So… the Outer Hebrides. I have posted two articles recently about my proposed cycle along the Hebridean Way and, after a nice ride over the Pennine moors this afternoon, I am in the mood for adding a little flesh to the bones of my plan. It’s all weather-dependant of course. I have no wish to travel to the north-western corner of the British Isles if the outlook is not looking that great (I learnt my lesson the hard way back in the ‘summer’ of 2014…) but, whenever I do decide to go, I need to be able to pounce with a plan!

Here’s what I wrote a couple of weeks ago…

…and here is a second post summarising the comments that were made in response to the original post:

Now the Hebridean Way route itself is only 297km. But I’m in no rush whatsoever so, although the suggested split is as follows:

…I’d be happy to take a few days more. Let’s say 10 days. Two of those days would be travelling to and from Scotland (from and to Yorkshire) of course leaving me plenty of wiggle room to either take an extra day with any of the suggested sections above or sit out a day because of the weather or because, well, I just fancy doing very little. That said, if I want to exploit the in-built flexibility of cycling, I will need to compromise of having accommodation for most of the journey that hasn’t been booked in advance. In these days of COVID, is that asking for too much? Last year, as I cycled around the UK, many campsites required prior booking – and that’s what I did for the first section of my journey from Yorkshire to Edinburgh although by the time I arrived in Wales later in the trip, I realised that some campsites were a little more flexible. But by no means all. It was a similar situation with the hostels which, in addition to requiring prior booking, had very limited capacity. All the ‘staycationers’ might scupper my plans. But this is, of course, Scotland; the home of wild camping! I’m far from an expert when it comes to wild camping, however. Warmshowers? The Outer Hebrides boasts only three Warmshowers hosts, all three in Stornaway but, crucially, they appear to be active users having all logged on to their account in the past 24 hours. (Does that mean they are inundated with requests to host?)

I feel the need for some kind of chart. Here we go… but be warned! THIS IS VERY MUCH A WORK-PROGRESS CHART!!

OK, I admit it. That’s more than 10 days. To save you counting, it’s actually 13 days. That’s plenty of wiggle room. Accommodation? Well, on the islands themselves… Here’s a screenshot of the map showing the options listed on VisitOuterHebrides.co.uk:

Hostels? Are they included in the above map? The key would suggest not but they were mentioned by people commenting upon my original post. Jeff Trueman (Remember him from last year’s cycle around the UK? He supplied me with a beer in Northumberland!) suggests I check out the Gatliff Hebridean Hostels Trust. They have three hostels and I have included them on the chart above. However… it does say on their website that the hostels “…remain closed. [and] this will remain the case for the foreseeable future (May 2021)”. That’s down to COVID of course. Let’s hope the situation might have changed by July / August time. On the plus side, all three hostels allow camping in their grounds. There is one Scottish Youth Hostel Association hostel – Ravenspoint Hostel – on the Outer Hebrides… but it’s on the wrong side of Loch Eireasort on the east side of Harris. Probably too inconvenient for the route of the Hebridean Way.

I’ll return to this post in the coming weeks to fill in more details. I look forward to reading your thoughts in the comments box or on Twitter or Facebook…

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Header image credit: Alan Hardy