Road to the isles, lunch and a walk at St Ninian's Bay
St Ninian's Bay lies on the the other side of Bute to Kilchattan Bay and we went over on single track roads culminating in a drive through the small settlement of Straad, which was a fishing community at one time. There was a rough place to park, next to the shore which was fringed with bright yellow charlock contrasting with the still sombre sky. We had some lunch and then went for a walk around the beach to a small ruined chapel on the headland. This is the remains of St Ninians chapel, only the walls standing. It was originally built in the 6th or 7th century over some pre Christian burials and shares this isolated spit of land with a couple of stone houses, one of which is still used although it lacks any amenities. The walk was quite hard on Alan's mum. She bravely bore it but was pleased when we were back at the van and ready for a cup to tea. Sharing the spit with the chapel were wild flowers, thyme, vetches and stone crop, nest...
