Getting excited now, heading off for a 11 day cycle tour of the outer hebrides / west coast in May.
Rough plan is to spend 5 days riding south from Vatersay through all the islands as far north as the Gearannan Blackhouse village on Lewis. Back down to Tarbert for the ferry to Uig, 2 days riding through Skye, divert onto the mainland for a 2 day loop round Applecross (so we can climb Bealach na Ba!). Back to Skye and the ferry to Malaig, ride down to the Arnamurchan penisula. Ferry to Mull, cycle through Mull and back to Oban.
Averaging about 50 miles per day, which would give ample time for seeing wildlife, soaking up the views, playing on beaches etc.
Just downloaded the Outer Hebrides app from here (which is ace!):
http://www.visitouterhebrides.co.uk/visitor-info/outer-hebrides-apps
Accomodation all booked, but does anyone have any advice / experiences to share about places to see, where to eat, hidden corners etc etc?
Anyone else heading up that way cycle touring in May, say hi to a small posse from Wales 🙂
#1 Tip. If setting off from Vatersay, head [b]North[/b]..... 😉 😆
there is gonna be a lot of stw folk in the Hebrides in may. 8)
Scotroutes ... ah yes 😳
Ton - when are you up there? We're going from the 9th - 20th May.
Anyone here ridden over Bealach na ba and round Applecross? We were planning on doing it as a loop from Plockton - feasible on touring bikes?
Sue W
we are going on the 16th for 2 weeks.
uist, harris, lewis, skye, knoydart, mull.
cant wait.
Yay - I've got a week based around Gairloch in May too. I'm taking road and mountain bikes, but no real itinerary planned so I'll play it by ear.
If anyone's got any pictures they could share to whet my appetite...
See you all there!
Go straight to Harris and spend the whole fortnight there, it's the most beautiful place on God's green earth.
Oh and remember that everything is closed on Sunday.
Bealach Na ba is fine on tourers. Don't forget that the coast road back to Sheildaig has more climbing...
We are taking the tandem to the outer Hebrides this summer.The forum may go quiet if we are all there !
I started in mallaig then went up the east coast of Skye, over to applecross then up to ullapool and down the hebrides.
i did it on the highly appropriate rockhopper pro.
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it was Ace.
The Western Isles are insanely beautiful. I'm jealous. That is all.
Jamiemcf - we thought of doing that route (in reverse) but opted to 'shortcut' through Skye instead. Looks like a fab route, and that's a well-laden bike!
Anyone got any info on bike shops in case repairs are needed enroute?
this little film from Coastkid is nice
A couple of packed beaches on Uist...
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Plenty of big Lugworms if you do any sea fishing!
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Otters on bikes too!...
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I am also jealous but I will be back!
It was a good route Sue. I needed a bikeshop hence my trip to Stornaway. the only other bike shop was Inverness. Heading up the bealach na ba i did question the tripod and pare set of shoes 'just in case'.
jamie
If heading to Ardnamurchan, be sure to visit Sanna Sands. On the way you pass through the caldera of an ancient volcano [url] https://goo.gl/maps/1cjMV [/url]
I loved the whole Mallaig/Mull trip, definitely over-shadowed (unnecessarily IMHO) by the W. Isles. http://www.blog.scotroutes.com/2012/07/coasting-around-west-day-1.html (and more photos here https://www.flickr.com/photos/druidh2000/sets/72157630562948042/ )
My W. Isles trip here http://www.blog.scotroutes.com/p/barra-to-butt.html though I've been back since. (More photos here https://www.flickr.com/photos/druidh2000/sets/72157625906663678/)
And a favourite photo from last summer - a perfect bivvy spot.
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Tips (some already covered);
* If you are after fresh seafood, it's sometimes worth phoning a day or two ahead so they can get some in for you.
* Allow for a bit of delay on the ferry between N Uist and Harris as it is easily affected by the tides (lots of seals on the wee islands is passes)
* Make sure you try the Stornoway Black Pudding
* The Machair Road along the W Coast of S Uist is worth a detour and is easily doable on a touring bike
* Remember to keep looking over your shoulder as you might miss some great views.
* The steepest bit of the Bealach na Ba is just before the zig-zags. Make it to them and you've cracked it. Make sure you have good brakes for the descent to Applecross!
* Carry some decent snacks with you. It can be a fair distance between shops or other eating opportunities
* Smidge
Thanks very much all! Getting very excited now 🙂 Fingers crossed for some good weather!
Scotroutes - thanks for the tips. Just a quick query - I've had a look at google earth, but where is the best place to start / leave the Machair road on a bike (or can we follow it all the way along the coast)?
we're also taking tandems up to the western isles in May - 23rd onwards for us, a one week trip from Barra to Tarbert, then down skye and ardnamurchan to mull. will be looking at some of these links later...
Genuinely one of my favourite places on the planet.
We went from South Uist up to Harris (very leisurely) and then back down to Barra / Vatersay for a couple of days.
We loved North Uist - particularly Balranald and the north coast. Beaches on South Uist were lovely and we were able to do most of the route up there either riding on the beach or machair. Harris is all stunning as above - the Golden Road route from Tarbert down to Leverburgh was a real highlight.
My top tip is to stay off the main route and explore some of the dead end roads and machair tracks.
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Tandem, outer isles and pretty much OP's route too- June for us.
Happy days.
Last year while out there with the trail bikes, Tarbert black pudding from Harris blind tasted better than Stornoway- if that can be believed.
@ Sue_W - Scotroutes may have a different route but we joined the Machair road near the arrow on the attached map. Basically follow the minor road which goes straight on when the "main road" from the ferry terminal bears north and then follow your nose. See arrow on map link below.
We were on MTBs with touring tyres and were able to ride the first bit of the coast on the beach on the hard packed sand on the receding tide.
As SprocketJockey says, turn left at the Borrodale Hotel in Dalibrog (Daliburgh) and follow the road out to the coast. You can make it along the dirt road as far as you want but I'd recommend cutting back on to the "main" road around Mingarry (Mingearraidh) so you can visit Flora Macdonalds birthplace and the lovely wee cafe/museum in the old school building in Kildonan (Cill Donain).
My pald did this last year
http://www.sharmanka.com/Home/RBOAB/NWCR.html