Six Weeks and Counting (Planning)
April 5 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 6 °C
The idea of cycling the Outer Hebridean Way has been on my bucket list for a few years now. Using 2 ferries and 6 causeways to hop between a total of 10 islands, the route begins on the Island of Vatersay near the southern tip of the archipelago and ends 185 miles later at the Butt of Lewis lighthouse in the far north. According to the guidebook, there is no danger of getting lost as the route is way-marked throughout its length, although since the introduction of cycle specific GPS computers, way-marking is of lesser importance.
I had a half-attempt at planning it in 2021, in the mist of the Covid era, when staycations were all the rage. There are limited places to stay on the islands, and most were already fully booked for the whole of that year and into 2022. We switched our plans to waking the Northumberland Way and put the Outer Hebrides trip on the back burner. In January this year I took another look at it. The plan is to cycle the route, together with my friend and long-term cycling buddy Stuart, and be supported by our significant others on the Broom Wagon. For non-cyclists that’s the vehicle with responsibility for sweeping up stragglers who are unable to make it to the finish.
For what is essentially a 3-day cycle, planning is disproportionately complicated. Firstly, the Outer Hebrides are a long way from Edinburgh and the roads to the nearest ports aren’t exactly of motorway standard. Then there are the ferries, or given recent experience, then there aren’t the ferries. Even assuming they are running as scheduled, they don’t exactly lend themselves to the logistics of cycle touring. For us it means either an early breakfast and relentlessly chasing the boarding time or a leisurely pootle and stretching out the coffee stops to pass the time until the ferry arrives.
To further complicate matters, there seems to have been an agreement between hoteliers to offer 2-night minimum stays in the islands’ (limited) tourist accommodation. Whether resulting from a desire to maximise the income from one pair of sheets, or simply an aversion to the sight of middle-aged men stuffed into Lycra, it is not conducive to planning a cycle tour. Even with a relaxed schedule, a cyclist will be about 40 miles and potentially a ferry crossing away from their accommodation by the end of a day’s cycle. This probably explains why most of the blogs I read have the cyclists camping overnight.
Nevertheless, the trip has the makings of an epic adventure and the prospect of walking on white sandy beaches, seeing dolphins and finally (maybe) seeing the Northern Lights for the first time are enticing.Read more
