The West Coast of Scotland is a great place to go bike touring and with a week off I headed back North, this time to Oban, a place I had never been to before, to continue my exploration of this beautiful area. My original idea was to take the ferry to Mull and spend some time there but having looked at some of the ferry options available I decided to head for the Outer Hebrides instead. Caledonian Macbain run the ferry services from Oban and are a great way to get around the western isles, for cyclists they are amazing value too as bikes go for free, you just pay a foot passenger fee. In summer the ferry leaves Oban at 13.30 for the 4 hour 45 minute voyage to Castlebay on Barra, at the Southerly end of the Hebrides, (the ticket cost £15.15 one-way).

Day 1 (Mon 15th July)  Oban to Barra    With the ferry departing at 13.30 this left the morning free to explore Oban on the bike, I first went along the quiet, dead-end coastal road for 2 miles or so to explore the peaceful sandy bay at Ganavan, then retraced my route back into town to visit McCaig’s Tower on Battery hill which overlooks the town, it’s not very far to the tower but it’s up some very steep residential roads and with a fully packed bike it got me huffing and puffing up to the top. It’s well worth the effort though as the views are stunning. Next it was back into town for a short scenic ride along the Sound of Kerrera, I only went as far as the campsite though. Then it was back into town for a full Scottish breakfast and waited for the ferry. The weather stayed warm and sunny for the rest of the day and I spent most of the outward ferry journey outside, on the upper observation deck, chatting to Angela, who was also with her bike. She was hoping to do the Hebridean Way cycle route (waymarked as route NCN 780), which starts in Vatersay and finishes on the Northerly tip of Lewis , a total of 185 miles. I knew nothing about this route and was just hoping to visit the islands. The Hebridean Way cycle route was launched in 2016 and Mark Beaumont was recruited to ride the 185 mile route in 24 hours to publicise it. Once off the ferry we turned left and cycled to the end of Barra and over the causeway to Vatersay and continued on until we ran out of tarmac and then returned to Castlebay where Angela was booked into the handily placed Dunard Hostel, unfortunately they were now completely full, so I headed back to Vatersay by myself, to a beautiful white sandy beach we passed earlier and found an ideal spot for an overnight bivi.

Day 2 (Tuesday 16th July)  Barra to Berneray   After a good nights sleep I awoke about 6.00am and packed my stuff away in the pleasant morning sun. I then cycled back to Castlebay and up a rather long steep hill to the ferry on the far side of the island, this would take us across the Sound of Barra to the small island of Eriskay. Here I teamed up with Angela again as we traversed the island and crossed the causeway to take us onto South Uist. The terrain on the Uist’s in general was fairly flat and the direction we were going meant that the South-Westerly wind was on our backs most of the time. After a while cycling we called into the Kildonan Museum and cultural centre, it also has a good cafe where we stopped for a coffee and a meal. We then continued North on the main road, which became increasingly a single track road with passing places and crossed over the causeway onto North Uist and took the left hand fork at Clachan that took us round the top of the island, past Sollas, before turning off north and crossing yet another causeway onto the island of Berneray. The weather was changing now and becoming quite stormy and we rolled into Bernarey Hostel about 5.00pm, it was only a couple of small, single storey thatched roofed cottages and it looked quite full, luckily there were a couple of free beds. There was a lively and mixed group of people staying there that night, a mixture of cyclists, walkers and travellers some of whom were heading North to Stornaway for the Hebridean Celtic Festival (HebCelt), which was happening at the end of the week. We went to bed that night with the sound of folk songs being sung in the kitchen next door.

Day 3 (Wed 17th July)  Berneray to Harris    We awoke to the sound of wind and rain lashing against the windows and it looked like it was in for the day. After a quick breakfast it was back on the bike again for the 2 miles or so trip down to the ferry landing, this would take us across the Sound of Harris to Leverburgh on Harris. There was no let-up in the rain and soon we had to stop to put all the rain-gear on. We passed some fine looking beaches which looked stunning even in the deluge and the terrain was certainly more hilly than the Uists with some long climbs on the way to Tarbert. It was a relief to finally pull in to town and we looked straight away for a cafe to get some food and get warmed up again, but everybody else seemed to have the same idea and they were full, so in the end we settled for the local fish and chip shop instead. Tarbert is a ferry port with regular sailings to Skye (Uig), there is also a gin distillery with whisky on the way too, it has a good little store selling most things and a Hostel, which was also full. Refreshed and warmed up we set off again heading North to try the Hostel at Rhenigidale, about 21km away, it’s another long, steady climb through the hills but the turn-off for Rhenigidale soon appears, it’s a very quiet road that drops down to the shores of Loch Seaforth, before a long steep climb over the pass and a steep drop down to the charming hamlet of Rhenigidale with its hostel. We got there about 4.00pm, enough time to get some gear washed, get a shower and sit outside in the now much improved weather and enjoy the situation of this very pleasant hostel with some nice people. It was even more pleasant when another guy turned up with 2 bottles of single malt and insisted on sharing most of it. I was now running out of time on this holiday, I really wanted to complete the Hebridean Way, all the way to the lighthouse at the Butt of Lewis but that wouldn’t leave me enough time to get back to Oban on Friday, so I was resigned to cycling back to Tarbert tomorrow and taking the ferry from there to Uig on Skye and cycling back to Oban.

Day 4 (Thurs 18th July)  Harris to Skye   It was hard saying goodbye to my cycling companions knowing they were going to complete the ride but it gives me a reason to come back here one day. It was a steep pull-up almost immediately from leaving the hostel as the small road weaved its way up and down and back to the main road to Tarbert, I managed to make it back to town in the dry but as soon as I did there was a torrential downpour. The ferry to Skye took a couple of hours and was a chance to get a coffee and relax a while, it was about 2.00pm as I cycled away from Uig under leaden skies, it didn’t take long for the rain to start, gentle at first then a full-on prolonged deluge. I kept on going and as I approached Sligachan the traffic got quite busy, a mixture of heavy rain, traffic and road spray made it quite an unpleasant ride, conditions eased by the time I reached Broadford at about 5.00pm but I’d had enough by then and checked into the backpackers hostel there. After a hot shower and a change of clothes I felt much better and headed off into the small town for pasty and chips and the local chippy.

Day 5 (Fri 19th July)  Skye to Oban   I left Broadford the next morning at about 8.00am and after yet another heavy shower, which lasted for an hour or so, conditions rapidly improved and turned it into a beautiful day for cycling. I turned right off the main road and headed down the A851 for 17miles, heading for the ferry at Armadale, it was a quiet pleasant road. I didn’t have long to wait here before the Mallaig ferry arrived for the 30 minute crossing of the Sound of Sleet, back to the Scottish mainland again.  I followed the main Mallaig to Fort William road for 19 miles to Lochailort before turning off right on the much quieter and very scenic A861 which heads down to Strontian, then around the head of Loch Sunart, then up a very long steep climb, before eventually dropping down to Lochaline, where there is a ferry across the Sound of Mull to Fishnish on the island of Mull. I had enough time here to enjoy a much needed cheese burger and mug of tea before the ferry arrived for the 30 minute sailing. Once off the ferry on Mull it was an easy 5 mile ride down to the main ferry terminal at Craignure for the hour long crossing back to Oban, arriving there about 8.00pm. I was already booked into the very comfortable Oban hostel a short distance away along the sea front.

I really enjoyed this week away, it was done at short notice and I never really had anything planned, carrying the sleeping bag and bivi bag gives you the flexibility and confidence to do this, as you know whatever happens, you have got somewhere to sleep. I had explored a part of Scotland I’ve never been to before and it has given me ideas for lots more trips around this area.