When planning a cycling vacation you need to balance the challenges with the pleasures. You will want to visit an area with spectacular scenery with a number of tourist attractions worth visiting while planning a route that you can manage reasonably easily. On the other hand you may want to venture into the more challenging aspects of cycling and plan a trip to an area that may be hilly or even mountainous. One place which continues to grow in popularity as a vacation destination for cycling tours is the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
The Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles) is a group of over two hundred islands found off the west coast of Scotland in the United Kingdom of Great Britain. The vast majority of islands are now uninhabited with only a handful remaining populated. There are two distinctive land masses with the Isle of Harris and Isle of Lewis part of one in the north and to the south the islands of North and South Uist with a number of other smaller islands dotted around. Happily these islands have excellent transport links and it is possible to tour from the very south up to the northern tip via a network of double and single track roads, bridges, causeways and ferries.
One of the best ways to tour the Western Isles/Outer Hebrides is by starting in the south traveling north until you reach Stornoway. Stornoway is the main town of the region and where you will most likely depart by ferry or air however it is well worth exploring even further north if you have the time. The southern parts of the islands appear much flatter with South Uist having long stretches of flat road until you reach North Uist. North Uist is very much like the Isle of Harris which you reach by ferry and by the time you reach Tarbert you are greeted by an ominous climb up the hills of Harris and over to Lewis (which is once again rather flat).
When cycling in the Outer Hebrides/Western Isles there are a number of very important things to keep in mind. Firstly please be very aware of how powerful the sun can be on the islands, it does not have to be extremely bright for the UV rays to penetrate and burn the skin. Equally important is to ensure that you do not allow yourself to become overwhelmed by the sights. All too often I see cyclists riding two abreast admiring the views oblivious to other traffic on the roads. It is far better to pull over to admire the view at your leisure.
You may not have experienced single track roads before so remember that you should always pay special attention to safety while using them. Do not ride alongside each other and keep an eye both forwards and backwards for any traffic. To allow traffic to pass simply use the next passing place, you should pull into those on your left but if it is on the right you must pull over to the left and the traffic will drive around. Even on double track great care should be taken as many locals (and some visitors) can drive at rather fast speeds and, with the roads being so full of bends, there can be danger if you are not diligent.
The Outer Hebrides are a religious place with the southern parts (mainly South Uist) being mainly Catholic and the northern islands being Protestant. This leads to a number of differences with the most obvious being that in some parts of North Uist and nearly all of the Isle of Harris and Isle of Lewis, nearly everywhere is closed on Sundays. It is therefore incredibly important that you ensure that you will have everything you need over the weekend before Saturday evening.
In more recent years it would appear that a few places in Stornoway choose to open on Sundays but you can not afford to rely on this. It is far better to be safe than sorry. Stornoway has most shops that you would expect to see in a modern town but importantly there is a small bike shop who do repairs and hire out bicycles. Crime is extremely low so you can safely leave your bike parked in the town center to explore the town by foot.
If a full cycling tour of the Western Isles is beyond your capabilities but you enjoy cycling you may want to consider having a vacation on the Isle of Harris where you can cycle to some of the finest beaches with ease. There is plenty of superb accommodation available on Harris with plenty of B&B’s, guest houses, self catering properties, a couple of hotels, hostels and places to camp.
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