![]() There is a standing stone at Tarbert and on the road between Feolin where the ferry arrives and Craighouse. At Inverlussa you can order tea on the beach with a walkie-talkie. You can climb the Paps of Jura which take four to eight hours. In Craighouse there is the Jura Distillery with tours and a shop. There are quite a few hills and steady climbs, but worth it for the fast and long descents at the other end. This is one of the most traffic-free roads I have experienced in Scotland, so it is a joy for cycling. The main settlement, Craighouse, is 8 miles from the ferry terminal. It is about 25 miles from where the ferry arrives at Feolin to Inverlussa where the road ends on Jura. The crossing takes one hour and the boat can take bicycles, but not vehicles. There is also the Jura Passenger Ferry that travels to Craighouse on Jura from Tayvallich on the west coast of mainland Argyll. To find out how to reach Islay by bicycle, train and ferry read about my journey in Biking and boating to Islay. Islay can be reached by ferry from Kennacraig. The crossing takes five minutes and the sailings are frequent. Jura is reached by ferry from Port Askaig on Islay. They turn their heads in unison, become as still as standing stones and stare straight ahead. I pictured them grazing on a hillside until they scent something approaching and suddenly stop and look up. I imagined them roaming the moors and climbing the Paps. I thought about the deer and wondered what they were up to. That evening we sat in the lounge with a glass of Jura single malt whisky and leafed through the back editions of “Jura Jottings”, the island newsletter. I felt like I was gliding along the moors, through the forests and skimming the coastline as I reached speeds of 25km/h. I would never forget my encounter with the deer and now I had this road of dreamy golden sunlight to myself. I smiled all the way back to the Jura Hotel. Her grave is at Kilchianaig, near to where I had my deer encounter. Perhaps Jura is a place that is easy to empty your head of cares and worries and explains why Mary MacCrain lived to the age of 128, in 1856. It was the perfect escapism that cycling can provide. I found it easy to shut out all the stressful things in my life and my focus was completely on pushing one peddle down after the other. I could easily clear my head because there was not much to look at. It was a lonely landscape of hilly, featureless grassland. I was on a quest to find Jura’s deer and whilst there was still road to cycle I was going to keep searching. The road leveled out and we rolled to a stop at another lichen decorated standing stone at Tarbert.Īt this point I decided I wanted to keep going and Paul’s thoughts turned to heading back to that beach and engrossing himself in a book. We plunged out of the forest to face an inlet which is totally green apart from the black and grey rocky shoreline and three white cottages. When the road started to descend there were crash barriers and tight twists and turns that made for exhilarating cycling using liberal application of brakes. There is a section of road that climbs up into thick forest with glimpses of sea. It was very tempting to stop and take advantage of an empty beach and rare Scottish sun, but the rest of the island beckoned. “I’d love to sunbathe there and read a book,” Paul called out. The road twists and turns along the shore and we were cycling alongside a perfect strip of sand. Tall shoots of grass separated the road from the shoreline and there were some upturned rowing boats. Leaving Craighouse there is a mix of single story cottages and modern housing facing the water. ![]() We dropped off our panniers, lightening our bikes for exploring the rest of the island. On one of the beds there was a cushion embroidered with a proud stag and the bathroom had shampoo from Spirited Soaps which contains a subtle amount of Jura whisky. When I unlocked the door we were immediately drawn to the view of the sea and a chain of tiny uninhabited islands. ![]() We made our way upstairs where there is a chandelier made from deer antlers and I clutched our room key that was tied to a piece of driftwood with the hotel name carved on it. When we checked-in at the hotel the barman explained, “In Jura there aren’t any streets, so we don’t have a street party. ![]() We noticed that the car park of the community hall was set out with tables, chairs and bunting.
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