Britain offers some amazing places to explore on a bicycle, but there can be few locations within the UK that offer the remoteness, drama and sheer spectacle of the islands of The Outer Hebrides. The Hebridean Way takes cyclists from Vatersay in the south to the Butt of Lewis in the north: “10 islands, 6 causeways, 2 ferries and 1 unforgettable adventure”. The writer Andrew P. Sykes attempted the ride in the summer of 2021. This is his story.
It was on a campsite in central Norway in the July of 2015 when I first learnt to appreciate astrophysics. Having arrived at the campsite late in the day with a tent that had been packed away wet that morning, I was keen to get the thing erected and dried. Modern tents do dry extremely quickly, even when not in direct sunlight, but a bit of sun doesn’t go amiss. The campsite in Norway was in the bottom of a valley and when I arrived, the sun was fast approaching the hill to the north west. I naturally assumed that before long the sun would disappear behind the hill and my tent would take longer to dry. But it didn’t. As I watched, the sun rolled down the gently sloping ridge of the hill heading north until it reached the horizon at which point, later that evening, it continued its journey out of view. This being only a month or so after the summer solstice, it only disappeared for a few hours before emerging again to the north east. My rash, unthinking assumption that the sun would fall vertically like a stone behind the hill, almost as if it were under the force of a celestial gravity, was of course completely wrong. I knew this anyway – the sun rarely moves straight up and then straight down (you’d have to be living at the equator for that to happen) – but it was the extent to which the movement was so much more – much much more – to the north than towards the horizon (which could only be described as a slow trudge) that astonished me. It was my first lesson in astrophysics and I think about it regularly when I glance to the sky and ponder the movement of the sun, especially on a day such as today when the autumn equinox approaches and, for the first time since March, the number of hours of darkness each day begins to outnumber the number of hours of sunlight. (The moon, incidentally, I have yet to fathom…)
In episode 038 of The Cycling Europe Podcast, Andrew Sykes spoke to a number of travellers about their experiences of cycling The Hebridean Way. Now it’s his turn to get onto his bicycle, Wanda, and cycle from Vatersay in the south to Lewis in the north along one of Britain’s most spectacular rides. In part 1 of this episode of the podcast he travelled from the island of Vatersay to the island of Berneray. In this second part of the podcast we see him complete his journey across the Isles of Harris and Lewis to the Butt of Lewis and the end of the Hebridean Way.
In episode 038 of The Cycling Europe Podcast, Andrew Sykes spoke to a number of travellers about their experiences of cycling The Hebridean Way. Now it’s his turn to get onto his bicycle, Wanda, and cycle from Vatersay in the south to Lewis in the north along one of Britain’s most spectacular rides. In part 1 of this episode of the podcast he travelled from the island of Vatersay to the island of Berneray. In this second part of the podcast we see him complete his journey across the Isles of Harris and Lewis to the Butt of Lewis and the end of the Hebridean Way.
The 2020 Tour de France was one of the most significant races of the last decade. Since 2012, Team Sky dominated the ultimate event in road cycling under the governance of Sir Dave Brailsford. He masterminded a team that would remain the dominant force on the roads for years to come. It started with Bradley Wiggins, and then Chris Froome took over as the heir to the throne, claiming the yellow jersey in 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017. In 2018, injury struck the ageing star, paving the way for teammate Geraint Thomas to take the crown.
I was always planning to cycle to Skipton this weekend – I have lined up an exclusive* interview for The Cycling Europe Podcast with one of the unsung heroes of cycling touring and we are meeting at the local Morrison’s at 10am tomorrow (apparently it’s half price for Cycling UK members…) – but it was only a passing thought a few weeks ago when I arranged the chat that I might cycle up to Skipton from my home near Halifax and camp overnight. At the gym this morning I thought about it again. When I got home in the early afternoon I thought about it yet again. At 1:15pm I made the decision to do it, by 2pm I had packed the bike and left the house and just after 2:30pm I was on the train from Halifax to Bradford.
