- experience the pleasure of the islands’ open roads.

ISLAND CYCLE HOPPING STARTS AT OBAN,  WITH
SECURED CAR PARKING AVAILABLE (NOT INCLUDED).
5 NIGHTS FROM ONLY £259 pp B&B. 

Travel by car or train to Oban, then take your cycle, to Barra or South Uist by Caledonian MacBrayne, on one of their most scenic routes.

Our advisors will help you plan a sensible bike holiday itinerary, book all your accommodation and ferries, as well as providing helpful documentation - you’ll probably more or less follow the route of the Island Experience and leaving your car at Oban will show a substantial saving. 

If there are points along the way where you wish to stop off, to stay with friends or family,for example, it's no problem for us to fit additional days into the cycling holiday itinerary,without accommodation.

The direction of travel, from south to north, takes advantage of prevailing winds - though there is no guarantee of their compliance to the rules.  The weather should be considered helpful for cycling as there’s usually plenty of ‘frequent’ nice weather in between the fairly ‘frequent’ showers that sometimes prevail. Long periods of continual rain are not often a major problem during summer bike holidays in the Western Isles. 

The best known cycling route through the islands is from Barra to the Butt (also known as Butt to Barra for those tackling it the hard way).  Distance is around 140 miles, depending on the exact route chosen and the only really serious hill to be conquered is the mountain pass between Harris and Lewis, with a climb of around 200 metres. It's worth it for the freewheel on the other side.   

For your return journey to your departure port, normally Lochboisdale on South Uist, you may choose to use public transport some of the way, where carriage of bicycles is available for some of the route.  

Call and ask one of our advisors about this cycling package and a price quotation.

SECURE PARKING AT OBAN

Hazelbank Garage provides ample parking for guests of the Hebridean Princess cruise line and has confirmed to us that they will also assist our cycling holiday visitors with their secure facility, prior to boarding the Calmac ferries.  

To book, contact them direct on 01631 566476

Price £7 per night, or £35 per week.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

Cycle shops offering repairs:

Rothan Cycles, 9 Howmore, Isle Of South Uist
01870 620283
www.rothan.com

Alex Dan Cycle Centre,
67 Kenneth Street, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis     
01851 704025

www.hebrideancycles.co.uk

CARRIER TRANSPORT

You'll see from the notes below that availability of public transport for bikes is becoming somewhat disjointed.  An alternative means of having your bike moved, while you travel by bus, is to use a carrier such as Hebrides Haulage (01851 703255).  In this way it's possible to get your bike/s from Stornoway (or further south) to  a ferry port such as Lochboisdale with no effort and at reasonable cost.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE THESE CHANGES ON STORNOWAY TO LEVERBURGH ROUTE:

The Hebridean Transport bus between Stornoway and Leverburgh used to be a 53 seater at all times with plenty of boot space for bikes.  from April 2009, without prior notice, it has been necessary for HT to reduce the number of trips using the 53 seater and while they will try to accommodate cyclists' needs with the smaller buses, capacity is not guaranteed at any specific time - it's up to the driver to decide.

The 8.25 am service from Leverburgh Pier to Stornoway and the 12.35 pm service from Stornoway to Leverburgh Pier will normally be 52 seaters, but please do not take this as meaning 'always'  - you should build some flexibility into your schedule.

Cyclist visitors often ride the islands in one direction, then use buses to return to their start point. You can take cycles on a number of buses, for nearly the entire length of the islands.  However, in some areas buses do not have space for bikes, so you will occasionally have to get back on your bike and ride it some of the way.

Depending on your schedule, it's possible to travel part of the way by ferry between Lochmaddy (North Uist) and Tarbert (Harris) - this should only be done in one direction as the road journey for this stretch is one of the most spectacular days of the entire route, as you explore Berneray and south-west Harris.

It can be an attractive proposition, when crossing the Clisham range, between Lewis and Harris, to pop your bikes in the boot of the Hebridean Transport bus, then get off on top of the mountain pass and freewheel down. A thoroughly exhilarating experience, which makes the entire holiday all the more worthwhile, especially travelling on the smooth, sweeping tarmac south towards Tarbert.  Check your brakes first!

You'll find bus routes, timetables and operators' phone numbers at the website of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar by following this link.

Bus operators in the Hebrides are a friendly group of people and will do their utmost to help you.  A phone call to the one that operates the sector you're interested in will provide any information you need.

Travelling from Butt of Lewis to Barra (north to south), the following services are used:

W1: Port of Ness - Stornoway
Operated by Galson Motors (GM) 01851 840269

W10: Stornoway to Leverburgh
Operated by Hebridean Transport 01851 705050

FERRY

W19: Berneray to Lochmaddy
Various operators and it's most likely you will ride this section, as the vehicles are generally too small for bikes.  Grenitote will put a bike rack on the bus if you arrange with them a few days beforehand.

W17: Lochmaddy to Eriskay
Operated by:
Hebridean Coaches(HE) 01870 620345
W Macvicar(WM) 01870 603197

FERRY

Barra: It's most likely you will ride this short section.

Most bus operators will carry unaccompanied luggage, normally charging an adult fare per case or rucksack. If you place your luggage on a bus, you must meet it at the ferry terminal, otherwise the driver will probably just leave it in the waiting room. Probably perfectly safe, but entirely at your risk.

Buses do not cross on the ferries, so you must accompany any luggage on board.