There are only two surviving piers in Scotland. Dunoon and Rothesay piers are both located west of Glasgow, and to make things more difficult they both require ferries to access.
We started the day in Edinburgh, slightly surprised that the forecast storms had not materialised by the time we left. The journey west however certainly brought some of the most inclement weather we'd seen for a while: thunderstorms and very heavy rain making the 2+ hour trip (which saw us approach Glasgow at rush hour) very uncomfortable.
By the time we arrived at the ferry for Dunoon, however, the skies had cleared and after the 20 minute crossing we were able to play in dry conditions! Dunoon pier is mainly used as a landing stage for the foot ferry, and is only short compared with many - but a beautiful Victorian pavilion provided a great backdrop for us to perform some of our seaside-related tunes. We were pleasantly surprised that we actually had an audience, some of whom had come along especially! (including a reporter and photographer from the local paper).
Such is our schedule, though, that there's no time to hang around. So we headed back to the ferry, then a few miles south, and then another ferry to Rothesay on the island of Bute. We found some fish and chips when we got there - we've decided to have this each day of the tour, and are rating them as we go along... we'll let you know all about the best-rated ones at the end of the tour!
The pier at Rothesay is little more than the departure point for the ferries there, and there was not much audience around, so we played one piece before getting back into the ferry (stopping briefly to admire and use the old Victorian loos!). Then the small matter of a 5 hour journey back to Sheffield...
As described yesterday, we've now got a couple of days without piers due to having to reschedule the Scottish leg of the trip - but we'll be back in earnest on Saturday, and then the 12 days following that!
Weather report: Our friends at Jargar Strings have provided us with strings for the tour (as well as making a donation to our charities), and so we're keeping track of the different weather conditions in which the strings have played. Today they worked well in temperatures between 19.8 and 21.6 degrees Celsius, and humidity between 76.5-78.1%.
Quote of the day: "You've really brightened up my birthday!" - one of our audience at Dunoon pier.
Pier of the day (as voted for by the three cellists): Dunoon