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A Week Touring the Hebrides (Picture Heavy)
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Posted 8 years ago
Following on from a thread many, many months ago –
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/7-day-ish-tour-of-the-hebrides-mull-and-skye-route-advice
– my wife and I have finally done our tour of the Hebrides. We modified our plans a bit from what I was originally hoping to do based on the input of people in that thread and we had a wonderful time, so thanks very much everyone.
We did an average of about 33 miles a day which gave us plenty of time to see stuff and ride slowly with the trailer. The trailer was a great leveller of our abilities- my wife has done about 20 miles a week since March in the build up to this while I ride 100 miles a week. She carried only her clothes in panniers while I carried all our camping gear, my clothes and all our food.
The weather was pretty good, better than we could have hoped for- a few spots of rain on Skye, it poured it down on our first night and just after we’d finished. We did have a headwind on the Outer Hebrides as we were, in theory, doing this the wrong way round but the ferries wouldn’t work for us and it meant we had a tailwind for the longer, hillier ride from Oban to the top of Skye. Also on the last day the wind swung and we got a nice north easterly to blow us down! It was cold, and we stopped just at the right time before the storms at the weekend, but we both got sunburn.
Day 1 – Oban to Fort William
We followed the cycle path for this, our longest day. We almost drove straight to Fort William with the plan of getting the bus back up there when we got back as the weather was looking iffy but it turned out OK so we got on with it. For some reason the computer hasn’t backed up my photos of this day yet so I’ll add them tomorrow. It’s a nice ride, though my wife didn’t get on with panniers and all the gates and barriers.
We got to Fort William then caught the train up- this was a key bit of the trip for me as I really wanted to ride the Glenfinnan Viaduct, and it saved a very hilly day of riding. It started pouring down while we were on the train and as we got off the guard pointed out the hotel opposite the station in Morar. We were supposed to be camping on the beach but wimped out- and weren’t the only ones, there was a stream of campers coming in asking for rooms!
Day 2 – Mallaig to Sligachan
An early start and a hearty breakfast before riding to Mallaig for the second ferry of the day to Armadale on Skye. Briefly stopping at Armadale Castle we got stuck into a very long and hilly day up to Sligachan. With some regular stops to dodge the rain we arrived to a very windy campsite- next door’s tent collapsed. Unfortunately the tent on the other side was occupied by a horrendous snorer who kept us both awake all night despite ear plugs and a few drams while we were playing dominoes in the bar.
Day 3 – Sligachan to Uig
This was a relatively short day of about 25 miles but was still very tough as the hill up to Uig is long and relentless, especially at the end of the day. The day starts with a climb of about 3 miles which is rewarded with a huge mostly downhill run of 7 miles to Portree. We had a break at Portree to go sea eagle spotting before trekking up to Uig.
Day 4 – Uig to Berneray
This was another short day. Harris turned out to be hillier than we had expected, even though we took the gentler west coast. It would have been nice to take the Golden Road but I think it would have been too hilly for my wife. Harris was lovely, a really unique landscape, but Berneray was the highlight of our trip. We camped in the grounds of the Gatliff hostel, an old croft on the shore, and it was just perfect. I got up at 4am to see if I could spot an otter with the incoming tide but sadly none appeared- the sunrise over Harris was worth the lost sleep, though.
Harris gave us the first real sights of prehistoric stuff too, which was what my wife was most excited about seeing. And we came across a sheepdog trial, which was great. Even if the first dog got baffled and herded all the sheep into the car park…
Day 5- Berneray to Benbecula
Because of the location of campsites on the Isles (my wife wouldn’t wild camp) we had a long day down from Berneray to Benbecula. North Uist’s prehistoric forts and burial chambers were really exciting, but my wife was unamused by how not-flat North Uist was after what she’d been told by some people we met on Skye.
Day 6 – Benbecula to Lochboisdale
Our last day on the islands and we were tired. Only 25 miles but it took a long time- hauling a trailer really takes it out of you. It’s a similar feeling to rock climbing where when you start you’re fine, and you’re never out of breath or sweaty, but after a while you can’t do anything anymore. South Uist was a perfect end- sunny, flat and with amazing beaches and a particularly interesting Dun at Bornais rounded out the day. We’re pretty sure we spotted a whale at the beach with the pebble stack too.
Thanks very much to everyone who chipped in with advice on our planning thread, it was a shame to miss out Mull and chopping of Lewis definitely sounded like a good decision speaking to others on the trip, but we now have a list of other places to come back to.
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