Oban, our first location, is a good 100 kilometres north-west of Glasgow as the crow flies, on the west coast of Scotland, opposite the Isle of Mull. Port Appin, the second location, is around 25 kilometres further north. Both locations are in the county of Argyll and Bute. The population density is only about one twentieth of the German level. The coastal town of Oban (population 8,500) is a tourist centre in the area. Forest dominates in sheltered valleys and near the coast, while the uplands are partly bare. Inland, the bristly peaks of the Highlands reach over 1,000 metres in height.
Adventurous, with little traffic - and magnificent. The surface ranges from the finest tarmac on cycle paths, to earthy forest roads, to short stretches of road and an hour of pushing on the loop through Glen Kinglass. The tarmac roads are often narrow and single-lane, with coarse to pitted tarmac and short gradients of over 15 per cent. Tracks are the absolute exception, average riding technique is sufficient. A robust outdoor mentality is an advantage, and a GPS device is highly recommended for orientation according to our tracks.
