Opinion: I’d plan for two trips.

1/ Make sure you get the ferry from Uig on Skye to Lochmaddy. Tour North Uist then get the ferry to Leverburgh and go up through Harris that way. If I had to drop one place, it would be Lewis (but then you’d miss Callanish). However, you also have the option of getting a ferry back to Ullapool.

You might just manage Barra to Lewis with your maximum daily mileage too but you’ll have to judge how much chilling vs riding time that takes. If this is for next year then she also has loads of time to get a wee bit fitter. She’ll enjoy the riding more and be more able to enjoy what’s around her.

2/ I’d leave Mull to a different trip so that you have time to take in Ardnamurchan, Sunart etc. That might fit in better with the train trip too.

In terms of daily mileage, you might have issues with accommodation being just where you want it so some decent planning will need to be done.

me and mrs ton are planning 2 weeks doing this next year.
gonna get train up to Oban, and get ferry back to Ullapool.
then get the bike bus to Inverness and train back to Leeds.

cant blooming wait……. 😀

As above, I’d do a separate tour taking in Mull and the surrounding area.
I don’t see any reason to go to Stornoway (ferries excepted) unless there’s something there you need to see; I found most of Lewis pretty bleak. Harris though is brilliant, but not very flat – basically an east road and a west road that are completely different, but both are fantastic.
I found plenty of B&Bs but had to ring and book a place even for that night – some don’t take cards so worth checking and having plenty of cash or even some cheques with you.
My tour was two weeks in May last year starting and finishing in Inverness – I’d do it again in a blink!

Is that 15 miles at your pace? Seriously, unless she has some underlying medical condition then she will easily manage bigger/longer days than that.

Anyway… I still think you are trying to pack in too much. When I cycled through North Uist to Tarbert that was a really long day (complicated by the ferry times). Having said that, we were staying at Carinis.

Going up through Lewis to Carloway and Callanish would still be worthwhile. Just take the Pentland Road over to Stornoway if you don’t fancy the top end of the island.

Taking camping gear to use some of the time could be an unnecessary extra burden. Mind you, borrow a trailer and you could haul it all to even up your abilities a little 🙂

There is of course the other idea. Borrow TJ’s tandem.

Tandem on the train is the showstopper. Ideally, there would be a company that hired out a tandem and had a suitable vehicle to drop you off in Kyle then pick you up in Ullapool. If only there was someone offering that sort of service

I’d do the length of the western isles, they really are quite special. The ferry to Barra arrives fairly late in the evening, 8pm from memory. so:

Day 1: go round the western side of Barra, it’s not as hilly as the eastern road, get ferry to Eriskay. Possibly include out and back to Vatersay or out to Traigh Mhor the airport on the beach. Stop somewhere on the south end of South Uist. Distance about 15 miles or if you get as far as Lochboisdale about 25 miles.
Day 2. Head up South Uist and across Benbecula to North Uist, lots of things to see just off the road so plenty of chances for stops. It’s basically flat so you should be able to go forty miles.
Day 3. Across North Uist to Berneray
Day 4. Ferry to Harris (can be tide dependent) then take the Gold Road on the east side of the island. This is quite hard work but only 20 miles or so to Tarbert and will be much nicer riding than the main road. Possibly get the ferry to Uig depending on your timing. If you get the afternoon ferry you can get to Portree quite easily – it’s one steady pull out of Uig then a long downhill most of the way to Portree.
Day 5. Portree down across Skye. TBH this isn’t particularly pleasant – you’ve one road that’s used by all the traffic on the island or you’ve the hilly western side, though once you are past Sligachan there’s only the one road. At Broadford head down to Armadale and ferry over to Mallaig. There’s a great hostel in Mallaig.
Day 6. Train to Ft William then coast road down to Oban.

Almost the same as your route. About 160 miles in total to Mallaig plus whatever from Ft William to Oban.

I’m not sure about bikes on the Mallaig to Ft William section but you definitely have to book them for the Glasgow to Oban and Glasgow to Ft William sections. You could divide the route up a bit more so that you leave the train at Oban and pick it up at Mallaig. Actually this would be better as the A82 between Ft William and Ballachuilish is not nice on a bike as it’s the main road in to the west highlands plus the train journey over Rannoch Moor shouldn’t be missed.

Edit: If you drove to Tyndrum you could leave the car there and get the train to Oban then the train back from Mallaig/Ft William.

West Coast of Harris is definitely better than the East. The road is busier (it’s all comparative) but has better sightlines, fewer undulations and, importantly, better scenery.

I did the following this year:

Day 1: Ferry from Oban to South Uist. Cycled to the top of North Uist. 45’ish miles.
Day 2: Cycled to Lochmaddy. Ferry to Uig. Cycled to Sligachan……got very pissed. 45’ish miles.
Day 3: Cycled to Armadale. Ferry to Mallaig. Cycled around Ardnamurchan to Kilchoan. 93 hard miles. (You could make this two days by stopping at Arisaig)
Day 4: Ferry to Tobermory. Cycled to the bottom of Mull. Ferry back to Oban. 22 miles.

I did intend on heading over to Harris but high winds scuppered that idea and trashed my Wild Country tent. The first two days were the ones I was looking forward to the most but didn’t enjoy them due to horrendous weather. Ardnamurchan was really nice and soooo quiet (thanks for the advice Colin)

You will cover the miles with no problem. The 93 miles was only hard because I was hungover.

bloody hell, I think I might start a tandem hire service using my own bike at those rates! Anyone wanna hire a tandem in the peak district, drop me a line 😉

Hi Munrobiker,

I did a similar trip last year, went in mid June and got mainly nice weather – mainly light winds and just a couple of wet days but nothing too bad.

Our route was;
Day 1. Drive up to Oban – afternoon Ferry to Barra. Rode over to Vatersay and camped on the side of the road near to the Community Hall (where there is a tap/bog).
Day 2. Cycled back across Barra and caught the ferry to Eriskay. Cycled across to South Uist and stayed at Howmore Hostel.
Day 3. Cycled across South Uist, Benbecula, North Uist to Berneray and stayed at the Bhearnaraigh Hostel there.
Day 4. Caught the first ferry to Leverburgh and cycled on the more eastern route across Harris to Tarbert (quite hilly) caught the afternoon ferry to Uig on Skye. Cycled to Portree and camped overnight.
Day 5. First wet day cycling across Skye to Armadale, but brightened up in the afternoon. Caught afternoon ferry to Mallaig and cycled south (about 10 miles) to campsite on coast.
Day 6. Long day in the saddle! Cycled from campsite across mainland and onto the Ardnamurchan peninsula to get to Kilchoan and caught the last ferry of the day to Tobermory. Stayed at the youth hostel.
Day 7. Another wet day, started off with intention of cycling all the way round Mull, but got round the northern half and cut back west to east (through Salen) and then back to Craignure. Camped overnight there (and went to pub!).
Day 8. First ferry back to Oban and drove home.

The hostels, apart from Tobermory, were run by the Gatliff Trust.

It was a great trip and we were blessed with some great weather. The afternoon/evening ride on Skye was probably the high point for me as the weather was so good. Getting across to catch the last ferry of the day to Mull also felt like an achievement after such a long day.

I’d do it again, probably take longer and try to take more in rather than just ploughing from place to place.

RM.

No real reason other than having the prevailing wind on your back for the Outer Hebrides, there’s not much shelter and pedalling 40 miles in to a headwind isn’t fun. Actually there isn’t any shelter 🙁

Disagree with South Harris; think the Golden Road is an absolute must. West coast is gorgeous too of course with its stunning views to the Harris hills.