UKC

Hi,

Looking for a little advice on the the outer hebrides tour where i'll be setting off from Ullapool, over to Stornoway and down to Barra. My intention is to ferry from Castlebay to Scarinish (Tiree). My only constraints are time and getting to Ullapool from glasgow (with bike), no trains but only buses - and I'm sure they wont allow a bike on their bus.

So, does anyone have ideas on how i can get to Ullapool
and is 5 days achievable on this?

Thanks
Kenny

In reply to Hammy78:

There appear to be options, never used them myself, but thought about it a couple of years ago
www.highlandcycletransport.co.uk
www.inverness-durness-highland-bike-bus.co.uk

probably worth a phone call.

In reply to Hammy78:

Going N-S does head in to the prevailing winds ... However the last time I was out there we went S-N and had a northerly for the entire time

Train to Garve then bike over to Ullapool? The usual complaint from bus/coach drivers about carrying bikes is that they don't want to handle them in case they cause damage to the bike - I've just said that it's fine and I'll put the bike on/off the bus and am happy for it to be loose in the baggage storage.

Allow a day to get to Ullapool possibly getting a late ferry over to Stornoway.
A day to get down to Leverburgh. Getting to Berneray is by ferry and one or two sailings are affected by low tide so worth checking this out.
A day to travel down through the isles, not looked at ferry times from Castlebay so not sure if you need to get there early in the AM or not. This is quite a long day, especially if there's a head wind, but is flat apart from a couple of small hills.

Don't you have to go Castlebay - Oban then Oban - Tiree?

In reply to Hammy78:

The cycle from Garve to Ullapool is only a few hours; might end up simpler just to bike it. It's a nice ride too if the traffic isn't too heavy

In reply to Hammy78:

Have you considered doing it south to north instead? If there's a southwesterly then you'll have it more on your back

In reply to Hammy78:

Thanks everyone - so helpful.

I have considered biking from Garve, just wasnt sure how far it was to Ullapool.
I'l also check those websites and give them a call - thanks
I need to be in Barra for Wed night at the latest. Calmac only do 1 ferry a week to Tiree - so I must be on that!! I'll be meeting the family in Tiree and spending the rest of the hols there. If i miss it - then i'm stuffed

Just hope 5 days is more than enough time to do it in (with a spot of sightseeing)

Kenny

In reply to Hammy78:

Perhaps easier might be to try and get the ferry from Uig to Tarbert or maybe Uig to Lochmaddy though this latter misses out Harris which is well worth visiting.

In reply to Hammy78:

As mentioned above, there is a daily bike bus service between Inverness and Cape Wrath which calls in at Ullapool (although I don't think it runs on Sundays). Garve - Ullapool is about 35 miles with a steady (but not particularly massive) climb, then a descent down to Loch Broom.

In reply to Hammy78:

http://www.inverness-durness-highland-bike-bus.co.uk/

As said by a few above - The Durness bike Bus is your option to get a bike from Inverness to Ullapool. I used it last month - a great service. The bus has a trailer on the back for cycles. Unfortunately the timings aren't great for the ferry:

Dep Inverness 09:05
Arrive Ullapool 10:38
Ferry departs 10:30 (or 17:30) though its 14:30 on Fri & Sats.

In reply to Jack Frost:

Cycling from Garve won't be a lot better as the first train doesn't leave Inverness until 8:55am. There are another 3 trains though, so it could work out.

In reply to Jack Frost:

Thanks for that - i'll look into this tonight