Sardines and showers in Tobermory.

On landing in Tobermory our first priority was not the Mishnish Bar but the  Fishermans Pier Fish & Chip Van. This has a considerable reputation for a decent fish supper. It was recommended in the Independent's top 50 fish and chip shops last Saturday and even has a  "Les Routiers" award. The fish is cooked to order (as are the frozen chips) so there is a short wait, which always carries the promise of fresh fish. We each decided to order large (rather than regular) haddock suppers, because we were ravenous after paddling for over 30km and still had about another 12km to go to our camp.

Well it was just as well we decided to go large rather than regular. David got the most generous helping but you can see how happy he was about it. Large haddock? It was more like a malnourished sardine. Having said that, it was delicious and expertly cooked with dry crispy batter. Even the frozen chips were very tasty and done to perfection. We left the pier still feeling hungry and the local seagulls were left starving. If the good ladies of the chip van are ever in Kircudbright, they should call in at Polarbites to discover what a large haddock supper actually looks like.

Only partially sated, we wandered round Tobermory Bay to the...

...new Harbour Visitor Centre. This is a superb resource with spotless toilets, showers and laundry, all for a very reasonable charge. This is somewhere any touring sea kayaker in the area should make a point of visiting.

Totally refreshed we wandered round the harbour area. This old wooden rowing boat had seen better days...

...in contrast to the newly arrived and ship shape MS Island Sky which had just emerged from a multimillion pound refit before dropping anchor In Tobermory. Her 116 passengers would be keen to disembark, we had been fed and watered, it was now time to go. Tobermory was a great place to spend some time in.