Island hopping

How to make a week disappear. Come to the Orkney Islands, buy an island hopper ferry ticket. That’s it, that’s all you need to do - a week has gone, just like magic.

I love islands – that feeling when the ramp goes down on the ferry, you double check with the ferryman what time it’s coming back and then you’re free to explore for a day. There were a few islands which I definitely wanted to visit whilst I was here – adding up the cost of them meant it made sense to buy the island hopper ticket so I could jump on any ferry I wanted to for the week. All for the princely sum of £42. I went to a couple on foot, the others I took a bike over as it’s the best way to see more in a day. I went to Hoy twice as there was too much to do in a day, and even then I didn’t see it all mainly due to spending a whole afternoon watching sea eagles when I’d planned to be cycling. I’ve been to museums, visited memorials and cemeteries, seen Neolithic ruins, watched puffins, spotted seals, chatted to people on the ferries and also had some time to explore mainland Orkney. The main town, Kirkwall is a good sized town full of local and arty shops and has made an ideal base. I also met up with an old colleague yesterday evening – the first person I’ve seen that I knew in over 2 months, not that it feels like that at all.

 I’m booked on a ferry back to mainland Scotland tomorrow but I could easily spend another couple of weeks here. I can’t think of anywhere in the UK where 2 weeks could be filled so easily, be so beautiful and leave you with a permanent smile. (Flights direct from Edinburgh or Glasgow to Kirkwall, just in case anyone was wondering :-) )

The Orkneys

The Orkneys weren’t on my original list of places I was going to go to but the possibility of meeting up with an ex-colleague planted the idea in my mind. So after thinking about it I decided that I would come over, but I’d come on my bike with a tent to save the cost of bringing Bertha over. Then I saw the weather forecast and thought I would freeze as I’ve only got a summer sleeping bag with me and would probably spend as much on campsites and eating out as I would by bringing the van over so the plan was in place, Me and Bertha were off to the Orkneys for a couple of weeks.
So far I’ve been here for 4 days. 
Day 1: Some military history – the Islands are rich in Naval history in particular with a lot of reminders of what has happened here. Coming in on the ferry you pass a WW2 coastal battery site, concrete blocks now with cows grazing around them so I walked to see them. Then, possibly one of my favourites of the trip so far – The Italian Chapel. Grandad told me about this from one of his visits here so it was on my list even before I read any tourist brochures. Designed and built by two Italian Prisoners of War, it’s a couple of nissen huts which they turned into a beautiful chapel using scrap material and homemade tools. The inside is all painted – those aren’t tiles on the walls…

Day 2: Finally a day with no wind forecast and no rain until the afternoon. Bike time! Within about 10 minutes of leaving Bertha I was soaked, I stopped for an early lunch to try and warm up, before starting the ride back and getting soaked again. Back at the van I took my wet kit off and got into bed to try and warm up a bit. It did mean I saw a good chunk of Orkney mainland though and had a day on my bike which has been fairly impossible with the wind for the last couple of weeks.

Day 3: Rain. I had a walk planned so donned my waterproofs and drove the 10mins to the car park. That was the plan, Bertha had other ideas though and after a couple of minutes, her fan belt was screeching, the oil light came on, along with the battery light, rev counter went to 0 and I figured I’d better stop. It’s raining, I’m in the middle of nowhere and I have no phone signal. I decided to carry on for a minute as I knew there was a shop coming up and hoped nothing would explode in that time! It didn’t and I called my breakdown from the shop. Within an hour and half the islands recovery man came out and towed me into Kirkwall to a garage who said they’d be able to sort her out that day. At first I thought what a rubbish place to break down, but it was actually about the best place of my entire trip so far that it could have happened. Maybe it’s Bertha’s way of reminding me that I was thinking about leaving her on the mainland whilst I came over, but she seems fine now. 

Day 4: Rain, wind, cold. It’s like winter! Today was the first day that I’ve admitted defeat. I did go out for a couple of short walks but it was no fun so I parked up mid afternoon and haven’t been out since. The forecast is slightly better for the next few days so hopefully they’ll be less eventful and the sun might even make an appearance.

The North West

It's the people you meet

I'm not a particularly sociable person (wonder where I get that from..) but most days I have conversations with interesting people. The last couple of days have been no exception.

On Wednesday morning I was on a campsite to do some washing and helped a lady work the machines to put hers on. We talked whilst our washing was doing, mainly our travel plans but she also gave me tips on how to prolong the life of pants between washes! Stella, a semi retired stop smoking advisor from Nottingham. 

Wednesday night I parked up near another van in a beach car park and whilst watching the sunset we started talking. They ended up inviting me into their van and we passed the evening with camping stories. Dave and Pauline, really interesting people - a woodturner and a Potter from the Isle of Arran.

Thursday morning, I caught the passenger ferry across the Kyle of Durness as I wanted to walk the 12 miles to Cape Wrath lighthouse, the North Western tip of the UK. There's a minibus that runs so after agreeing it with the driver, I'd catch that back (everyone else was getting the minibus both ways). On hearing my plans, Stella who was off on the trip with her husband came over to me and asked if I actually wanted to walk or if I was trying to save money. If it was the latter then she wanted to pay my bus fare for me. I wanted to walk, but really appreciated her kind gesture.

A mile from the lighthouse I saw an older man walking with full kit across the hill. I waved but didn't wait for him, if he was at the end of a long trail walk alone the last thing he'd want would be company for the final mile, I knew I'd see him at the lighthouse. Steve from Accrington, he'd just completed the Cape Wrath trail, the toughest trail walk in the UK and once I'd told him the date, he worked out he'd been walking for 22 days. It was the first long walk he'd done without his wife who is too old to carry kit now, and after this one he's decided he is too. He was tired and weathered and just relieved to have finished. He caught the minibus back and I drove him from the ferry jetty to the campsite, a shake of hands and he disappeared to put his tent up. 

I'll never see any of them again, but they've been great company. I'll not be running out of clean pants any time soon and if I ever find myself feeling tempted to do the Cape Wrath trail, I'll know who to blame.

Sandwood Bay

If you ever see a top 10 of British beaches, Sandwood Bay will usually feature. In fact, it usually features at Number 1. It's also one of the most isolated, being 4.5 miles from any road or house and only a 9 mile walk from Cape Wrath, the North West tip of mainland Britain. 
I've known of Sandwood Bay for a while but it's always been too far to go, I knew that this would be the trip I'd make it there on.

A 9mile walk is perfectly do-able but why rush it? When I packed Bertha 6 weeks ago I put my backpack and camping kit in solely for today, to be able to wildcamp at Sandwood Bay.  Today was originally going to be Saturday but the weather forecast looked so much better for Sunday and Monday so I held off, and after waking up to wind and rain on Sunday, Today turned into Monday.

It's been the first hot day of my trip, the perfect day to spend on this beautiful beach. From the first glimpse of turquoise sea to the huge sand dunes and the mile long stretch of golden sand and then that sense of isolation. I was worried that having seen photos and read about it that it might be a let down but I needn't have worried in the slightest! 

I'm now high above the beach with my tent pitched waiting for the sun to go down. I can see the Cape Wrath lighthouse and another tent in the far distance but that's it for civilisation until tomorrow when I get back to Bertha. A little bit scary but the perfect way to see and feel Sandwood Bay. 


I don't think any photos will do it justice, but here are a few:

The Outer Hebrides

As I mentioned in my last post, I’m now back on the mainland having caught the ferry from Stornoway to Ullapool on Sunday (no mal de mer bags needed this time)

I loved the Outer Hebrides, they were friendly, sleepy islands – nothing happened in a rush, there’s a greater chance of bumping into a sheep than a person and you’re never far from a white sandy beach, often with seals on the rocks. I went to 10 islands in total but because of how the land is and with so many being connected by causeways and with the Isles of Harris and Lewis actually being the part of the same land mass you don’t always know when you’re changing islands.

My highlights from each of the main islands:

Barra – the friendliness of the people and sense of community, everyone knew each others business and they were more than happy to gossip to an outsider! The beaches around the airport, watching a plane take off and land, and seeing porpoises.

South Uist – It’s a fairly long, deserted strip of an island, with nothing which really stood out from the other islands. But and this is a big but, I saw a wild otter on a beach, so I’d go back. Oh, and lots of seals really close to shore. Maybe it did stand out. 

Benbecula – the sweeping white sand beaches


North Uist – the beaches in the north. I went out walking for a day in the sun and stood on a sand dune ridge which joined onto another ridge. On all sides were white sand beaches and turquoise blue seas and I didn’t see another person all day. 

Harris – the contrast of the beaches with the lunar type rocks. The biggest hill I’ve ever cycled up.

Lewis – birds of prey, so many eagles and buzzards. An unexpected highlight – Lews Castle grounds in Stornoway. So much more than castle grounds – I went for 2 walks, went Segwaying for the first time and had a ride around the MTB trails in the 2 days I was there.

There is also one other highlight. The reason I first wanted to come to the Outer Hebrides is that I’d seen a photo online of cows on a beach on the Isle of Lewis. On South Uist, North Uist and Lewis I saw cows on beaches. 700 miles to see a cow on a beach – it was worth every mile of it.

Isle of Lewis

Sunburn

Does your van have heating? 

No.

Isn't it cold?

Yes.

That's not quite true. During the day I'm not cold as I've not been in fewer than 3 layers for the majority of the trip and at night, pyjamas, winter duvet, fleece blanket and in extremis - a fleece onesie are keeping me warm, but it has been chilly. 

I've been lucky in that I've had very little rain, but the wind has been relentless and it's getting a bit annoying now. A couple of days ago I woke up to snow which has settled by the coast near Stornoway which was a surprise. Tonight I'm back on the mainland near Ullapool being battered by the weather in the snow capped mountains with snow and 50mph winds forecast overnight with a wet and windy day tomorrow. My bargain £20 bike cover is surprisingly still covering my bikes, helped by the 2 ratchet straps to try and stop the wind catching it too much. It's a good job I don't like too much sun and hot weather.