It’s still raining on and off in the morning, but there’s more blue sky than yesterday.
I start up beautiful Glen Coe on the main road and suffer both frequent traffic and rain showers.
The views are stunning, though.
Then I turn right into Glen Etive and the correct soundtrack for this road is ‘Skyfall’, as it starred in that Bond film. Fittingly, after a short while the sky opens up and icy rain pours down, only to be replaced by sunshine a quarter of an hour later.
The road down to Loch Etive is small and beautiful and follows the whitewater river Etive that looks like a nice challenge to kayakers.
At the Loch I venture off road again and have to hike through a swampy grassland section first, before coming into the forest.
The path is nearly invisible at the beginning, hidden by ferns and young birches. It gradually becomes clearer and widens and I’m able to ride most of the way along the Loch, often through a mossy fairytale forest.
At the end of the trail, I get back on the road and ride around the southern arm of Loch Etive. On the south side, I follow National Cycling Route 78 into quiet Glen Lonan, where I soon find a beautiful campspot.