Not much text today, the story is told once again in video and photographic form. Highlight of my visit to Stornoway must surely be the excellent museum next to Lews Castle. Well with a visit if only to see the Lewis Chessmen, or some of them; the pesky British Museum are at it again keeping hold over the other 90 or soโฆ
Today was a bit of a transitory day; moving from the business of cycling the Hebridean Way to thinking about the long journey back home. But it did have its moments, starting with a 6am paddle / wash in the sea. That was an envigorating way to start the day. I returned to the tent to make coffee but within minutes the tent had been surrounded byโฆ cows! They can be dangerous animals so with this thought in mind, my tent was packed up in record time and I was heading – tentatively – towards the gate.
A memorable end to the day, wild camping next to the beach, crashing waves and the setting sun at the north-western extremity of the Outer Hebrides. Perhaps even Britain. I arrived at the Butt of Lewis at around 4pm, the end of the Hebridean Way. My only regret that they didnโt manage to place the metal sign to mark the end of the route in a more photogenically accommodating positionโฆ
The headline of today is that, such was my progress on the bike, I am within 40km of the Butt of Lewis. And such was the weather today that, frankly, who wouldnโt want to cycle across some of Britainโs most spectacular landscapes to get to this point? My plan had been minimal; head north along the Hebridean Way and sort out accommodation later. Thatโs a formula that has never let me down and (spoiler alert) it didnโt do so today. I am now happily fed and watered on the small, friendly but quite busy site at Shawbost on the western side of Lewis.
Here’s the plan for my trip to the Outer Hebrides… …and here’s a podcast I made about cycling the Hebridean Way prior to setting off: More episodes of The Cycling Europe Podcast can be found on this page of CyclingEurope.org. And finally, since you’ve made it this far, […]
Tonightโs instalment of this trip to the Outer Hebrides will be brought to you mainly through the medium of video. Someone asked why I didnโt add a narration to these videos. Well, it adds an extra level of complexity to do so but, as the wind today was light (anything above a gentle breeze causes horrible distortion on the iPhone microphone), Iโve added a few comments as youโll hear when you listen.
Of all the islands that I have so far visited on this trip, the island of North Uist has been the least unexpected. Thatโs not a criticism, just an acceptance that what I cycled through today gave me pretty much all the things that come to mind when […]
Things have turned. In one way for the worse but in others for the better. Not that what preceded day 5 had been bad to turn against but you know what I meanโฆ As I type Iโm holed up in a small – minute one might say (โsnugโ an estate agent would say) – wooden shed on the south-western edge of South Uist but let me take you back to the start of the day at the campsite on Benbeculaโฆ
