I must start with the beautiful clear skies last night…. Wow.

My iPhone actually captured the clarity of Orion’s Belt.

It was really cold!

Back to today…..What a truly beautiful day. I don’t think words can describe how lovely it is. It’s warm in the sun and freezing in the shade. It was super frosty this morning but it melted pretty quickly.

There’s not a breath of wind. The sea is very clear and calm. The sky is very blue. It’s a crystal clear day.

I woke up at 5.38am and had the usual weekend anxiety. I have 3 full days off work with no plans apart from tomorrow and the forecast is beautiful all weekend.

My mind starts whirring with everything that I should and could be doing.

As with every weekend there is nothing I actually need to do. The world will not stop spinning if I don’t do the housework or a food shop.

I feel an overwhelming urge to make the most of the weather. I’m at my happiest when I’m out in the sunshine taking beautiful photos…. The sun makes everything seem better.

I did a Rambling Sloth FB post this morning to try and make some sense of my thoughts and to help focus on the present moment. It really helped.

So I get up and have coffee with Craig and take the 3 pupper amigos out for a walk. It’s beautiful but I forget my phone. Probably just as well or there would be a million dog photos to sift through. 🤣

I then got to the car wash to get Abbie the camper van washed and then a wee drive up to the Little Coffee Caravan at Lochwinnoch. I have not been here is ages!!

I love that I try to take photos without anyone seeing. 😆 My anxiety has kicked in big time when I get here. I want an Iced Latte and a roll with egg and tattie scone….

I get a lovely welcome when they see me as I’ve not been for so long. We get chatting. I talk about the FB post they did yesterday advertising the iced coffee and they get on to making that. I overthink that there’s no time for the roll to be made now and I (wait for it) don’t want to put them out….so I don’t ask for it…. I mean honestly?!?! I also forget to ask for decaf. Not the worst thing in the world but for the next few hours the caffeine is belting round my veins and making feel soooooo anxious it’s unreal. I’ve only drunk half of it as well….

So… in my head I have this wild idea to get the ferry over to the Isle of Bute and drive around the island exploring.

I drive over to Largs and up the coast to Wemyss Bay. It’s a stunning drive up the west coast.

I’m aiming for the 12.05 sailing but when I get there I find the 12.05 and 2.05 are cancelled due to COVID.

So I drive up to the actual Wemyss Bay and have a think. The caffeine and anxiety are pumping telling me not to be ridiculous. Why would you go to an island on your own for a day trip?!?

Weymss Bay is so beautiful.

I speak to Craig and he talks me into it.

As I sit here in the ferry queue I cannot tell you how awkward I feel, how exposed, how anxious and how very much out of my comfort zone I feel. I feel like everyone is looking at me. Waiting for me to make some mistake.

The Isle of Arran in the distance has snow on the top of Goat Fell.

Wemyss Bay train station and ferry terminal are so Victorian and ornate.

And yet I am here.

And here she comes in time for the 12.05 sailing. ⛴

My heart is beating out of my chest. Yet I have NOTHING to be afraid of. Just my own insecurities.

Then just like that I’m on and the first one upstairs!

The day looks even more beautiful from up here. I LOVE a CalMac ferry.

We set sail pretty quickly and although it gets colder as there is a chilly breeze, the sea still barely moves as we seem to glide over it. We are Rothesay bound.

Looking back over to Weymss Bay. (I should say here that this is pronounced Weems… if like me, every time I type it I think Y-miss 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤣)

It’s only a 45-50 minute sailing so we’re sailing into Rothesay before we know it.

The view is spectacular. There’s a good describing word!

I park Abbie in Rothesay and have a wee wander round the town. Mostly to buy food in the Co-op! I buy two packs of sandwiches just in case some disaster happens and I can’t get home and the shops are shut. The ever thinking brain. Over thinking as usual.

I loved this wee blue boat in the harbour… matching the railings!

This next view is looking back over to the Scottish mainland.

I decided that I would drive round the whole island. Why not….. this next map isn’t entirely accurate as I didn’t wait on a ferry to take me to Colintraive on the mainland but drove up to where it sails from on Bute. Rhubodach.

Looking over to Colintraive.

I had to stop to take photos of this beach field of cows!!

I drove over to the west of the island to Ettrick Bay next. It’s a lovely big expanse of shingle beach. The sun had gone behind the clouds for the first time today.

I then carried round through Straad and couldn’t seem to get stopped anywhere at Straad beach. I felt like I was driving up someone’s drive…. My anxiety went into overdrive…. I felt like I was trespassing… yet in Scotland we have legal right of way anywhere (within reason!)

So I carried on round to Seal view point which was lovely but never saw any seals 🦭!! The view point looks over to Arran.

The gorse is flowering already. It felt very spring like.

Next stop on the tour is Kilchatten Bay. I loved it here. The bay itself faces east while the sun was behind it but it was lovely course sand and quite red compared to the whiter west coast.

Look at that sea!

Final stop before the ferry is Kerrycroy Village. No cars allowed other than residents.

Finally back along the coast and past some very big houses. Bute was once “the beach resort of choice for fashionable Glaswegians” back in the day and much of Rothesay resembles Glasgow. You could be forgiven for thinking you were on the mainland at times! But then if houses are very big and plush looking.

Zoom in on the name of this next boat!

It’s 4.30pm now and still a bit cloudier but very still and calm. I join the ferry queue expecting the Argyle to sail at 6.05pm but am happy to find CalMac’s Bute is now back in service and sailing at 5.05pm.

It’s a beautiful sunset cruise back to Wemyss Bay….. I have to think how to spell that every time 🤣🤣

Bang on time back on the mainland.

As I headed back south down the coast i had to pull over to watch sunset. It was less tranquil than Portencross, as there were passing cars, but still very beautiful.

The perfect end to a lovely day. I

Have to say it’s not been the easiest of days as I have battled with “my nerves” on and off all day today but I did it!

I got on a ferry, drove around a Scottish island and caught the ferry back… while fighting my anxiety.

I may have to sleep for the rest of the weekend now!

Stay safe everyone ☀️☀️☀️