Well I've done it, cycled the length of the Hebridean Way. I've done it the easy way by not carrying any kit, but it does mean I've covered 365 miles to cover the 130 Way and been up and down most hills from both directions.
The final 16 miles today (a 33 mile round trip) were the hardest I think I've ever ridden. Not because of the hills but because of the weather. Today looked to be the best day of my remaining time wind wise so it was now or never and never wasn't really an option, so after a late breakfast listening to the hail, I wrapped up for winter and set off.
The first few miles were windy but ok, gentle hills so nothing to worry about. After 6 miles I considered turning back, a diagonal wind was making it hard to stay upright and pushing me across the road. As there was no traffic, and with now or never in my mind, I carried on. At 7 miles I was still seriously questioning whether to carry on. At 8 miles, the snow started. Driving snow and the wind on open, exposed, desolate moorland. 8.72 miles, I got caught in temporary traffic lights for what seemed like forever. I was cold, wet and, it's a strong word considering I was outdoors and on my bike, but I was bordering on feeling miserable. The snow stopped and after 12 miles I reached a little museum which said it had toilets and a cafe. I went in and chose what I'd have from the menu on my way back and dragged myself back out. It was a little less exposed and a bit more of a straight headwind apart from the last mile or so and I eventually made it to the lighthouse. A quick photo of my bike, demolished the piece of quiche I'd packed in my pocket and a tailwind back to the cafe for a late lunch and then onto my van.
All of the islands have been completely different and apart from today I've enjoyed all of it. When I saw the Hebridean Way existed I thought it would be good to do some bits of it on my trip, but it's turned out that the past 3 weeks of my trip have revolved around covering every mile of the route, picking the least windy days for riding and filling the other days with walking and exploring.
National Cycle Route 780 - complete!
A few pics from my rides:
The Lonely Planet guide to the Scottish Highlands describes the Isle of Harris as having a lunar landscape. The Hebridean Way cycling leaflet says the Harris section is “moderate/difficult” and talks about the hills of North Harris (but doesn’t mention the south!) So I did something bad. Unintentional but bad. During the first couple of days on the island when it was too windy to ride, I ended up driving some of the route. This was a mistake as I now knew what was about to come.
There were a couple of options for the ride to cover the South of Harris – the first would be to ride up and back. The second was to ride in a loop – covering about 50 really hilly miles, of which only about 20 were on the Way. Either of these options might have been ok if time was on my side but the wind has made cycling difficult and I needed to make progress up the island otherwise I’m going to run out of time. So I devised a third option – put my bike at the start, drive 25miles up the route (as it was a logical place to stop) and I catch the bus back to my bike to then do the ride.
I locked my bike to a bench at the “Butty Bus” having done a deal with Mr Butty Bus to look after my bike in return for me buying a butty before I started my ride. It had taken a while to get out of him whether he’d be open or not when I got back, but luckily he was as I was counting on the bacon butty to get me up those hills.
That section wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be and I made it over the moon of Harris without any problems before deciding to carry on past my van to tackle the biggest hill on the whole of the Way. I’m glad I hadn’t driven that one first as I probably would have wondered if I’d get up without walking but I plodded up, and then came straight back down the same way to where I’d parked, another 30 miles completed. 270 miles ridden, and about 80 miles along the Way. It’s going to be tight to get it finished as there are gale force winds and snow forecast for this week, but as long as it doesn’t last all week I should just about get there.
I realise most people won't be interested in this post but there's a few who are. For those who aren't, as soon as I have better signal I'll post some more photos!
Vatersay
Community Centre fenced off for building works. Good wild spot about half a mile before you get there (from Castlebay direction)
Barra
Castlebay Ferry Terminal – Chemical Disposal & tap (although tap wasn’t working when I was there) No showers as advertised.
Castlebay sports centre – showers (£1.10)
A few wild spots up the West Coast.
Eoilgarry jetty – Chemical disposal and water. Can also wild camp there.
Good sized Co- Op in Castlebay
Eriskay
Ferry terminal – shower. (Didn’t notice if there was CW or a tap)
South Uist
Lochboisdale Marina – very new. CW, water, showers (£2)
Good sized Co-Op in Daliburgh
Plenty of wild camping on West coast detours from the main road.
Benbecula
A couple of wild spots on the West – a little car park at Arnol(?) was good. Also in the north West, round by the entrance to the range (next to the cemetery) I didn’t find any CW or water taps on the island and the one campsite was closed. A Co-Op in the south of the island and two small supermarkets in the north.
Showers in sports centre (at the side of the school) £1.10
North Uist
Moorcroft holidays in the south of the island – Cairnish – cheap site and very good facilities including washing machine and tumble drier.
Wild camped at Sollas picnic area for 2 nights (great walks over the sand dunes)
Lochmaddy ferry terminal advertises CW and shower but I didn’t go there.
Berneray ferry terminal – CW and water tap.
Harris
:everburgh Ferry terminal – CW and Water. No shower as advertised.
West Harris trust have lots of wildcamping pull ins, £5 payment via paypal.
Tarbert – shower in toilets by tourist information (50p/15mins)
Huishnish – water tap on site of toilets – good for a wild camp.
Lewis
Loch Erisort Inn just south of Balallam – really friendly owner, good food and is happy for customers to stay in his car park.
Balallam – Self Service launderette and water tap on side of building.
Laxay – Shower in public toilets (£1)
My blog isn't a diary of what I've done each day as I'm not sure how interesting that would be - my days are generally spent either walking or cycling then driving on a bit further. But every day there are things which happen that make that ride or walk or drive stand out, often they're small things.
Yesterday I went for a walk - it was a walk up a hill in a guidebook I have so I thought I'd give it a go. I knew there was a cafe along the road that I'd walk down so thought that after the walk I'd stop there for lunch. I walked past the cafe - closed on Mondays. I wouldn't be stopping there on my way back afterall. On my way back down the hill I saw an injured sheep, it's leg stuck in a wire fence. I tried to help it but I realised that sheep are quite scary and strong when they're thrashing about so weighing up my options I left it (and luckily flagged down a farmer and told her) Walking along the road back it started hailing, driving hail, just as I was walking past the closed cafe. I think the closed sign smiled at me. Then I saw Croft 36 farm shop, it was a shed in someone's garden that had been closed on my way down. I expected maybe eggs and homemade jams, neither of which I needed but it was out of the hail so I went in. There were eggs but there was also a little oven with hot homemade pasties in! Ceapebhal hill was a nice walk but it's the sheep and hot pasty that I'll remember the day for.
Today, after a bike ride (it was big and memorable!) I decided to drive to Huishnish on the recommendation of a tanker driver I spoke to a few days ago. It was a 14 mile drive from the main road so I might not have done it otherwise but he'd told me the beach was worth it, he also mentioned driving past a castle but I'd forgotten about that part. A few miles of Highland roads in (sorry Bertha) the road stopped at a gated entrance, but there didn't seem to be any other option so I cautiously drove through. Then I remembered, the castle! When he said you drive past the castle - it then comes into view and you drive past its front door. The beach was worth the drive, as was sitting in my wild camping neighbours motorhome chatting to them for the evening, but the surprise of the castle was the best bit.
And for anyone still reading - Huishnish may be remote but it is significant for the fact it hosted the Rocket Post trials. A German scientist Gerhard Zucker, tried to send mail to a nearby island in 1934. Zucker toured Germany and then Britain from 1931 until 1934, when he reached Harris, selling a postal service. His powder powered rockets never successfully provided flight or delivery and his 1934 demonstration was no better with an explosion and singed letters spread over the beach.
16-4-16 is a significant date. My last day of employment at Dstl. Up until now I've been using annual leave up during my notice period and it feels like it does when I'm on any other holiday - there's even a deadline to leave by (the ferry ticket is valid for 31 days).
I didn't think about it until the afternoon and then it was only a passing thought as I admired the snow topped hills. Later in the afternoon I thought I should mark it though and seeing as I had passed a shop I decided to find myself a treat for the evening.
Not overwhelmed by choice at Tarbert grocers I picked one of my favourites - Welsh toffee wafers, better known as Stroopwafels, first discovered during Dutch work trips with Dstl.
Later in the evening I made a hot chocolate and munched on a couple of Stroopwafels sat on a bench by Bertha. There was no breeze and no sound - a perfect way to mark my first official day of freedom.
I usually visit places with half a plan in place. One plan for this trip is that I wanted to cycle the Hebridean Way – a 130mile national cycle route (blue signs with red numbers on) which goes from one end to the other of the chain of islands.
It’s an end to end trail but without trains it means that I need to either retrace my footsteps (wheel turns?) back to the start of the day’s ride, or if there are other roads on the island then do a loop to get back to where I started. Apart from the fact I just like being on my bike, it’s a good way to be able to see the island without having to drive all of it and a chance to do a recce for places to park up overnight.
I’m now half way through my time on the islands and about half way up the trail having covered 180miles to the Berneray ferry point. It’s a cyclist’s paradise with tarmacked roads and no cars but the wind has been a pain and I’ve had to plan rides around the forecast, riding on the less windy days although this has still meant coming down hills feeling like I’ve got my brakes on. According to the guide I’ve got I’ve now covered the flat islands with the hills still to come, my legs can’t wait!
The blue dot is where I am at the moment, working my way North.
Wild camping is no fine art but it does get better with practice - this is my 3rd Scottish trip in my van and I think I’ve spent about 2/3 of my van time wild camped. One of the etiquette rules of wild camping is to try to be out of sight of anyone’s house. These islands are actually quite tricky as there are houses dotted everywhere and where there are no houses, there are also no roads. With a lack of campsites though, as long as I’ve been a fair way from any houses I haven’t worried if I can be seen. It’s also early in any sort of tourist season and I’ve only seen a couple of other vans – in the summer it’s probably a bit more restrictive.
There are two things which are satisfying when you’re wild camping. One is to find the perfect spot, and the second is to be able to do all the domestic stuff without being forced onto a campsite. Apart from the site with the washblock (I never did see anyone) I’ve managed without, which is just as well as since then I’ve only seen two and one was closed.
I’ve found some really nice spots on beach fronts, last night’s being particularly good – the spot Berthas profile picture was taken in. I had dinner in the sun, cleared up and got into bed. I hadn’t been in bed long when the wind started to pick up. I was a bit annoyed. When id checked the forecast earlier in the day, the wind wasn’t due to be too bad – at least not bad enough to stop me from parking there. I laid there wondering what to do for a while, the van was really rocking in the wind and my bike cover was flapping like a parachute but the island is flat so there’s not much shelter and I couldn’t think of anywhere I’d seen which would be more protected. Luckily I had phone signal and did the best thing in the circumstances – I consulted the CamperChicks forum. I got up ready to drive somewhere else, talked myself out of it and got back into bed. Then I did the same again. The verdict was that 30mph winds would be scary but safe as long as there were no trees and with a bit of moral support behind me, eventually I dropped off to sleep.
It’s something I love about being away – really taking notice of the weather. At home, its ‘should I take a coat or not?’ or ‘Is it too windy to cycle?’ I can’t remember the last time that I thought about which direction the wind was coming from, or that it would have even mattered. When parking in a certain direction can make the difference between a good night’s sleep or not, it’s something to take notice of.
When I left home I emptied anything which might be useful from my kitchen cupboards into the van but it was bits and bobs rather than things to make full meals from. One example of this is that I have 3 cans of coconut milk. I don’t usually carry as much food round as I am at the moment and I miss the extra space so I’m trying to make an effort to use up what I’ve brought with me rather than the food having a lovely holiday and going home again.
I didn’t think the small hebridean shops would stock thai curry paste, which is the only thing I’ve ever used coconut milk for, so asked on the CamperChicks forum that I’m a member of what I could make to use these cans up as I’ve not got enough phone signal for google. There were a couple of suggestions that I think I was being stitched up with, but another one sounded good so I thought that next time I find a shop I’d see if I could get the ingredients and try it.
Daliburgh Co-op was a really good size and had just about everything on the list (sun dried tomatoes was pushing it though) so tonight I’ve managed to make some sort of chickpea and spinach dinner in a coconut and ginger sauce with sweet potato mash. I think it’s the most adventurous meal I’ve managed on a single ring camping stove, and it was a good way to fill a rather damp and windy evening.
Ironically, Daliburgh Co-op was big enough to stock thai curry paste. I bought some to have with can number 2.
After a couple of nights of wild camping I needed a shower.
Public swimming pools are my usual choice but it's advertised that Castlebay ferry terminal has some so on Sunday I went to find them. Closed. Although not good for my shower hunt, I like that everywhere is closed on a Sunday so I didn't grumble.
Monday, back to the ferry terminal which is actually just a room with a desk, and asked about their showers - they don't have any (but do have a chemical waste emptying point so I made the most of that). With no showers there, I headed to the leisure centre to find that it's closed on Mondays. At this point, I'm wondering if I should go to the campsite I'd seen, but I object to paying £16 to park up and have a shower, so thought I'd go back to the pool on Tuesday morning which I duly did. School holiday opening hours - not open til 1pm.
Whilst out walking I saw a sign for a camping and caravanning club site. Keen to make the most of my membership and cheap prices I headed up there in the afternoon. Let myself in the gate to the empty field, went and knocked on the door of the adjoining house - no answer.
So I set up and went to investigate the barn like washblock, glad that I could finally have a shower - although the barn looked like it had seen better days so it was likely to be filled with creepy crawlies but I'd just have to get on with it. At this point I wish I could add a photo as when I went inside it was just cattle stalls with hay and manure on the floor.
A bit further up, through stodgy muck was another house with no one home and a little outbuilding behind it. I went in to find a toilet, shower and washing machine along with someone's washing. But the sign back on the road had said there were wash facilities so I made myself at home.
No one ever appeared to take any money from me, in fact, I've not seen a soul and I have no idea if I've used the neighbours bathroom or not but I'm now clean and ready to head on, hoping washing won't be such a problem again.
Today I thought the highlight of my day would be the sunrise I woke up to. Then I thought it would be cycling out to the airport to see the world’s only scheduled flight which lands on a beach. Then I thought it would be the view from the top of a hill overlooking Castlebay where I cooked dinner. Then I thought it would be the orange sunset over the beach. But then two porpoises decided to put on a show in the sunset. Some days are just plain good! (still struggling to upload photos)
I
woke up to calm weather and a bit of sun in Ganavan yesterday so had high hopes that the ferry to Barra would be running. For the last 2.5hrs of the 5 hour trip I had changed my mind and wished it had been cancelled. I usually fair ok on choppy seas but not yesterday. I arrived on Barra feeling rather empty.
You’re encouraged to use campsites on Barra if you bring a van across to help preserve the environment although there are a couple of recommended areas for overnight parking. Feeling ropey, I headed to Vatersay Community centre which was one of these spots to find it all fenced off for building work but had remembered spotting a big pull in with views of the bay so headed back there for the night, I wasn’t in the mood to drive around.
The Outer Hebrides are known for being rugged and for having white sand beaches so I went for a walk in search of some and wasn’t disappointed, particularly as the sun had come out. Back to my van for the last of Mum’s homemade dinners and an early night with the (gentle) wind rocking me to sleep.
Photos to follow...
Ottery to Oban – 548 miles.
I know I’m not in a rush, but old habits die hard and I’ve made it to Oban in 2 days. I had an overnight stop on a campsite in Bolton Le Sands near Morecambe last night – one that I’ve been to a few times now and have realised the only reason I go there is because they have goats. It’s muddy, very little flat ground, exposed and has annoying showers but there’s something about washing up outside and having a chat with the goats which keeps me going back.
Bertha’s behaved admirably and I’m rewarding her with a rest, I’d be surprised if I cover another 548 miles in the next couple of months. The last time I came to Ganavan near Oban in October, I swam in the sea and bbq’d – I’m just wondering now whether I should turn my van to be more protected from the wind and whether my bike cover is still going to be there in the morning. The forecast for the Outer Hebrides is mixed, but no snow due at the moment which is good news. Today’s ferry to Barra was cancelled due to the high swell – tomorrow looks calmer so I’ve booked on it, might have to dig my stugeron out just in case.
