Dear friends. We're back from an amazing fortnight in Scotland. We completed 2 cycling routes, the Hebridean Way and the Caledonian Way. Total mileage was around 450 miles (724 km). The weather was extremely kind to us, and there were no midges.
As with our epic journey last year from Land's End to John O'Groats, we went with specialists Saddle Skedaddle. The two tours were fully guided and our bags transferred to the accommodation each day. Below: the trailer of bikes on its way to the first ferry.
.jpg "Cycling Adventures in Scotland")
Highlights of the Hebridean Way
I have become addicted to watching programmes about the Hebrides, or Western Isles, on BBC Alba. It was a thrill to finally see some of the islands in person.
The starting point was a car park in Balloch, not far from Glasgow, where we met up with the Skedaddle team of three guides and our fellow cyclists for a transfer by road to Oban.
We quickly bonded on the first ferry journey from Oban which took 6 hours. There were 3 women, including one from Canada, and 8 men. The age group was 50s to early 70s. Most of the group was using ebikes. I hired mine from Skedaddle.
Barra and Vatersay
Visiting Barra and having our picnic lunch at another island Vatersay, accessible by a causeway, was one of my highlights.
Barra (population with Vatersay 1,624) is famous for its airport on a sandy beach. We took the ferry from South Uist to Barra and cycled over to the airport to see a flight arriving from Glasgow. The airport seems to be a bit of a social centre. There were several people enjoying coffee and cakes.
We then cycled to the other side of Barra and hopped into Vatersay. Lunches are usually picnics and we had a lovely location by a sandy beach.
The Hebridean beaches easily rival those of the Caribbean, with their white sand.
There was a bit of hilarity when a young woman appeared from nowhere and ran into the sea, her long hair flying, and we wondered if she was a selkie, because half the group missed her.
Tweed on Harris
Our last island of the holiday was Harris/Lewis. It's one island divided into two separate towns. There was an extraordinarily good long section of cycling along "the golden road". Very up and down, quite thrilling, and hardly any traffic.
We saw hardly any shops in the Hebrides but I was hoping to see some of the famous Harris tweed. Fortunately in the village of Tarbert, where we stayed a night, there were 2 places to buy it. The first sold bolts of tweed and the second had lots of items made from tweed, plus calendars and other souvenirs. I bought a small red tweed bag. I knew you'd be disappointed if I hadn't bought anything.
The islands are all very different. North and South Uist were windswept and bleak with hardly any trees, while Harris was very green. The coastline throughout was spectacular. The finish, Butt of Lewis, famous from the shipping forecast, has an amazing bay. One of our cyclists immediately went swimming. Very impressive! Below: At the finish. It was coincidental that we ended up wearing almost identical jackets (reminiscent of Howard and Hilda, to UK readers of a certain age).
There are many significant historical sites. I loved seeing the Neolithic Stones of Callanish, 4000 to 2500 BC, and the Iron Age broch (tower) at Carloway. Fortunately we arrived early at the broch because 10 coaches of people from a cruise liner was on its way from Stornoway!
All too soon it was back to Balloch and another overnight stay before the rendezvous with the second tour, a different group and guides. I still had the same ebike.
The Caledonian Way is a route from Campbeltown to Inverness. We were even more fortunate with the weather. Temperatures were now in the 20s. Some of our picnics had sun bathing opportunities!
We spotted some seals enjoying the weather.
This group was older (I was the youngest, by a few months) with the top age around 75. Just two women. They were all experienced and strong cyclists, many belonging to cycling clubs. We were the only two on ebikes.
The terrain was varied. I chose to do an off road section which was surprisingly gruelling, and there were disused railway paths, canal towpaths and country lanes. Although the route is called the Caledonian Way, we didn't see the Caledonian canal until our penultimate day.
We were immersed in more stunning scenery, particularly around lochs and in fragrant forests.
We saw several castles plus this Anthony Gormley statue at a deserted bay.
During the two weeks we stayed at many different hotels and guest houses. The menus often featured local favourites like haggis, "tattie scones", cured Scottish salmon and venison. It was only on the last night that my favourite, cranachan, made an appearance, in the form of a cheesecake.
It was great to see more of Scotland. The week in Scotland on LEJOG convinced me we should see more of our neighbour. As an aside, the roads have far fewer pot holes than in England, so cycling is less precarious.
I'd love to see more of the islands - possibly the Northern isles (Shetland, Orkneys) as well as the southern part of the mainland. Stay tooned for more adventures.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
Cycling the Coast to Coast Challenge
FOR MORE MUTTON
Subscribe for 1 email a week from Is This Mutton for an update on posts you may have missed, or follow Is This Mutton on Feedspot. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky
No comments
Post a Comment