyre and over to Helensburgh.

All this against a background of outstanding natural beauty and some of Argyll’s best known landmarks including Dunadd Fort, the Crinan Canal, Helensburgh’s Hill House as well as many of the castles across the Argyll and the Isles region.

Mark’s route has taken him by bike, through Hell’s Glen and down the Rest and Be Thankful, by quadbike through the hills of Cowal and by foot across the long- distance routes of the Kintyre Way, Three Lochs Way and West Island Way. He’s even found time to go on stage and make an appearance at Bute Fest.

If you’ve missed any of Mark’s Wild About Argyll adventure you can catch up, with AITC’s daily blogs at http:// www. exploreargyll.co.uk/ things-to- do. php?cat=283.

For more information on AITC visit its website at www.exploreargyll.co.uk or email info@ exploreargyll.co.uk.