24th Aug 2009, Still in Kirkcudbright

Who would believe this weather! The amount of rain and strong wind is - OK, with some small breaks in between – is really trying. Now that it is spring tides the range of the tide is just over 9 metres, the amount of water rushing out of the river on the ebb is phenomenal, and with the added extra water from the heavy rains it is mesmerising to watch the water flowing past the boat, it really makes you quite dizzy.
We would have liked to have been into the Clyde by now as the initial idea was to go up to Rhu and then back down before going towards Oban, but the weather is not giving us confidence that we can easily get back out of the Clyde before the end of the season and the small breaks between the bad spells are not quite long enough to get between good shelter. So, we are still here in Kirkcudbright – not a bad place to be though – the town has everything you would expect in a small rural town and there are buses if you need to go further afield. The people are very friendly and the summer entertainment has been good. On Friday night we went on a historical walk with ‘Maggie’ who took us around the town and explained how it was and what was happening in the town in the 17th century. She and her friends, about 30 of them, were all in period costume (and all volunteers), put on a great show and the whole tour was very educational, entertaining and highly recommended to anyone visiting the area. Thankfully it stayed dry!
So, we are settling into an easy existence here and will wait until the beginning of next month before moving on, when we will head northwards in a more direct route without going too far into the Clyde (if we do).