Cycling UK Forum

Andy,

My wife and I did roughly the same route as you but other way round (north to south) last year, you are certainly going the right way if the winds are like we had!

I was glad to see this place after hours in the saddle http://www.polocharinn.com/ and it serves the best fish chowder I've ever had with very bike freindly staff, if you need a good feed and get chance its worth a visit.

Have a great trip,

Richard

whippet020207 wrote:Andy,

My wife and I did roughly the same route as you but other way round (north to south) last year, you are certainly going the right way if the winds are like we had!

I was glad to see this place after hours in the saddle http://www.polocharinn.com/ and it serves the best fish chowder I've ever had with very bike freindly staff, if you need a good feed and get chance its worth a visit.

Have a great trip,

Richard

Thanks for the tip - it looks like a nice place (and I love fish chowder!). The weather isn't looking too great at the moment - just trying to work out which way the winds are going to blow (we haven't settled on our direction yet).

I did that trip 3 years ago with an old pal, fantastic! Physically its an easy trip we did it over 9 days on a Cal Mac Hopscotch ticket. With a few days in Stornaway and some day trips round and about.

We stayed at B&B's, and frequented many pubs in the evenings mingling with the locals so I can't make any specific recs because your party is different. I remember Gaelic storytellers, velvet crab fishermen, and the Whiskey Galore crowd on Barra. We went last two weeks in April and had super sunny weather 14 degrees mostly with only one day of rain.

Don't miss the Stornaway Fishermans cooperative, a hidden gem where you could get oilskin Sowesters. Visit a weaver on Harris. Its just great scenery, especially on Skye. The MacDonald Clan museum is interesting.

The only memorable meal was the Fish and Chip shop at Malaig. You ordered and waited outside for it to be cooked. Best Fish and Chips ever!

I have done the Southern Hebrides too (Arran, Islay, Jura and Bute) coinciding with the Islay Jazz festival in September, another great trip.

Al

It would be Whisky Galore on Barra.Whiskey is Irish and the stuff on Eriskay was Scotch.Sorry to be pedantic but I used to make the stuff.So far as direction is concerned check the weather forecast carefully.In high pressure over the area there is often a strong north or north east wind which makes the trip a bit miserable.I speak from the experience of quite a few trips in the "wrong" direction.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. The bikes are in the car, and we're heading up to Oban this afternoon/evening to catch tomorrow's ferry. The forecast is all over the place (Met Office has 28mph Northerlies on Saturday, 23mph Southerlies on Sunday), so we're going to be struggling into headwinds whichever way we go; we're going to head to Barra first. Monday looks awful (weather wise), but the rest just looks cool and showery and windy. As long as we get a bit of sun between showers I don't mind too much! Now, what have we forgotten...?

Well, I can report that the trip was a great success, despite the best efforts of the weather! Having looked at the forecast we decided on lightweight sleeping bags (night time temps around 4C), only to get up on the first morning near Oban to find it -6C! Fortunately it warmed up. We camped on Vatersay the first night, then battled strong northerlies (stopping for a fine lunch at the Polochar Inn - thanks whippet020207) up to the Howmore hostel (very cosy, and full of cyclists - thanks for those who recommended the Gatliffe Trust), followed by a sunny day with strong Southerlies up to Berneray. We stayed there for a day of gales and rain, then moved on (more rain and gales, but blowing the right way) to Tarbert. I wouldn't recommend the hostel there, but it was convenient for the 0730 ferry to Uig. We then had bright and improving weather (but still SW head winds) as we went down Skye (wild camp a bit S of Sligachan) to Arisaig, then Strontian, and Craignure before catching the ferry back to Oban.

The lad really enjoyed his first tandem tour (after several in the child seat) and demanded more, so last week he and I (with my wife back at work) wandered around North Yorkshire, through the Dales, Vale of York and North Yorkshire Moors, to finish at the railway museum in York. All in all 450 miles in a couple of weeks. The highlight of his holiday was us making it up Boltby bank in the N. York Moors (a double chevron hill) without stopping - he was dead chuffed!

AndyB wrote:then moved on (more rain and gales, but blowing the right way) to Tarbert. I wouldn't recommend the hostel there, but it was convenient for the 0730 ferry to Uig. !

Yes, when I stayed there the Tarbert hostel looked like it was going for the world record for the most sets of bunks squeezed in to a dorm. It wasn't a problem as I was the only person there that night. I can imagine the hostel would be very cramped if all the bunks were taken.

Nice one Andy, that sounds like a great trip and makes me want to go back.

Glad the Pollacher INN is still up to standard, maybe I'll get back there this year.

Cheers

Ric