Cameron takes to his bike for a challenging traverse of the Outer Isles from Vatersay to the Butt of Lewis.
A USEFUL little guidebook dropped through my letterbox the other day and I wish it had been available 10 years ago. How I could have benefited from this beautifully illustrated guide to the 298km (185-mile) Hebridean Way, a cycling route from Vatersay to the Butt of Lewis in the Western Isles.
Gina and I tried to walk it a few years ago. We started out from Castlebay in Barra in good fettle and fair weather but wind and incessant rain dampened our enthusiasm. We ended up catching a bus from Benbecula to Tarbert in Harris and another to Stornoway and the ferry home.
Sometime later I made a TV programme we called The Hebridean Trail. This mix of bike and hike showed me the wonderful areas we’d missed first time. I was so enthused I went back the next year with a pal and cycled the route again. While the “official” Hebridean Way is fairly new, people have been riding it for decades.
The launch of the newly designated Way a year ago encouraged Pete Martin and Janet Moss from Cumbria to write Cycling on the Edge. The route isn’t difficult to follow, but the guide is full of useful information.
I rode with my pal Hamish Telfer. Mull, Ardnamurchan, Rum and Eigg all looked majestic as we sailed across the Minch from Oban courtesy of CalMac but even these faded into relative insignificance as we swung into Castlebay in the golden hues of a setting Hebridean sun. Lovely Heaval, Barra’s highest summit, rose radiant above the scattering of houses, and the ancient ramparts of Kisimul Castle added romance.
On the ferry we had phoned the excellent Café Kisimul in Castlebay to book a table. There was one problem we’d overlooked. We wanted to begin our bike odyssey in Vatersay, the most southerly inhabited island in the Western Isles, necessitating a big hill climb out of Castlebay and down to the causeway that links the islands.
Denne historien er fra June 2017-utgaven av The Scots Magazine.
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Denne historien er fra June 2017-utgaven av The Scots Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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The Bliss Of A Bothy
After a strenuous walk, a mountain shelter can offer all you need
The Long Way Round
When you can only just see the stepping stones under a river in spate, it's time to re-think the route, as two Highland adventurers found out
The New Oyster Cult
A community is helping to restore the once rich biodiversity of Loch Craignish, one species at a time
A Poet's Sanctuary
Hidden on a hilltop, writer Dominic Cooper is inspired by the wild, stormy winters of the Ardnamurchan peninsula
A Rural Housing Crisis
Across Scotland, locals are being priced out and crowded out - but communities are now working hard to address the issue
A Historic Centre
Glasgow's Mercat Cross may not be as old as it appears but it's still seen many changes, along with an ebb and flow in prosperity
A Bird With A Brain
Jim's encounters with the raven in several northern countries have only increased his respect for its intellect and ingenuity
The Warrior King
On the 750th anniversary of his birth, Robert The Bruce's legacy as cultural keystone and historical enigma continues to fascinate
All Going Swimmingly
From Tutti Frutti to Shetland, Monarch Of The Glen to Granite Harbour, Dawn Steele's heart will always be in Scotland - and the sea
Following The Coos
The latest charity art trail aims to a-moos-e and delight visitors to Perth and Kinross this summer
