My bucket list bus ride blunder: Part 1

Tuesday 21st July 2026

It was many years ago when, knowing my love of scenic bus routes as well as the West Highlands of Scotland, blog reader ‘Tarkaman AC120’ recommended I take a ride on Sheil Buses route 506 between Fort William and Kilchoan.

It’s been on my to do list ever since, not least because the route comprises just one return journey a day along an amazingly scenic route as well as involving a ferry crossing over the Corran Narrows.

The timetable has just an outward journey from Kalchoan at 07:50, arriving into Fort William at 10:22 with a return leaving Fort William at 13:50 reaching Kilchoan at 16:24.

The logistics of either getting to Kilchoan for 07:50 for the inward morning journey or leaving after arrival at 16:24 on the afternoon return journey had proved quite challenging and one reason I’ve put off doing the trip, but this summer I was determined to tick it off and after researching the possibilities, found a hotel in Kilchoan albeit, quite pricey, and noticed CalMac run a ferry between Kilchoan and Tobermory which particularly appealed as West Coast Motors route 95 between Tobermory and Craignure on the Isle of Mull is another route that’s always eluded me, and knowing it’s a double deck operated route through some wonderful Mull scenery made for a compelling opportunity not to be missed.

After further research to try and find a day when the Kilchoan Hotel wasn’t charging eye watering amounts for its rooms and seeking to avoid an overnight stay in either Oban or Fort William where the towns’ Premier Inns charge even more (typically in excess of £200 per room in the summer) I finalised a scheduled for a Tuesday to Thursday adventure at the end of last month, involving a train, a plane, a coach, a ferry, a bus (route 95) and a ferry followed by an overnight stay in Kilchoan and a bus (route 506), a train, a coach (another overnight stay – this time in Edinburgh) and finally two trains home enjoying a first class treat on the East Coast Main Line with LNER.

Everything was pre-booked in early June, even including the two ferries.

Here’s out it panned out….

An early morning Gatwick Express took me from Hassocks to Gatwick Airport at 06:17. It was only four coaches (and branded as Southern) so good luck with that on a later busy journey. It cost £9.60 single.

It was unusual to find Gatwick Airport’s rail station departure area so quiet.

I allowed plenty of time to pass through the Airport so, as always happens in such circumstances, there were no delays going through security with the easyJet flight to Glasgow due to leave at 08:40. This cost £32.49. (I know; crazy isn’t it?)

EasyJet’s ground handlers (ABM Aviation) once again showed their complete indifference to customer comfort by loading us on to three airport transfer buses taking us for what seemed like miles to a far flung part of the airport where we were kept waiting, alongside the aircraft, crammed together in already hot conditions with everyone having to stand as the buses have no seats. I didn’t time it precisely but I reckon it was around 10 minutes in what were very uncomfortable conditions. It seemed much longer.

Take off was delayed for 15 minutes but I wasn’t concerned as I had plenty of time in Glasgow Airport between the flight arrival at 10:10 and the ember coach on route E16 I’d booked for the next leg of my journey to Oban at 11:21.

After some refreshments in the airport I made my way outside to find stance 8 and wait for the ember coach.

There’s a lack of directional signs to tell you where each numbered stance is located and then it’s not helped by exploring either end of the long line of stances and not seeing the signage that’s there…

… because it faces the wrong way. It needs turning through 90 degrees.

There was nothing at stance 8 to confirm ember picked up there – I have reported this, as requested by the notice that is there, to SPT.

The ember coach was tracking on its website on which I watched it leave Buchanan Bus Station and approach the Airport via Paisley. It was showing as being on the perimeter of the airport at 11:18 when it spent the next six minutes moving round in circles so I guessed the driver may have missed the access road to the bus stances.

It eventually arrived at 11:24 and I was surprised to see four passengers alight indicating ember are also serving the Glasgow city centre to airport market, although it might be they’d connected from another ember coach into Glasgow.

Three passengers travelling together also boarded and all told there was an impressive 27 passengers on board. The journey to Oban cost me £14.35.

It’s a lovely ride offering wonderful scenery with different aspects to that which you enjoy using ScotRail.

For example, taking the A82 means you get right up close to Loch Lomond…

… but the road needs very careful driving as the width is quite restricted in places with some blind bends too.

Closer to Oban there are wonderful mountain views…

… and for a while the road runs parallel with the railway track.

.. before running alongside Loch Awe on the nearside…

… followed by Loch Etive on the offside including the famous road bridge at Connel…

… which is an amazing sight, close up.

The journey proved to be quite a busy one with 11 stops for alighting and boarding passengers and we pulled into a sunny lunch time in Oban at 14:00, 11 minutes late…

… with eight passengers alighting.

Oban was busy with holidaymakers as well as day trippers who’d taken advantage of the Midland Pullman from Preston visiting the town.

I see it had been due to leave Preston at 05:12 but had been delayed until 07:00 arriving into Oban at 13:54 instead of 13:18…

… and would leave to go back at 15:37 (actual 15:52) arriving back in Preston at 23:34. These rail tours certainly make for long days.

I’m not sure I’d be up for that, and in any event I was checking out Caledonian MacBrayne’s ferry to take me over to Craignure on the Isle of Mull.

The ferry crossing cost me £4.90 and proved to be a busy journey. We left impressively spot on time at 15:55 for the 50 minute crossing over the Firth of Lorn to Craignure which we reached at 16:48.

Unfortunately there was a problem with the gangway for foot passengers so we all had to wait for the vehicles to be unloaded before we were allowed to alight…

… but I had reassuringly noticed the West Coast Motors’ buses already waiting and was confident the bus for Tobermory due to leave at 17:00 wouldn’t go without us.

At 16:58 we were finally allowed off the ship and eight of us made our way to the double deck on route 95…

… for Tobermory.

It can be a very busy route in the tourist season but most of those on this journey were locals returning from a day in Oban. The journey to Tobermory cost me £2, being part of Transport Scotland’s year long £2 fare cap for the Highlands and Islands.

One of the passengers boarding with me was concerned whether we’d make it to the ferry at Fishnish for Lochaline as the time was now 17:05 and that was due to leave Fishnish at 17:20, six miles away from Criagnure. The driver reassured her he’d do his best (she made it)…

… and for me I was confident about meeting my ferry in Tobermory due to leave at 18:00 as the bus was due to arrive at 17:45 giving 15 minutes for what Google Maps told me was a nine minute walk from the bus terminus to the ferry jetty.

The Plaxton Panorama bus certainly gives a feeling of luxury travel for what is a splendid journey along the Isle of Mull’s north eastern coastline.

I estimate around half of the 21 mile route between Criagnure and Tobermory is on single track road…

… with passing places that take some skill to make progress and be ready to give way to approaching traffic that’s already passed its nearest passing place.

Our driver was obviously well used to it but nevertheless progress was slow at times simply to let other traffic pass and we didn’t reach the terminus in Tobermory until 17:53, 10 minutes later than scheduled.

I realised I needed to make a smart getaway to reach the ferry at 18:00 and rushed as quickly as I could around the bay…

… only to arrive at the jetty at the end of the road and to my horror see the ferry had already set sail and was on its way.

It was 17:58.

It had left two minutes early.

I’ll acknowledge the CalMac timetable for the ferry highlights the 18:00 departure “will wait for passengers arriving by bus from Craignure, if Craignure port office is advised of this no later than 16:00 on the day of travel”. Although I’d read that before setting off, it hadn’t truly sunk in that applied to the very journey I was making as I had wrongly assumed a 15 minute connectional time for what turned out to be a five minute dash, was sufficient.

I was wrong.

Furthermore, when reading further information below the timetable I saw “Check-in: 10 minutes prior to departure for vehicles and foot passengers. Late check-in may result in your vehicle being refused carriage.” I’d wrongly assumed it was just like turning up for a bus or train without a formal “check-in” especially as the single ticket (which I’d bought online) had only cost me just £3.85.

I emailed CalMac’s Customer Service complaining about the early departure enclosing photographic evidence…

… but exactly three weeks later (as promised in the acknowledgment email reply) I received a well worded explanation basically confirming “after the crew has completed all safety checks and procedures, and all passengers who arrived on time for check-in are onboard, the Master is permitted to depart prior to the scheduled departure time. In this case and from the photograph you attached, the vessel departed a few minutes earlier. the ferry left once all were on board after the 10 minute check-in time had passed.”

I’d messed up. I should have rung before leaving Oban and let them know I was on my way.

Lesson learned (the hard way).

But now I was stranded in Tobermory with no chance of getting over to Kilchoan that evening as that was the last ferry departure of the day. My 12 hour journey from Sussex had been for nothing.

My hotel booking in Kilchoan wasted.

More pertinently what was I going to do now, in Tobermory? A quick enquiry at the Tobermory Hotel, as I wandered back around the bay, wondering what to do, indicated it was full with no rooms available.

It didn’t look very promising

This tale continues in part 2 in Thursday’s blog,

Roger French

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