UKC

Dear Panel,

Assuming that I've got 9 days free in which to drive from Manchester - departing Saturday -and embark on the Oban to Castlebay ferry; what is a realistic schedule for cycling north along the islands, assuming that the following weekend will be spent on the return journey. Where might I get to, and how the heck do I get back to my car in Oban again?

Regards,

Dazed and Confused.

In reply to Clauso:
See recent thread:
http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?n=618483

Assuming 60 miles a day, you could no doubt cover the entire Barra-Stornoway route in 3 days (subject to the ferry times in between). So plenty of time to break up the journey and take a little longer.

There is a daily bike bus from Ullapool - Inverness (apart from Sundays), then train to Glasgow, another train to Oban. A bit long winded, but might even be feasible in a day? (Edit - you'd probably need to stop off overnight in Inverness. If there was somewhere safe to leave the car, leaving it in Glasgow would probably make more sense).
http://www.inverness-durness-highland-bike-bus.co.uk

In reply to malky_c:

Many thanks Malky!... I hadn't seen the recent thread. Plenty of food for thought there, along with your comments. Cheers.

In reply to Clauso:
Winds can impact distance there (like anywhere), but they are not huge for the variety of terrain. Could you cycle Castlebay to Lewis, but leave the isles at Tarbert on Harris, Ferry to Skye (Uig), down through there to Armadale, ferry to Mallaig, cycle down to Kilchoan and ferry over to Tobermory on Mull, then cycle down to Criagnure for ferry back to Oban? West of Mull is best but longer.

In reply to JinjaCoo:

Hmmmmm, that sounds like a good trip too... Will check it out on the maps.

In reply to Clauso:
Haven't cycled the Outer Hebrides, but having lived and worked on the Scottish islands, don't underestimate the wind and rain effect. I've had many a time when if was difficult to make progress walking let alone cycling. Of course when the weather is favourable, the islands are truely a fantastic experience (if that is your thing!). Enjoy, but plan some flexibility/downtime.

In reply to Climbing Pieman:

Yes, we'll certainly be treating the trip as leisure, rather than as a mileage-fest!

In reply to JinjaCoo:
+1 to this. We did it a couple of years ago: Train to Oban; ferry to Castlebay; B&B on north of Barra; ferry to Eriskay; ride up to Berneray then B&B; ferry to Harris (some sailings affected by low tide so check); Gold Road to Tarbert; ferry to Uig; ride to Portree (hostel); down west side of Skye as far as Sligachan then brave the main road to Broadford and down to Armadale; ferry to Mallaig (hostel); down to Kilchoan; ferry to Tobermory(hostel); round west side of Mull to Salem then main road to Craignure (pub!); ferry to Oban and back on the train.

The road round from Tobermory past Calgary etc is pretty hilly but great views. The Gold Road on Harris is also very, ahem, rolling but really quiet. We found the hardest road to be the one along the coast to Kilchoan - lots of up and down but because of the trees you couldn't see very far so couldn't let the bike run on the downhills in case there was a car just round the bend. It had also just been top-dressed so really draggy surface. The only long day was from Barra to the top of North Uist but it was flat. Most of the other days were 40 miles or so maximum - plenty of time for cafe stops

In reply to Bob:

Cheers Bob!... Sounds great.

In reply to Clauso:

http://graniteandice.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/cycling-outer-hebrides.html

In reply to Clauso:

Forgot to mention - check out the CalMac site for Island hopper tickets - there's one covering the itinerary above. You can save a little bit of money.

In reply to Clauso:

Hi Darren,

Just back and it was a great trip despite being the worst summer since 1945 we were told. Hopefully the weather will be better when you go. I cycled with Ana my partner (see Granite & Ice blog link posted below) and we cycled very slowly.

Getting there: Book trains well in advance as they only accept few bikes on each train. Book them them to or from Garve (to cycle to or from Ullapool) and Oban (station is directly next to the ferry).

Ferries: Buy the Island hopper ticket which is £75 as far as I remember. This makes things really easy.

Sleeping: We took a tent and spent some nights in the tent and accommodiation is in short supply in Castlebay. If you stay in hostels book Castlebay and Stornoway and you should be OK. Wild camping is fine in Scotland and it is easy to camp near a dream beach. Just leave footsteps though.

Clothing: We had exceptionally bad weather as the temperatures were only just over 10 degrees all the time. But this is a really, really poor summer so far. It can be windy and rainy so take Goretex pants and jacket plus overshoes plus gloves if it looks to be on the cool side.

The cycling itself: a few hills on Barra, mostly flat on Uist, hilly on Harris and undulating on Lewis. The roads are mostly single track but you'll be fine on a bike.

Things to do: Take a camera because some views are out of this world especially if the sun shines. Live music pub in Castlebay or Stornoway is great so go on a Friday/Saturday. On the Sabbath nothing is happening in the North though so buy your food on the Saturday.

Preparation: watch Whisky Galore. It captures the happy Hebridean lifestyle well.

Enjoy!

Henning

In reply to hwackerhage:

Many thanks for the advice Henning... I read your trip report earlier on today. Good stuff.

In reply to Sophie G.:


Enjoyed that. The uskands are beautiful whatever the weather.

In reply to Orgsm:

Thanks, typos now corrected. The first version was a quick job in the morning...

In reply to Clauso:

At least you'll be going with prevailing wind.