Foot of Ferry Brae

I don't think I've ever taken this particular photo before; it's a view that appears on many old postcards of Dunoon, taken from the light at the foot of the hill where the Ne'erday celebrations traditionally happen. (You can just see the lamp to the left of the photo). The old postcards generally show the area crowded with pedestrians, in complete contrast to this afternoon's bleak scene, with only a lone man passing the Argyll Hotel on the left. The pier looks at first glance unchanged, though in fact it's more or less derelict as a pier those days and on this particular afternoon had no traffic at all, even to the new slipway beside the Victorian pier, as both the small ferries that now provide the town centre link were off on the sick.

There are few shops in this part of town, so unless I'm actually going to the pier I rarely walk down past this point. And yet in summer it's attractive, especially now that the Queen's Hall area (further down on the right) has been so spectacularly tidied up. But today the wind was whistling along Argyll Street and I was heading for home before the next shower arrived ...