TOUR GUIDE
Scotland’s Western Isles are beautiful, wild, and far from the main tourist trail. Book a Hopscotch ferry ticket and nip between them at your leisure…
Take to the water: go island hopping in the west of Scotland.
Exploring Scotland’s Western Isles is like journeying into the unknown. White sandy beaches, unspoilt landscapes, small pubs in wild locations, and tiny threads of tarmac. Time to wind down and get ready for single-track lanes and passing places. It’s all there to be discovered with a Caledonian Macbrayne island hopping ferry ticket. Prices are low for motorcycle and rider, and the reward for venturing over the water is huge.
Grosebay on the Isle of Harris. It’s easy to assume this beautiful beach is on a tropical island when the weather’s right. The road to get there from Leverburgh is a tight single tracker, tarmac cracking and grass growing through. No hedges here, so the route feels like it’s simply part of the landscape. It wobbles over hillocks, past Loch Langabaht, and around the inlets of Harris’s southern coast from Tarbert. Stop in Grosebay and visit the Harris Tweed Company – a tiny semi-detached establishment with a smart interior and well-made clothing on sale.
Harris is the more mountainous section of Lewis and Harris, the third largest island in the British Isles. It’s the northern link in the Outer Hebrides island chain, with the Uists and Barra falling away to its south. They curve like a shield around Skye, protecting it from the strongest north Atlantic waves. Ferries are needed to cross between Harris and North Uist, and to visit the tiny island of Barra, barely 11 miles long. Small island ferry points are unmanned and you simply wait for the ferry to turn up. Longer runs like Tarbert on Harris to Skye’s Uig use more conventional terminals.
Skye is a brilliant island for biking, when the roads are quiet. A wealth of open, flowing corners cut through simply amazing scenery. Ride the unclassified road between Uig and Staffin, following signs for the Quiraing. This is the northernmost point of the Trotternish Ridge, a landslip that’s famous for its appearances in films such as Macbeth, The BFG, and 47 Ronin. Fancy a spot of wild camping? Park up a couple of miles north-east of Uig where the River Rha crosses under the road. Wild camping is legal in nearly all of Scotland, as long as the land isn’t fenced off. A night indoors can be had at the Three Chimneys near Dunvegan. Rooms are a steep £345 per night, but the establishment happens to be 2018 UK Restaurant of the Year in The Good Food Guide. Evening whisky tasting is best experienced at the Stein Inn, the oldest such establishment on Skye. Book a £55 room and enjoy some of their 130 malts.
Ride the A87 from Portree to Broadford on Skye’s east coast. It’s the main north-south road and is packed with traffic during summer weekends. Plan a clear run to appreciate the road’s flowing curves. Stop at Sligachan for a satisfying ogle south at the jagged peaks of the Cuillin range, before continuing over the Skye bridge to visit Eilean Donan Castle. Ride further east on the A87 to Invergarry – this is a favourite road in the region, especially the section that cruises along the shores of Loch Cluanie. Watch out for feral goats that roam freely around Dornie.
Barra and the Uists are accessible from the town of Oban on the mainland. The ferry takes five hours to navigate past the Isle of Mull – with the colourful waterside frontage of Tobermory – and south of the small isles of Muck, Eigg, Canna and Rum. Search out the A865 on Uist, which takes you through the middle of the island. It meanders between some
beautiful beaches and over causeways with clear waters either side.
Whisky distilleries are found throughout the Inner Hebrides. Head to Carbost on Skye for the Talisker Distillery where tours should be booked in advance at malts.com. Distillery tours are £10 for 45 minutes, or there’s a two-hour tasting tour for £40. Islay’s home to eight distilleries, from Ardbeg to Laphroaig. Visit the smallbatch Kilchoman Distillery, set five miles down a single-track road. Five tours are run every day during the summer. The most westerly distillery in Scotland is Abhainn Dearg on the Isle of Lewis. Their £45 single malt checks in at a stiff 46% abv. Just be aware that the ‘wee nip’ you might receive at the end of any whisky tour is enough to put you on or over the limit.