CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
Wow! Thanks all for your feedback. I am very excited.
Yea, the weather... I am planning to do in July. Would prefer June before the school holidays but at work we are not allowed holidays in June.
@paddyirish To Oban... Not sure how I am going to get to Bridge of Allan. After that it will be the driving route. This looks like a possibility.
@IWARTS Surely it's not going to be worse than the past two months...?
@gembo Thanks. I can spend the night in Inverness if I arrive too late.
bill
I recommend spending a day or so in Barra so that you can visit Vatersay and the airport. Excellent curry house in Castlebay too.
Also, if you can, take your time to enjoy the flora and fauna of the Uists. No Grouse shooting there so a better chance of seeing Hen Harriers.
Prepare for midges, headwinds and confirm availability of accommodation. Hebridean Celtic Festival is 15th - 18th July in Stornoway, so no room at the inn then.
The representation of the Iolaire in Stornoway Harbour is very moving.
Familiarise yourself with the work of Peter May, as well as Peat and Diesel.
Enjoy!
Cheers
Colin
Leverburgh to Stornoway in a day is entirely possible but I think will feel like a slog. There is a long climb going north from Tarbert through the hills and the road then, if the weather is not kind, goes through what will seem bleak and uninspiring parts of Lewis before reaching Stornoway.
If you can spare the time, you could see some more interesting parts of the island by taking more time and looping west to see the Callanish Stones, Carloway Broch and the blackhouse village at Gareninin - returning via the Pentland Road.
If you're heading through North Uist to Berneray, take the Committee Road.
severely scowled at on the machar on South Uist
are there rare wild daisies or something?
remember encountering something similar on the west coast machar of Islay
i camped on the machar South Uist but only recall sand flies, far too many of them
@bill
The weather there is entirely unmoderated in my experience. Prepare for both sunburn and frostbite. Well worth it - utterly magnificent. I'd be a bit sad if you just hurtled through at athletic speed.
Things I would do again;
1) Mooch about the machair.
2) Swim in the turquoise sea.
3) Climb Hecla.
4) Wander aimlessly round the Benbecula Co-op marveling at the staff casually chatting in Gaelic.
5) Check out Loch Druidibeag.
Also maybe try to get a gig with the local musicians?
My tips -
Do plenty of hill training - the hills around Tarbert are tough
Take suncream
Take sudocream just in case :)
Book B&B asap
Travelling north across Benbecula, you come to the B892 junction, which is shortly before the causeway across to North Uist. It's signposted for the airport.
2 mins cycle down this road will take you to Maclean's Bakery. Worth the diversion.
Maclean's do amazing produce! They "export" it to Lewis and I always stock up. Local Stag bakery is also pretty good.
If you are hungry in Harris, Croft 36 is a gem. It's a takeaway service where they stock a shed at the end of the driveway with all kinds of goodies (runs on an honesty box system). I had a lamb curry when I stopped there (you can get them to warm it up for you).
The climb North out of Tarbert is pretty brutal. Steepest section is right at the start, and although it eases off a bit it does go on for a while.
The ride up through Lewis looks flat in comparison, but it is uncomfortably lumpy. When you have many miles in the legs you start to feel every one (although admittedly I did Barra to Stornoway in 1 day so was feeling pretty tired by then).
are there rare wild daisies or something?
No, just rabbit trimmed grass. The local felt it was taking money out of the economy, and was as antisocial as camping on the banks of Loch Lomond...
This time, however, we'd already camped unlike meeting the aggressive Irishman on Barra, so we didn't move on.
Given that we were travelling as a family,
between these couple of locals and the weather, we were quite happy to leave one week into our fortnight's holiday!
Robert
Legally yes, however the family and I got chased off a field in Barra, and severely scowled at on the machar on South Uist.
It isn't yet 2003 in parts of the Western Isles. I was ready to go to war with a dude on Bernera who didn't like me walking on his track, but was told to stand down by a wiser head.
Not worth it if you're camping on your own.
Many opt for the 961 Citylink coach Ullapool-Inverness & with Hitrans I've been promoting cycle carriage & ferry connection for almost 30 years.
The reinstated through service between Edinburgh/Stirling & Fort Bill (913) annoyingly but probably for commercial reasons now goes via Broxburn(Perth)P&R & express coach interchange for Inverness, Dundee, Aberdeen, Glasgow, and Edinburgh (faster than train) In its previous form it went via Callander & took an hour less - very popular with West Coast students at the McBob in Stirling with the aquaculture links especially.
Achnasheen (Place of the rain) is almost at Luib Summit and provides a range of alternative routes to Loch Broom (via Torridon, Poolewe Gardens, & a rather challenging option via Scoraig (involving small not daily/timetabled ferries) or just head North for Braemore Junction on A835
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