Day 20: Lochboisdale to Barra via Eriskay

Another day, another ferry, another couple of islands, and plenty of sunshine with a stiff breeze...

Indeed the winds were so strong today that it felt like we flew to the Isle of Barra Beach Hotel. Thank goodness we had the tailwind behind us. We felt terribly sorry for those that we passed cycling north. They all looked very pained as they battled against the headwind.

We had a lot of fun at the ferry terminal on Eriskay thanks (again) to a couple of men from Glasgow. These two were long-term cycling buddies who had dozens of funny stories about their exploits on two wheels in the the UK and abroad. I think that they should join up with the haulage company comedians that we met on day 18 of our holiday and take a show to the Edinburgh Fringe.

We last stayed in our current accommodation 18 years ago in 2001. Our abiding memories of that visit are (1) a single music tape that featured Abba songs on a continuous repetitive loop, and (2) the rather stark hotel décor. Thirteen years ago the hotel changed hands. It now has a completely different atmosphere, and we love it. It may sound like an odd comparison, but if you ignore the outside temperature and pretend that the vast comfortable sitting room is decking, the hotel has the feel of our favourite place in Antigua. It's the liveliest of all our holiday accommodation so far and is probably a good place to start thinking about our return to real life at the weekend.

I took my blip on the ferry ride from Eriskay to Barra. It was a great afternoon to be outside on the deck of a CalMac ferry.

Exercise today: 20 miles of cycling.