According to Google, the Hebridean Way is “mostly flat.” This team of fundraisers does not agree. Tiny Tickers supporter, Mick Bailey, recounts his experience of cycling the Hebridean Way with our Head of Training, Anne Rhodes, and fellow supporter, Andy.
It was with a little trepidation but a huge basin full of naiveté that Anne, Andy and I set off from Liverpool to begin our Hebridean Way adventure. Our first destination was a campsite, just north of Loch Lomond. Spirits were high, the car was full, and the conversation was light-hearted.
We were soon in Scotland and it felt like the Hebridean Way trip had started in earnest. We had decided to go up to Scotland a day early, so that weren’t in a rush to catch the ferry from Oban. This turned out to be a good decision, as we camped an hour away and still only had 15 minutes to spare.
On arrival at the first campsite, Beinglas Campsite. We were greeted by a welcoming committee of midges that was seemingly four million strong. We were lucky enough to have the same welcoming committee joining us throughout the Hebridean Way trip!
The facilities onsite were pretty good, and the meal and beer were exceptional. However, the onsite fight at 1am, 2am, and 3am meant we were glad to set off for the ferry the next morning.
Caledonian MacBrayne, usually shortened to CalMac, is the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries, and ferry services, between the mainland of Scotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland’s west coast. The company operates 33 Caledonian MacBrayne fleet vessels to over 50 ports and harbours on the west coast of Scotland. Caledonian MacBrayne operates, on average, over 162,700 sailings annually. 2018 was the companies busiest in terms of passenger numbers, carrying an estimated 5,309,771 passengers.
Unfortunately, one of their passengers on the day we travelled wasn’t feeling too good from the gentle swaying of the waves…
Despite the queasiness, Anne produced the card game, ‘Shot in the Dark’, a ridiculously difficult game of wild guessing and incredibly interesting facts. With her usual Scouse friendliness, she roped in three more participants. Ali, who was a relatively recently qualified radiographer, and Milly and Will. Will was a newly qualified nurse and Milly worked for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). Will and Milly were the first people we met at the ferry terminal and the card game ensued…
The game, and the resulting laughter, made the six hour ferry journey to Castlebay on the Isle of Barra all the swifter.
Vatersay
We arrived on the Isle of Barra and set off the five miles to Vatersay, to the actual start of the Hebridean Way. It felt a little like going backwards to start the journey. But how glad we were that we visited this beautiful little island.
Upon riding to the island, I became aware of a gearing problem with my bike. The four lowest gears weren’t working which made it impossible to climb the 11% hill onto Vatersay. This would be a huge problem if not sorted. We anticipated one or two hills, despite Google maps assuring us that the Hebridean Way route was ‘mostly flat’.
We found a suitable spot to camp and were greeted by Will and Milly who were also camping.
The lovely Will and Milly
After a lovely night in the tent, spent listening to the gentle lapping of the waves below the dunes, before drifting off into a deep sleep, we broke camp and prepared to set off to Lewis.
The start of the Hebridean Way
Barra
Before we’d returned to Barra, I decided it was necessary to have the gear problem on my bike mended. Unbelievably, there was a bike hire company on Barra, so we returned to where we had landed the day before and asked if they could help.
We were introduced to a Yorkshireman, Steve, originally from Guisborough, who had a few errands to run before he could help. We arranged to meet him at his workshop in an hour and filled the time with sandwiches and ice-cream.
The wildlife was as friendly as the people.
After a delayed start, we set off for the North of Barra, in order to catch a ferry to Eriskay. Again, at the ferry terminal, we bumped into Will and Milly. They were becoming a welcome addition to the ride. On arrival at the ferry terminal, phones and power packs were charged, Andy and I had the largest cookie in the Northern Hemisphere and we hoped we’d get a seat on the ferry (as two busloads of people had turned up).
We managed to enjoy a lovely hot coffee before the coffee machine gave up the ghost. The bus passengers were not so lucky.
We took the short ferry ride to Eriskay and saw, what was surely, one of the most isolated football pitches on these sceptred isles.
Eriskay
We were soon on the North side of Eriskay and crossed the causeway onto South Uist.
South Uist
South Uist was not helped by the fact that it rained. It seemed to be (and I’m sure there are beautiful parts) a bog-ridden wasteland, with absolutely nowhere suitable to pitch a tent. We arrived at Dalyburgh amidst a downpour.
We stopped the ubiquitous Co-op store in Dalyburgh to get supplies and to see if they knew of anywhere to camp. Will and Milly were waiting under the trolley store, escaping the rain. They were also struggling to find somewhere to stay. One of the cashiers explained that there was a hostel nearby, but she knew of no camp sites on South Uist.
I set off for the hostel to see if there was room for five stragglers. The two men at the hostel explained that they had no space, not even to pitch a tent. However, one of them promptly phoned someone to see if they had any room. She did, the hostel guy said we’d take it…I had no idea how much it would cost, where it was or what the details were.
It turned out to be Lochside Cottage, where Morag invited us to stay. Morag was a no-nonsense kind of woman, who emphasised that breakfast was included. That was all the encouragement I needed. In truth, after a long and sometimes difficult ride, we were all very grateful for a shower, a proper bed and a lovely breakfast.
Morag didn’t provide an evening meal, so we unloaded our panniers and rode our feather-light bikes into Lochboisdale for another lovely meal. We rode back full, revelling in the lightness of our bikes and looking forward to a hot shower.
Andy runs Doncaster Refurnish and it wasn’t long before we came across the Hebridean equivalent. Cothrom ReStore recognises that some adult learners, especially when coping with additional challenges, thrive better outside the traditional class-room setting. To complement its range of training provision, Cothrom set up ReStore, in 2006, combining community recycling and upcycling services (furniture, textiles, household items) with the delivery of transferable skills through practical workplace learning.
Benbecula
Still North we headed, the landscape lumpy in places but nothing too harsh. We eventually reached the tip of South Uist and crossed another causeway onto the lovely Island of Benbecula. Benbecula (Beinn na Faoghla in Gaelic) means Mountain of the Ford, which is apt for the island and its single hill, Reuval (Ruabhal). It is a place where legend and lore is woven into an amazing island landscape, with stunning stories and spectacular scenery on offer across the island. The sun shone, we rode, we progressed. Laughing, chatting, and stopping whenever we wanted to. This wasn’t a race.
Benbecula Airport operates services to Stornoway, Inverness and Glasgow airports
Benbecula, as well as sporting the best name of the Outer Hebrides, is also the flattest. No doubt, that’s why it’s my favourite Hebridy (not a word but I don’t care).
We then crossed a couple of long causeways between the Island of Grimsay (which we were on for precisely half a mile) before reaching North Uist. Psychologically it felt like we were ticking off the boxes and progressing well.
North Uist
We eventually reached Moorcroft campsite on North Uist and what a site to camp! Right on the edge of a crystal clear sea, with wonderful showers, a campers kitchen and even a small launderette. We once again bumped into Will and Milly.
We set off the next morning on something of a deadline. The ferry left Berneray at 2.15pm and we really didn’t want to miss it, as the next one was 5pm. This would have put the whole plan of arriving in Stornoway on Friday in jeopardy.
We had been making progress but it was pretty slow progress. With tents, sleeping bags, mattresses, clothes and cooking equipment, the bikes were heavy and slow moving. However, we set off with a definite purpose. The hills were growing but we didn’t care. The sun shone and every check of the mileage showed that we were on track.
We came to a long slow hill, and halfway up, we met a guy with a van full of cycles. He fortunately had some WD40 for Anne’s pedal and my knees. Incredibly, by the time we reached the top, we were on schedule for the 12pm sailing, putting us ahead of schedule. We decided to go for it. Go for it we did and reached the ferry port at 11.35am.
We didn’t realise at the time that this would be the last we saw of Will and Milly.
After much data analysis from both Strava, Fitbit, Google Maps and heart rate monitors, we concluded that the single thing powering us on at such an impressive rate, was the inimitable Starbar. This was rapidly turning into the Starbar sponsored ‘mostly flat’ Hebridean Way…
We tagged Cadbury’s in social media posts, in the faint hope that Tiny Tickers might get some recognition for the fantastic work that they do.
Harris and Lewis
So, we crossed from Berneray to Leverburgh on the Isle of Harris. We quietened down. We knew Harris was where the hills were. Not little lumps, they were sometimes sharp and breath-taking. These were proper ‘get off your bike and walk’ hills.
Our initial aim was to reach Horgobost campsite. We pedalled ever northwards over increasingly tough hills, but eventually reached a beautiful camp for the night. This to me is what the Hebrides will always be remembered for. Rugged but beautiful. Small but perfectly formed against the bulk and business of the mainland. Rugged, beautiful, small but perfectly formed…a bit like Andy. Horgobost was breathtakingly beautiful. White sands, crystal clear sea and the mountains.
After a good night’s sleep, we awoke and set off north for Tarbert. The ride had now settled into a routine: check what mileage we had left, check the terrain, ask about the hills, look behind us for the French couple with their little boy in the trailer, see if they were gaining on us, check how many Starbars we had left, and pedal.
We knew that the highest mountain of the whole Hebridean Way ride was between us and Tarbert. We approached it observing some of the strangest, and then beautiful landscapes of the whole trip.
Andy paying homage to the great Laird of the Layby
We started to climb. Slowly at first and then harshly. We were all very rapidly in our lowest gear. We fought on, gripping handlebars and gritting teeth. We stopped and regained our breath. We pedalled another few yards before stopping again. I stood up on my pedals, all anger and fury at the hill. Andy plodded on, Anne pushed and pushed. Fighting gravity, fighting age and fitness. We pedalled some more. We stopped, and stopped again. Until at last we reached the summit. Or so we thought. We’d reach a peak, only to be met with ever higher road up. It kept going on and on.
But eventually we really did reach the summit. We took a well earned break, refuelled on Starbars, took water and prepared for the almost vertical downhill.
Like two red arrows flying in formation, Andy and I descended rapidly. Twisting and turning in unison, until a sharp bend with a steep overhang at the other side meant applying the brakes wasn’t only sensible, it was critical. Anne followed screaming ‘weeeee’ all the way, her legs pointing out as she whizzed down the mountain with all the glee of a young child. And all too soon it was over. We rapidly reached the town of Tarbert where we took a well earned break.
We decided to push on towards our final destination of Stornoway and to get as close as we could by the end of the day. We knew that we were likely to be wild camping that night, as there was nothing but a few sporadic villages between Tarbert and Stornoway.
We made it as far as Balallan and stopped at a junction to regroup and consider options. I asked a local garage if we could camp behind an industrial unit before Anne struck up a conversation with Christine. Christine’s daughter had completed her medical degree in Liverpool (where Anne works) and, after a brief conversation, Christine offered us her driveway as a mini campsite.
Unfortunately, the driveway was midge heaven so Andy and I prepared tea on a pavement beside the industrial unit.
The pavement which doubled up as a kitchen
Christine’s driveway in Balallan
After a delicious tea of pasta and cheese, we settled down for what was our worst night in the tents. Anne was on a hill, it was cold and we were all damp in the morning.
As Christine hailed us good morning and asked if we wanted toast and a shower, I was in her kitchen getting dry before she’d even finished the sentence. We eventually said goodbye to this lovely lady and set off finally for Stornoway.
This was the windiest day and it was once again rolling hills. But eventually, we entered the town through ever increasing houses and units. We reached our goal.
It was such a great feeling and quite emotional.
We navigated the streets of Stornoway and found our hotels. Anne had arranged to meet a Tiny Tickers supporter. We shared a couple of drinks of ice cold Coke, which was just the ticket. We went back to the hotel, quickly showered and enjoyed a pizza like no other. By this point, I was gnawing on my hand, so it was very timely.
And so the fantastic Hebridean Way journey ended. We have, to date, raised £1,250 (£250 over our target of £1,000). We also made friends with lovely people, saw some of the UK’s most attractive scenery, challenged ourselves beyond what we thought we were capable of, ate two years worth of Starbars guilt-free, and realised that Google maps is lying when it states that the Hebridean Way is ‘mostly flat’.
If reading about Mick, Anne and Andy’s Hebridean Way cycle has made you want to get on your bike to support tiny hearts, find out how you can get involved here.
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