Hebridean Island Hopping

[Trail Planner]

A hybrid van/cycle trip through the Southern Hebrides during late Sept/Oct 2020. A challenge at times to find campsites, but using a bicycle for wild camps on remote islands where the islands size/ferry schedules required. I parked my van at ports/terminals and caught the ferries for day rides or longer trips, using open campsites where possible. No van sites open around Oban, so an empty hostel was used as a base, as was my Cali for other locations.

A highly recommend blend of van/cycle touring which saved me a small fortune in ferry fees and solved a resupply challenge for a single cycle trip and avoid the need to catch a train service to Scotland.

Hebridean island hopping: a tour of the southern islands by bicycle and campervan.

I always had an idea to go island hopping in the Hebrides, with the condition that they had to be served by public ferries, usually Caledonian MacBrayne. The Mountain Bothies Association had closed…

trailplanner.co.uk

 

[GrahamB]

Great blog and some beautiful photography. Thanks for sharing this. Inspires me to make the trip (although its a very long way from Dorset!)

 

[subthree]

Martyn, thank you for sharing. A great idea to combine the bike, with wild camping, and the Cali. Lovely photos as well.

 

[BeagleMum]

A hybrid van/cycle trip through the Southern Hebrides during late Sept/Oct 2020. A challenge at times to find campsites, but using a bicycle for wild camps on remote islands where the islands size/ferry schedules required. I parked my van at ports/terminals and caught the ferries for day rides or longer trips, using open campsites where possible. No van sites open around Oban, so an empty hostel was used as a base, as was my Cali for other locations.

A highly recommend blend of van/cycle touring which saved me a small fortune in ferry fees and solved a resupply challenge for a single cycle trip and avoid the need to catch a train service to Scotland.

Hebridean island hopping: a tour of the southern islands by bicycle and campervan.

I always had an idea to go island hopping in the Hebrides, with the condition that they had to be served by public ferries, usually Caledonian MacBrayne. The Mountain Bothies Association had closed…

trailplanner.co.uk

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Most enjoyable read thank you.
We’ve island hopped the Outer Hebrides a couple of times it’s a beautiful area.

 

[kurienp]

Good things are keepers and become an integral part of our lives. For you, first it was the Cali ... and now I notice the Thorn - absolutely lovely.

Great Photos, and a very nice writeup. Thank you for sharing. Definitely an itinerary to do sometime.

 

[MattC]

I really enjoyed reading your account, thanks for sharing it.
It reminded me how much there is to go at in the Hebrides. So far I've only had my Thorn (Raven Catalyst) up there on a tour of Mull and Ardnamurchan, in pre-campervan days. But the van / bike combination certainly has lots of potential.
That said, I'd still like to do the full end-to-end Outer Hebrides tour... twice - once by bike and once with the campervan!!

 

[Borris]

We did the outer Hebrides several years ago in mid October. The weather was for the most part absolutely superb with bright blue skies and that quality of light that you only get at that time of year. We used a combination of wild camping, camp sites, Hotels and B and Bs as the mood took us. There was only one crossing that we couldn't just drive straight onto. If doing it again we would pre book next time as many of the locals especially business users pre book crossings so we found space can be tight.

We were planning to do the inner Hebrides during the grand kids October half term holiday when we are free to roam. However, given the current UK Covid situation we've decided to give it a miss. We would hate to visit those beautiful islands and not receive the usual warm Scottish welcome. We've written this year off!