Five Legs were Better than One!

99% of our journeys to and from the cottage are by car and ferry, but my return to Arran today was a six-leg journey! Highlights were

A lift from the butler to Sunnyside station
A fast train when I had expected a 'stopping' one
A shuttle bus immediately whisking me from Queen Street to Central.
Happy, smiley customer service folk everywhere you looked; well done Scotrail; great atmosphere.
An extra train to Ardrossan which would get me on an earlier ferry
My channelling Lynsey Sharp when the train arrived a little late at the Harbour, giving the Cal Mac ticket collector a good laugh when I arrived gasping at the gangway to discover the ferry was running a bit late anyway.

AND THEN we got to the chaos that is Brodick pier and environs, with its usual quota of five times as many cars, bikes, buses and people as it has decent space for! Highlights were

No bus meeting this ferry
Torrential rain and bewildered, wet, tourists.
The realisation that my shoes were squelching like sponges
Wet pants and trousers; not comfy
An instep deep puddle at the bus stop
A Stagecoach bus ripping its side off trying to get in to the pick up area.
Dopey drivers blocking entry and exit of same

BUT I can report that my new summer weight Berghaus jacket, previously featured on these pages, is indeed waterproof.

And that a cup of coffee, cheesy toast for lunch and the Games squash coverage can put the world to rights. And dry pants of course!