Cycling The Outer Hebrides

Cycling the Outer Hebrides had been on our ‘to do’ since we moved to Scotland. We finally got out and cycled the islands and in this blog post, we’re sharing the highs (and lows), our adventure accommodation, itinerary, and our personal experience along the way.

If you’re looking to cycle the Hebridean Way you’re in the right place! Our route didn’t exactly follow the Hebridean Way, but it was super close and our experiences, accommodation, and ferry recommendations will be just as good for you.

If you’re excited to cycle the Outer Hebrides, feel free to use our Hebridean Cycling route. It’s tried and tested – and of course – full of beautiful scenes!

In this article

• Our adventure cycling The Outer Hebrides
• Where to stay on The Outer Hebrides
• How to get started cycling The Hebridean Way?
• The best time to cycle the Outer Hebrides
• Why cycle the Hebrides?
• Final notes on cycling The Hebridean Way
• Your questions about cycling The Outer Hebrides answered

Our adventure cycling The Outer Hebrides

When we cycled The Outer Hebrides we were blessed enough to live a bike ride (or three) away from the start point. We were living in the beautiful Kinlochleven so our journey started right on our doorstep.

If you’re traveling to The Outer Hebrides you’ll likely start at either Vatersay, Isle of Barra or Butt of Lewis (Lewis island). In the next section, I’ve included some notes about The Hebridean Way and how to get to the start points.

Getting to The Hebrides

Day 1: Kinlochleven to Mallaig

Miles: 65

Feet climbed: 2,932

What a day this was! We left our home quite late thinking it would be easy. Well, it wasn’t exactly easy at all. We expected to be in Mallaig with hours to waste, but instead, we had to RACE IT to the ferry to catch our ferry before it departed.

Turned out…

Our ferry wasn’t running at all.

After all our efforts we got to the ferry terminal to find that there was no ferry and literally no way of us getting to Isle of Skye where our paid-for AirBnB was. What a blow.

So let our lesson be a lesson to you: check, check and double-check those ferry times. Ours had changed since we booked them.

We were absolutely exhausted. We walked around Mallaig which is very small and tried to find a room. Everywhere was fully booked. I finally caved and contacted a host on Warmshowers. I felt so rude with a last-minute request.

Just in the nick of time, we saw a BnB vacancy, rushed in, and caught the last room! It cost a pretty penny at £110 but we didn’t care! We really wanted to be close to the ferry and didn’t fancy cycling miles back to find a camp spot.

As I was booking into the BnB, the warmshowers host was unbelievably courteous and even offered to host us at the last minute. So, if you stay with Mark can you tell him I think he’s the most wonderful human?

Day 2: Mallaig to Lochcarron

Miles: 46

Feet climbed: 2,807

Our second day was supposed to be 60 miles, but some of the banks were killer!

We decided to call it a day, get a campsite, some beers and a bbq.

We were on holiday after all.

This was actually really nice for me and Stew to do. When we did our world cycling tour we were always on the go so taking a moment out to enjoy the camping and the cooking was bliss.

We rolled up to Lochcarron went to the shop and loaded up on foot and drink, then up a final bank to the campsite which was stunning.

 

Day 3: Lochcarron to Ullapool

Miles: 90

Feet climbed: 4,265

Started off unpacking our tent and eating a quick jam sandwich and banana before getting back on the road. The lack of wind meant the midges were out and swarming, so there was no time to cook porridge as planned.

We did the 20ish miles to Shieldaig which is where we were supposed to get to last night. With fresh legs the first ascent wasn’t too bad, and after it was stunning riding pretty much all day long.

The hills were enough to feel a challenge but gentle enough to (mostly) enjoy them, then downhill for miles.

The conditions lent themselves so perfectly to a long day in the saddle so we seized the opportunity and decided if … and only if … we could treat ourselves to a room we’d get all the way to Ullapool and enjoy an extra day off the bike tomorrow.

At 50 miles we were feeling strong and although cloudy didn’t expect bad weather so we booked!

Of course, as we are in Scotland, minutes after that booking the heavens opened and the first few stops came down.

We cycled the last 20 miles in the pouring rain. Not too far from Ullapool there’s a 12% descent which was great fun and well-earned, but the heavy rain felt like hail lashing against our face.

It was all part of the adventure though.

We arrived at our Airbnb soaked through but it was super cosy!

This was one of my favourite days on the bike, ever. It felt just like old days, sat in the saddle for about 11 hours and being out in all the elements with my best pal, allowing the adventure to unfold around us.

Day 4: Ullapool to Stornaway

We slept like babies after our long day in the saddle. We got up late then headed straight for the ferry at Stornaway. We were due to depart in the evening, but we asked the reception if we could hop on the earlier ferry and it was super easy to do so. We arrived in Stornaway earlier than expected, had a wander, ate some lunch at The Hub Cafe, which was super cute!

After, we rested, chilled and watched TV in bed! Bliss.

Isle of Lewis & Seaforth
If you’re cycling The Hebridean Way you’d be joining us around about here if cycling North to South.

Day 5: Stornaway to (almost) Blashaval

Miles: 62

Feet climbed: 3,569

After a day off in Stornaway we were ready and rearing to go again.

Well, it was a good job we did have that day off because the wind was savage!

We expected to turn up to the ferry port, south of The Isle of Barra, with ample time spare, but we pushed a headwind almost the entire way which made for a long and tiring today.

We did arrive for the ferry, but caught the last one out.

Parts of the ride were really beautiful, which helped, but there was a lot of rain aswell.

We were treated to heavy downpours between blue skies and sunshine, so there was a lot of jacket-on-jacket-off.

We were feeling a bit deflated getting onto the second and final island, but we pressed on into the wind and most thankfully ended up in the perfect wild camp spot.

It was quiet and off the road. Fairly flat and even a bench to cook and eat.

For once we were happy for the wind — there were no midgies!! We enjoyed a lovely camp in a dreamy place. To be fair, it’s not often you find a wild camp as sweet as that, so that will certainly be memorable.

Isle of Harris, North and South Uist

Day 6: (Almost) Blashaval to Castlebay

Miles: 60

Feet climbed: 2,159

The wind continued on, but we managed to catch perhaps 20 miles of a tailwind that made for some nice riding!

The northern part of the Isle of Uist was seriously remote. I mean, I expected the Hebrides to be remote, but I was surprised!

I wouldn’t recommend Isle of Uist so much actually, but the Southern part was beautiful! Isle of Harris was gorgeous too and that’s where all the stunning beaches are.

When we cycled the headwinds were pretty strong and we had a time line to adhere to so there wasn’t enough freedom to get our feet into the sand. During our cycling of the Isles I did wish for a van. I actually think, all things considered, The Outer Hebrides would be a better van tour than a bike tour.

Castlebay, like Stornaway, is not quite what we expected. Very small and quiet. It was tricky to find somewhere to eat at 6pm. We expected to find more touristy places with more options, but that was ok for us. We don’t need much to e happy that’s for sure.

Leaving the Hebrides

Day 8: Castlebay to Home

Miles: 44

Feet climbed: 1,942

 

On our final day we were up and at the ferry at 6am for a 5 hour ferry, then a 45-mile bike home on familiar territory.

I must admit we were glad to get back to Scotland’s best — The Highlands — or home as it was to us.

The Outer Hebrides are beautiful and we’re glad we visited, but for us, The Highlands is where the magic is.

Our final stats:

• 368 miles by bike
• 5 ferries
• 1 camp
• 1 wild camp
• 4 hotels/guest houses

This trip reminded us how good life is on the bike. Can’t wait for world tour 2.

How to get started cycling The Hebridean Way?

Unlike us, you probably don’t live a few miles away from the Outer Hebrides so you might be wondering how to get there.

Airports

If you’re traveling to Scotland by plane you’ll want to fly to either Glasgow or Edinburgh.

From there you can take a train to the highlands. There’s really not much in the train journey so choose your best airport and take it from there.

That said if you are cycling South to North consider flying to Glasgow as you can train to Oban direct.

Trains

If you’re traveling South to North a train ride from Edinburgh or Glasgow to Oban will set you up well. From there it’s just a ferry across the waters to your start point.

Otherwise, you need to make tracks to Ullapool.

Hebridean Ferry Schedules

You will need to take a few ferries to complete your Outer Hebrides bike ride. We took 5 traveling from Kinlochleven:

• Malaig to Armadale
• Ullapool to Stornoway
• Leverburgh to Bernerey
• Eriskay to Ardmhor
• Castle Bay to Oban

I can’t stress this enough: check, check and double check your ferries. We did have one cancel on us and lost the money on the hotel we were supposed to be staying in.

Where to stay on The Outer Hebrides

Along the Hebrides you will find places to start and since wild camping is legal and perfectly safe if you’ve got a tent you’ll be spoiled for choice.

Here are some of the campsites and hotels we stayed in.

Where to Stay in Mallaig

Although Mallaig was not a stop for us we did end up having to stay in a BnB. Luckily the BnB was genuinely lovely, so I am only too happy to recommend it here.

You can book The Moorings, Mallaig direct on their website, or check out their listing on AirBnB.

 

Where to Stay in Lochcarron

The Wee Campsite is one of those no-frills campsites. Super cute and has everything you need. The views are stunning so recommend walking up to the top of the bank to get a good view. It’s a bit midgey in the morning, but really not too bad.

Where to Stay in Stornaway

No. 8 is a tiny apartment it’s perfectly located and super cute! Ideal for one to two nights and super cheap. The host, Donna, is amazing! Unbeknown to us we had a problem with payment; ours never went through! We found out on the ferry TO Stornaway (enter panic). Luckily, Donna was able to host us anyway.

Where to Stay in Castlebay

We stayed in a lovely BnB, Bayview Guest House. It’s a bit more expensive, but there’s not much choice in Castlebay. We felt well looked after, well hosted and breakfast was lovely. The rooms were great and the home is so stylish and clean.

The best time to cycle the Outer Hebrides

The best time to cycle the Outer Hebrides is definitely the peak of summer, June, July or August. We cycled end of June/early July.

The main reason for this is of course the Scottish weather. You never know what you’ll get even in the summer months it can rain a lot, so edge your bets and give yourself the best chance of some perfect sunny scenes.

For us, the weather was alright actually, a couple of days of rain, but quite a head wind on the Isle of Lewis. We managed a couple camps on route so overall, pretty blessed!

Why cycle the Hebrides?

If our stories weren’t enough to persuade you to hop on the saddle and cycle The Outer Hebrides, here are all the reasons to cycle the Outer Hebrides:

• Visit incredible beaches
• Explore castles and historical sites
• Experience a truly, remote island life
• Take a break from technology and slow down your pace! You won’t be in signal the entire time, that’s for sure.
• It’s a bit of a challenge! Although a fairly flat run we found that cycling The Outer Hebrides was quite difficult at times. The winds were super-strong which is compounded by the flatlands.

Final notes on cycling The Hebridean Way

If you want to cycle The Hebridean Way all the tips in this blog will be useful to you, but here are some extra notes on that route exactly:

• The Hebridean Way now shares sections with the National Cycle Network Route (NCR). Look for NCR 780.
• Sustrans seem to have some accountability for The Hebridean Way and their cycle paths in Scotland are genuinely amazing.
• We cycled most of the Hebridean Way and managed with no issues on our steel-frame touring bikes. You would manage with a mountain bike and even a road bike.
• The route is entirely on asphalt.

Your questions about cycling The Outer Hebrides answered

Post written by: Zoe Ashbridge