Hi , it has been a while since I did one of these diaries.
I used to regularly do a picture diary of my weeks travels around the West of Scotland.
I have spoken to a few of the guys I know and decided to give it another try.
The pictures were taken mid July but it has taken this long to sit down and put words to the pictures.
Strangely for Scotland , we had a good week of weather 
.
Monday-
Today sees a 5am start , I pick up my load of logs and head North.
This morning it’s a load of 4.9m logs for the sawmill at Fort William .
The run through Glen Coe is very quiet , I hardly meet anyone.
The sawmill is very quiet this morning , most trucks are just loading first thing.
Straps off and I pull into the log yard .
The Volvo is quickly tipping me and my load goes straight on the log deck.
Once I,m tipped I turn the truck around and sweep the bark off the trailer.
The next truck in line is " Willie " with our other xxl M.A.N .
Ben Nevis is covered in the background
A quick call when I,m weighed out and im off to our yard just outside Lochgilphead.
The weather is good today and it looks like you can touch some of the islands.
I pick up a trailer of 3m lengths of chip wood and head for Auchinleck in Ayrshire.
The run to Auchinleck goes quickly and I,m soon at the mill.
This mill is a chipboard mill , it uses a mix of recycled wood .
And the fresher round wood I am delivering ( To be honest its actually the rubbish timber no one else wants ).
The liebherr. is waiting to tip me and my load goes on the stock pile .
I sweep off and as I am waiting to weigh out another load arrives , this truck has his own crane so no need for the leibherr.
I phone in again and I am told to run my time out and head for home direction .
I manage to get to just outside Arrochar on the A83 and park up .
The end of a busy day .
TUESDAY-
I had called in once I was parked and got my orders for this morning .
So it’s a case of following the A83 over the Rest And Be thankful .
I drop the empty trailer at our yard at Strachur and head with just the unit to pick up a tanker at a fish farm outside Dunoon.
The Holy Loch is quiet this morning , just a sailing ship and an old ferry ( a far cry from when it was a major American naval base ).
The run from Dunoon along the Clyde coast is very quiet and for a change the weather is on my side .
As I near the fish farm at Toward , I meet " Greg " with our new Renault T range ( our paths will cross a few times this week ) .
This is the first T range we have and with 520 bhp on tap it is working well on the timber.
I arrive at the fish farm and find the place quiet , the Salmon are harvested through the night and the lads are away home by the time I get there.
The farm is a commercial Salmon farm and the fish are landed alive from a " Well Boat " , this ship lifts them from the sea cages and they are kept alive in the tanks on board " Wells ".
They are pumped on shore to the Harvest station where they are killed and pumped into the tankers.
We used to do this with big insulated tubs but as this is part of the food chain the tanks are now used to keep the Salmon fresher.
I Pick the tank up and head back to the processing plant on the side of Loch Fyne .
The farm is on the site that was built to make oil rigs in the 1970,s , sadly it was never used and now is just a crumbling pile of concrete.
I stop for a break as I leave the farm and have a stunning view of the Clyde Estuary and the Isle of Bute.
Once the tank is delivered to the processing plant , I run back to our yard and pick up a part load of fertiliser .
This load is going to a farm nr Tighnabruaich .
This year has seen very little scrub and grass cutting , and some places are very over grown .
At times its like driving through a green tunnel .
I pass one of the man made landmarks …The stone Dinosaur .
The Kyles of Bute are looking good today ( none of the usual pouring rain )
Time for a break before I go to the farm ….Coffee stop on the " Tank Slip ".
One of the many ww2 landing areas used to practice landings for D.Day.
I arrive at the farm and get the covers off and folded …The farmer then appears like magic .
I getup on top and sling the bags for him ( 4 at a time so I am soon tipped ).
I get the timber pins out the headboard and set them up and phone again.
An oversea trip now .
A 4 min trip on the ferry and I am on the Isle of Bute .
I am to meet up with " Tam " and get a load of timber from him.
The loads from Rothesay are from the local estate and they are not known for the best loading sites.
I arrive at the loading site to find " Greg" had beaten me to it .
He is loading 4.9m logs for Troon .
Once he has loaded we get moved around and I am loading off a different stack.
3m pulp for the paper mill at Irvine for me .
Once loaded I head for the ferry , the bigger one this time .
This one goes from Rothesay to Weymss Bay .
A 40 min crossing this time .
I Have to wait for the ferry to arrive and Rothesay looks good in the sunshine.
The ferry soon arrives .
And soon we are loading up…as usual the cars get on first and then im put on last .
As its busy it is tight getting every one on .
Once I get to the other side it’s a quick drive to Irvine and I am soon tipped and heading back to the yard at Strachur.
I arrive back in the yard as one of our other motors is getting loaded by one of the timber cranes.
No such luck for me , I have to load the next morning .
I find myself parked beside one of 3 new mid lift trucks getting ready for the road.
I will stick to my Tag .
WEDNESDAY -
This morning I am loading at a site at Glendarueal , still on the Cowal side of Loch Fyne .
I meet with " Colin " and his new 8 wheeler loader.
The big crane can easily load the whole truck from behind , making the job easier for everyone.
Todays load is Biomas fire wood for the Paper mill at Irvine.
They have their own power station to run the mill and any extra power is fed back onto the national grid.
Its another nice day on the West of Scotland and the run round loch Lomond is stunning ( you tend not to notice when you stay here all the time ).
I arrive at the mill and get in and tipped straight away .
The Kalmar makes short work of the load , 4 lifts and I am tipped.
I phone the office when im tipped and an told I am loading more Fert.
A quick run to Ayr and I am loading again ……2 drops this time both on Rothesay.
I head off and a couple of hours later I am on the Island again.
Tam is waiting to load me , so he comes and gives me a hand to tip the Fert and we are quickly tipped and reloaded.
As I wait for the ferry to arrive the paddle steamer " waverley " arrives , during the summer months it runs pleasure trips on the Clyde.
Both Tam and I get on the ferry , it’s a tight squeeze but me manage.
As its such a nice evening , we do the tourist thing and get our coffee and go out on the deck .
I end up lookin across at the fish farm at Toward ( Tuesday mornings run ) , seems to be a week of going round in circles.
40 minuets sees us across the Clyde and we part company , Tam heads for Troon and I am on my way to Lockerbie.
I run the rest of my time out and end up parked close to Glasgow city center , there are lots of quiet places to park near the motorway if you know where to look .
THURSDAY -
The run down the M74 is quiet and I am soon at the sawmill at Lockerbie.
I join the Que to tip and my load is soon on the log deck .
After tipping I am told my next load is concrete blocks back to a builders merchants in Lochgilphead.
This fills my time nicely and after tipping I am sent to load timber out a wind farm site .
This load is to go to the new floating pier that has been built in the forest at Ardcastle nr Lochgilphead.
I head into the forest and then onto the wind farm road .
My timber pins are still in the trailer headboard so I stop and set them up .
As I am doing this I see the dust rising in the distance , like the old wild west wagon trains lol.
I decide to have a break as there are a few trucks in front of me and soon the dust cloud grows near.
Soon " Stevie" appears in his FH .
He is soon followed by "Craig " .
Both have 4.9m logs on for the pier.
My break finished I head in the direction of the dust plumes.
We all keep in contact with our CB radios , logging is one of the few jobs that still use them.
I find the loading site and swing round and park alongside " Donnies" Arocs loader .
The JCB mounted on the rear makes short work of the loading.
It has the advantage of running off its own engine , cutting down wear on the trucks engine when its loading.
I am soon loaded and on my way .
I wait on " Davie " at one of the wider points , busy road today .
I wind my way through the network of forest roads and finally Loch Fyne comes in sight .
The floating pier was built by JST services from Ayr and can be moved to any site with deep enough water to dock ships.
Ardcastle was chosen for our area as it is in the middle of nowhere , so no people objecting to trucks running to the site , no loading restrictions ( could run 24 hrs if needed ) and the loch gets very deep , very quick allowing larger cargo ships to berth.
Up till now we were loading max 1200 tons onto ships but now we can be looking at 2500 tons at a time .
A lot of trees .
Not my picture , but one of our trucks reversed onto the Barge getting tipped into the ship .
Once tipped I head to our yard at Lochgilphead and pic up a loaded trailer.
Lockerbie again in the morning.
I have just enough time to get to my home .
Nice to get a night in your own bed .
FRIDAY-
Another load of logs for Lockerbie and I am soon tipped , timber pins stripped and stacked in the
headboard.
As usual a phone call to the office and I am off for my back load.
I am to load 500kg bags of fish food ( not the type for the gold fish ).
The fish food plant is quiet and I am soon loaded and sheeted .
A quick toilet stop as I leave and I am on my way home .
I leave one of our subbies loading another load .
This load is not tipping till Monday morning.
So I head for home.
Another busy week is done .
I Hope you will find this diary of interest .
Thanks Niall.
