Sunday strict observance on Outer Hebrides northern isles

[mikeymo]

Planning cycling the Hebridean Way. I know the southern islands (South Uist, Eriskay) very well, we've holidayed there for the past 8 years, including a bit of cycling, and my father was born and raised in South Uist.

The southern islands don't seem to bother much with the Sunday observance thing. But apparently the northern ones do. If you were cycling the Hebridean Way, is it best to avoid Harris/Lewis (North Uist too?) on a Sunday? Will I starve to death?

EDIT. I'll be staying in hostels/B&B. Maybe even a hotel if that's the only way to get access to food!

I'm planning 4 days:
Barra to Howmore
Howmore to Berneray
Bernaray to Rhenigidale
Rhenigidale to Stornoway.

[Paulatic]

Quite possibly
Last year I left Stornaway at 9 am it resembled a ghost town. Cycled to Tarbert and midway chatted to a Dutch couple cycling The opposite way. The lady was in need of coffee and they had passed nowhere open. I was the bearer of bad news as I’d passed nowhere open.
I got to Tarbert for 2 the hostel had just opened but nowhere else. Enquiring about food the lady running the hostel said I was out of luck. The hotel which would normally have done food couldn’t find staff and weren’t doing food except for residents.
I didn’t have to break into my emergency dried rations as I did find a pub open which serves Pizza Nothing else just Pizza. I enjoyed it along with a number of other cyclists who found it.
I imagine Lewis could be worse as they seem to have larger churches with huge car parks. A reminder posted at the campsite on Lewis A reminder to guests, We don’t hang washing out on the Sabbath Guests are asked to respect this tradition

[bogmyrtle]

The islands aren't awash with coffee shops at the best of times although places that are open for tourists often have a coffee machine if they don't have any catering. There are a few outlets including petrol stations open in and around Stornoway on a Sunday.
The Harris hotel is open for food on a Sunday also Hotel Hebrides.
It's safer to stock up on a Saturday than hope to find somewhere along the way.

[mikeymo]

Quite possibly
Last year I left Stornaway at 9 am it resembled a ghost town. Cycled to Tarbert and midway chatted to a Dutch couple cycling The opposite way. The lady was in need of coffee and they had passed nowhere open. I was the bearer of bad news as I’d passed nowhere open.
I got to Tarbert for 2 the hostel had just opened but nowhere else. Enquiring about food the lady running the hostel said I was out of luck. The hotel which would normally have done food couldn’t find staff and weren’t doing food except for residents.
I didn’t have to break into my emergency dried rations as I did find a pub open which serves Pizza Nothing else just Pizza. I enjoyed it along with a number of other cyclists who found it.
I imagine Lewis could be worse as they seem to have larger churches with huge car parks. A reminder posted at the campsite on Lewis A reminder to guests, We don’t hang washing out on the Sabbath Guests are asked to respect this tradition

Thanks. Did you get as far as North Uist and/or Benbecula? If they are "shut" on Sundays too it makes the trip a bit of a pain. I'm guessing that there will be something open on Benbecula because of the military - I remember reading somewhere that the NAFFE at the military base is the only one open to the public.

[bogmyrtle]

Where are you likely to be on a Sunday?

[mikeymo]

Where are you likely to be on a Sunday?

Not sure. I'm not on a very fixed timetable. That's mainly why I'm asking, to help decide which day to do it.

I'm planning 4 days:
Barra to Howmore
Howmore to Berneray
Bernaray to Rhenigidale
Rhenigidale to Stornoway.

That gives me about 35 miles a day.

I'll carry on to the top of the Heb Way if I've got time/energy. Otherwise stay in Stornoway for the ferry.

So if North Uist is still "open" on a Sunday, I could do the first two days on Saturday and Sunday. Then back to normal on Monday and Tuesday for Harris and Lewis.

If North Uist also shuts on Sunday, I could just move everything a day later. The Barra to Eriskay ferry goes on Sundays.

[Cyril Haearn]

Sunday one goes to church, the wee wee frees are very welcoming, they even switch to English so visitors may join in
Big car parks at churches, minusplus? Roads should be very quiet for a while

Is the Sabbath kept on Skye in like manner?

[mikeymo]

The islands aren't awash with coffee shops at the best of times although places that are open for tourists often have a coffee machine if they don't have any catering. There are a few outlets including petrol stations open in and around Stornoway on a Sunday.
The Harris hotel is open for food on a Sunday also Hotel Hebrides.
It's safer to stock up on a Saturday than hope to find somewhere along the way.

Thanks. I guess if I identify one or two places who definitely do hot food on a Sunday and work those into the route it should work. As well as stocking up the day before on shortbread/fruit/stuff for evening meal. It's only one day, so with a little planning should be OK.

Also the roads might be quieter if people are that observant. Not that it's ever exactly the M25 up there, is it?

[bogmyrtle]

If you are staying at the Gatliff Trust hostels why don't you just self cater?
The hostels aren't really anywhere near evening opening facilities.
You meet interesting (and some very odd ) people in hostels. One of the best nights I've had in a hostel was at Berneray where a music session kind of developed. It involved guitars whistles, pots, pans, spoons and singing. Great fun.

[mikeymo]

If you are staying at the Gatliff Trust hostels why don't you just self cater?
The hostels aren't really anywhere near evening opening facilities.
You meet interesting (and some very odd ) people in hostels. One of the best nights I've had in a hostel was at Berneray where a music session kind of developed. It involved guitars whistles, pots, pans, spoons and singing. Great fun.

Yes, I'm planning on hostelling (or maybe B&B ing) for sleeping. But I don't want to be dragging my food for the whole trip around. So would, for instance, stock up at Daliburgh Co-op for the stay at Howmore. Then at whatever is on N Uist for Berneray etc.

It's mainly the thought of being stuck in the wind and rain, on a bike, on an island where I can't get any sustenance at all that was worrying me.

Though looking at this:

https://www.fionaoutdoors.co.uk/2018/04/how-to-cycle-the-hebridean-way-2.html

I don't know if I've misunderestimated my distances. Maybe she took diversions.

I've also not planned to go to the Butt of Lewis, which actually misses a lot out. Problem with going right to the top is it adds 2 days, a day to get there, and a day to get back down to Stornoway. That does push my timetable and fixes me to almost certainly being on the northern islands on a Sunday. Also, this will be the first time I've ever done this. I've cycled 30 miles in the Outer Hebrides, no problem. And 4 consecutive days I'm fairly confident of. 6 days, without a day off, not so much.

[Paulatic]

I found it easy to do more miles per day than I’d intended as there’s no real hills. Without any planning I think I got lucky with the ferries and never waited long. I met a guy who’d booked accommodation along the way and after day he realised they weren’t far enough apart.
I did ride up to the Butt of Lewis if I get the chance to go back I wouldn’t bother to do that bit again. I’d explore the Callanish area more.

It was the Harris Hotel, mentioned up thread, which wasn’t open for meals on the Sunday. Lack off staff in mid May.

[mikeymo]

I found it easy to do more miles per day than I’d intended as there’s no real hills.

Yes, I know what you mean. I've hardly done any "serious" long distance cycling, and I've never toured. But I remember one evening when the weather looked fine setting out from Eriskay, taking the "back road" which is actually NCN 780 to Daliburgh, then back. It was 20 miles, 2 hours and I barely felt it. And I don't really consider myself a cyclist.

[mikeymo]

I found it easy to do more miles per day than I’d intended as there’s no real hills. Without any planning I think I got lucky with the ferries and never waited long. I met a guy who’d booked accommodation along the way and after day he realised they weren’t far enough apart.
I did ride up to the Butt of Lewis if I get the chance to go back I wouldn’t bother to do that bit again. I’d explore the Callanish area more.

It was the Harris Hotel, mentioned up thread, which wasn’t open for meals on the Sunday. Lack off staff in mid May.

Seeing as you've hostelled there, can I ask you if Gatliff's policy - "you can't book but we've never turned anybody away" works? And if there are any other hostels/bunkhouses like that?

I'm wondering whether a better planning strategy might be:

Don't book anywhere except maybe for the last stop (or two last stops). So I book the penthouse suite at the Stornoway Hilton for the last day, for instance.
Check forecast every day, on good days get as far as possible, missing out one hostel. On bad days do less.
So on Sunday evening I look at the forecast for Monday - fine all day, strong southerly wind. But Tuesday is forecast horrible.
So I go to bed early, get up at the crack of dawn Monday, push it a bit, and do 60 miles. Tuesday slog through the rain for 30 miles.

Of course that's based on the idea that there will be a mixture of good and bad days. If they are all bad days it would just be a sub optimal user experience.

[ambodach]

Skye observe the Sabbath? You must be joking. Money talks on Skye.
It is a while since I have been on Lewis but the supermarket in Stornoway was open on Sunday so far as I remember. My wife’s relatives were all staunch Free Church so had to be very circumspect. Sabbath observance is not as widespread as it once was and the younger generation tend to be more liberal. As said by somebody else eating establishments can be very far apart anyway.

[ambodach]

Cyril Haearn you should read up the history of the Presbyterian churches in Lewis to get the terminology right. The Wee Frees are not the same as the Free Church which tends to predominate.