The lads discover whiskey.
36 photos
Fern, Braz, Blackie and myself met at London Euston station on the Friday evening. We boarded the overnight train to Scotland and stored our bicycles; our adventure had begun.
View the full gallery →The Hebridean Way, end to end, then on to Skye and down to Fort William.
The train pulled into Tyndrum at around 8am. It had been a long night; sitting upright and changing trains in Edinburgh. However, we unloaded our bikes and found the nearest cafe.
Our first of many Scottish breakfasts. We cycled on a pleasant day to Oban — mainly downhill, so an easy introductory ride. Nice B&B on the waterfront of Oban.
We stocked up on food and took the ferry to Castlebay on the Isle of Barra. The weather was perfect and we made a very beautiful cycle to Vatersay island to see cows on the beach — the official starting point of the Hebridean Way.
Once the fog cleared the ferry took us to Eriskay island, famed for the Whisky Galore event. We then cycled across South Uist and Benbecula and reached Grimsay via causeways.
Breakfast at the fishing port, then a cycle across North Uist, finishing in Berneray.
The ferry took us to the Isle of Harris. Our first wet day. Stayed in a delightful bunk house — Fern and Blackie explored on bikes whilst I treated myself to a Harris tweed jacket and drank whisky with Braz.
A big cycling day. We were a bit worried about the climb out of Talbot but it went well. The entry into the Isle of Lewis was over a small bridge, not actually another island. We made it to the Otter Bunkhouse — alas, no otters.
A tough cycle to Mangersta sea stack, but the sun came out and it was beautiful. Visited the Callanish Stones and made it to the blackhouse village. Stayed in a cosy blackhouse, cooked a big pasta dish and drank whisky by the roaring fire. Wonderful.
Made it to the Butt of Lewis and completed the Hebridean Way — very enjoyable. Then a tough cycle into the wind to Stornoway, the capital of the Outer Hebrides.
A rest day. Fern & I explored Stornoway, then took a taxi to Talbot, and we all caught the ferry to Uig.
We took a back road and had a very scenic ride on a sunny day.
The day started with a tour of the Talisker distillery — I had three shorts, which resulted in a happy day’s cycling.
A quick sprint down to Armadale where we caught the ferry to the mainland at Mallaig. We then cycled to Arisaig and had a fun time watching the Highland Games.
A delightful day’s cycling. Stopped at Glenfinnan and watched the “Harry Potter” train cross the impressive viaduct. That evening we boarded the overnight train to London — a very successful tour, organised by Fern.