# The Scottish Islands



## toroddf (2 Jun 2010)

Which Scottish islands provides the best cycling ? 

The best cycling in Scotland and the best scenery can be found in the islands. The car traffic is also not bad on these islands due to the need of ferries and their increasing capacity problems. Yes, the ferry operator CalMac is the victim of their own success. 
The ferry costs is also very low with a bike and when using multi-journey tickets like their Hopscotch tickets. 
In short, the Scottish islands is the biking heaven. 

A short presentation of the candidates is probably the best introduction to the theme.

*1. Arran*. If taken clockwise, the first twenty miles is very hilly. The west coast past Blackwaterfoot to Lochranza is pretty flat, although with some pretty steep hills. The hill after Lochranza is steep. The east coast is flat. 
The String Road from Blackwaterfoot to Brodick is steep with a vertical drop down to Brodick. Arran is in my view a brilliant island and a first rate cycle and nature heaven.

*2. Islay.* The ferry journeys to and from Islay is alone worth the effort. Islay is flat without any big hills. The almost 10 miles flat dead straight road between Bowmore and Port Ellen is an attraction. The scenery is brilliant throughout with a minimum effort on the bike.

*3. Coll and Tiree.* Two small islands which seems to have some good roads. These islands are popular among families with small children. I have no more informations.

*4. Mull (Isle Of Mull).* A beautiful island with medium sized hills and a lot of fantastic scenery. The roads are a blend of single tracks and good roads. The northern loop (B8074) over Calgary and Dervaig to Tobermory offers brilliant cycling. 

*5. Skye (Isle Of Skye).* The full circuit t/r Kyle Of Lochalsh over Dunvegan (A863), Uig and around Trotternish back to Portree is 150 miles long........ and very hilly. The scenery is probably the best in Scotland. Skye is the hardest and most hilly island in Scotland. 

*6. Barra & The Uists (South, North & the Bernareys).* In short; the southern half of the Western Isles. I am going there in four weeks time and I am counting down the days and hours. But from what I have seen, the islands seems flat and well worth the tour. The scenery is fantastic. The roads pretty good. 

*7. Harris & Lewis.* Ditto there. The roads are good. There is a couple of big hills on Harris and the rest is pretty flat. The scenery seems fantastic. Stornoway (where I have been) is alone worth the tour. Please note that all shops are closed on Sundays. 

*8. Orkneys.* I have never been there. But the scenery seems fantastic and the roads good.

*9. Shetland.* Same as Orkneys. The cycling seems good. But the islands, served by some ferries, seems remote. This must be the ultimate adventure cycling destination in the Europe. 

*10. Others.* *Jura* has some good mountain biking and one good road. Ditto for *the small isles* outside Mallaig. 

Which is your favorite Scottish island ?

I have not cast my vote yet because I cannot make up my mind.


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## HLaB (2 Jun 2010)

I've only been to Arran, so currently its my biased favourite but its wonderful. IIRC We went left from Brodick and did a circuit of the South of the Island coming back over the String Road. We then done a similar circuit of the north half of the island coming back over the String Road again. I'm a terrible descender but on the String the second time I hit 47.6mph; If I can do that folk can do 60mph there :-) The other thing I liked about Arran, life was just far more relaxed.


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## pubrunner (4 Jun 2010)

Shetland is fantastic for cycling !

It is, as you suggest, remote. But that means few people on the road. Those that are on the road are particularly courteous.

Plus points : 

Stunning, spectacular and dramatic views
The roads are really excellent
Very quiet roads
Superb loos on every island and very well looked after. On Burra Island, you'll find that in the loos, the flowers are changed on an almost daily basis.
Friendly locals and very considerate drivers

Minus points:

Not enough cafes
The windiest place anywhere !

Shetland is not really 'setup' for tourists, but for me, that adds to the charm of the place.

My Mum and her family are from Shetland, so I'm very biased about the place.

Go there !!!


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## Kirstie (4 Jun 2010)

pubrunner said:


> Go there !!!



OK, if you insist!


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## andrew_s (4 Jun 2010)

I've cycled on all of them except for Arran and Coll/Tiree
Islay for a week last October, including a day trip to the end of the public highway on Jura.
2 weeks in the Shetlands in 2007.
a 2 week circular tour (Oban - Barra - Butt of Lewis - Skye - Ardnamurchan - Mull - Oban) 2005?
a week on the Orkneys ages ago (1994?)
I've also visited Harris/Lewis & Skye as part of a mainly mainland tour.

What the weather is like during your visit will have a major bearing on your opinion. If you get low cloud, rain and wind, any of them will be miserable places. Good weather and most of them can be great.

I'm voting Shetlands, 'cos I like to do wildlife.
Pubrunner forgot to mention the famous Unst bus shelter, complete with sofa, TV etc (a pity their illicit power supply for it got cut off  )
It's not that difficult to get to: train to Aberdeen, catch the overnight ferry (£26.50 each way, iirc)


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## dav1d (5 Jun 2010)

I lived on Rousay in the Orkneys for around a year in my teens, and Burray for around 6 months I think(connected to the Orkney mainland by a causeway). I cycled around them a lot even with my arm in plaster! The scenery on Rousay is good, but the island is pretty small (though not the smallest Orkney island), so not a lot of places to go. Also, I think there may only be one shop, Marion's. And no supermarket. But wild birds often get blown of course onto Rousay, when we were there, we saw a merlin. I remember seeing an owl flying in front of the schoolbus, that would have been around 7.25am - we had to get up early to get the bus, ferry and coach to school, and unfortunately for us, they even managed to get the ferry out in really bad weather when we thought we'd get a day off!


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## P.H (5 Jun 2010)

So far I've been to Mull and Skye last year and Harris, Lewis and Uist this year. I'd vote for them all!
Mull and Iona are the most picture postcard pretty. Skye I found a bit more geared for the tourist industry, Harris is like another planet, parts of Lewis are incredibly dramatic, Uist is mostly water with fantastic beaches. They're all great, all different, I can't vote, I just know I want to see more of them. The Western Isles are the least populated I've been to, if you want to get away from it all, they would be my first choice.


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## dudi (6 Jun 2010)

I've put Islay - I've not been, but I had a bottle of Islay single malt and it was magnificent!


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## HJ (6 Jun 2010)

dudi said:


> I've put Islay - I've not been, but I had a bottle of Islay single malt and it was magnificent!



Which one??


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## jann71 (6 Jun 2010)

Been to most of them except Shetland and Islay.
Tough decision trying to vote.

My favourites are -
1. harris and lewis, scenery is fantastic
2. barra
3. orkney 
4. mull
5. skye, couldnt find a flat road anywhere 
6. arran (local so not as much of an adventure )


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## Ticktockmy (7 Jun 2010)

Here is the link for my account of last years trip the the Outer Hebridges
http://gkyuk.multiply.com/photos/album/4/Outer_Hebridges_Cycle_Tour_June_16th_to_24th_June_2009


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## HLaB (7 Jun 2010)

Ticktockmy said:


> Here is the link for my account of last years trip the the Outer Hebridges
> http://gkyuk.multiply.com/photos/album/4/Outer_Hebridges_Cycle_Tour_June_16th_to_24th_June_2009


Nice Pics Ticktockmy, thanks for sharing


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## asterix (7 Jun 2010)

Skye before they built the bridge, now it's Mull.


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## toroddf (7 Jun 2010)

Ticktockmy.

I am doing this tour in 4 weeks time myself. That Barra wildcamp site; how far from the ferry-to-Eriskay terminal is it ? Is it marked or did you find it by accident ? I will probably choose that wild camp spot myself.


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## Crackle (7 Jun 2010)

The Orkneys were terrifically windy when I was there and judging from the angle of the few trees, it's not a rare event.

Arran and Mull are my favourite islands. If I had to choose I'd say Arran, having just come back from there. Incidentally the B road from Brodick is now shut for 6-8 weeks due to re-surfacing and drainage works.


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## Ticktockmy (7 Jun 2010)

toroddf said:


> Ticktockmy.
> 
> I am doing this tour in 4 weeks time myself. That Barra wildcamp site; how far from the ferry-to-Eriskay terminal is it ? Is it marked or did you find it by accident ? I will probably choose that wild camp spot myself.



Its about 2 miles from the campsite to the Ferry, the Grid ref for where I camped is NF 694057, as you ride towards the airport you can see the wheelie bins the council have put near to the area which is a good marker to find the spot, normally there are others camping there. If the airport Terminal is closed you will need to make sure you have water with you as no outside tap at Terminal.


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## kewb (8 Jun 2010)

difficult ,
narrowed it down between arran and skye then flipped a coin arran won .


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## HJ (8 Jun 2010)

Another over looked island is Bute, which great for a weekend of pootling about, who could miss the opportunity to see the “Hanging bike of Port Bannatyne”...


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## pubrunner (11 Jun 2010)

andrew_s said:


> I'm voting Shetlands, 'cos I like to do wildlife.
> Pubrunner forgot to mention the *famous Unst bus shelter*, complete with sofa, TV etc (a pity their illicit power supply for it got cut off  )
> It's not that difficult to get to: train to Aberdeen, catch the overnight ferry (£26.50 each way, iirc)



Very occasionally, you can find a tray of (freshly-made) homebakes left in the bus shelter - which go rather quickly.

Close to the bus shelter is the Valhalla brewery. See 

http://www.valhallabrewery.co.uk/index.htm

The Sjolmet Stout is wonderful stuff !


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## andrew_s (11 Jun 2010)

pubrunner said:


> The Sjolmet Stout is wonderful stuff !



That was my favourite.
There was a food & drink festival of some sort on Lerwick pier when I was waiting for the ferry home, and I got to try all 6 options on handpump rather than the more usual bottles.


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## pubrunner (12 Jun 2010)

andrew_s said:


> I'm voting Shetlands, 'cos I like to do wildlife.
> Pubrunner forgot to mention the famous Unst bus shelter, complete with sofa, TV etc (a pity their illicit power supply for it got cut off  )
> It's not that difficult to get to: train to Aberdeen, catch the overnight ferry (£26.50 each way, iirc)



You can read more on the Unst Bus Shelter here :

http://www.unstbusshelter.shetland.co.uk/

On this site, it is possible to do a virtual tour of Shetland. 'Click' on the Map Index tab and go where you want.

http://www.originart.eu/oa/frame.html

For the best Shetland pics (imo) this is an excellent site; use the horizontal bar at the bottom of the screen to view the smaller images and then click on them to make them larger :

http://www.panphotos.co.uk/index.html

You can see probably the best tombolo beach in the UK here :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tombolo_St_Ninians_5940.JPG

The St. Ninians Island treasure is an interesting tale; a local schoolboy (Douglas Coutts) was helping out on a dig. He was told to 'keep out of the way', so he went off to dig on his own - and ended up finding the treasure.

http://shetlopedia.com/St_Ninians_Isle_Treasure

http://www.nms.ac.uk/our_collections/collection_highlights/st_ninians_isle_treasure.aspx

Scalloway Castle is an interesting place to visit. You show yourself around. The format used to be (though it may have changed); go to the nearby Wool shop, tell them that you wish to visit the castle. They produce a huge ancient key from beneath the counter and hand it to you. You unlock the gate to the castle and have a look around unaccompanied. You then go back to the Wool shop and return the key. No money changes hands (though you may donate money if you wish) and the whole thing is done on trust. I like that sort of approach.

Just looking at those pics makes me want to go there.


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## snorri (15 Jun 2010)

The Black Isle is no' bad.


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## Telemark (15 Jun 2010)

snorri said:


> The Black Isle is no' bad.



 Snorri you are evil 
I cannae find a black island 

T


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## andrew_s (16 Jun 2010)

Nor can I, despite riding past a "Black Isle Brewery, this way" sign the other week. I'm sure I was on the mainland.
The nearest I can find is the Dark Island (either Benbecula or Orkney, depending on context).


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## snorri (19 Jun 2010)




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## HJ (19 Jun 2010)

Snorri is in the process of digging a big trench between Beauly and Conon Bridge


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## HLaB (21 Jun 2010)

Telemark said:


> Snorri you are evil
> I cannae find a black island
> 
> T


It must exist; it was in a Tintin book


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## Telemark (21 Jun 2010)

hehe ... the mystery continues 

I can imagine "it" being a nice place to cycle , not many cars go there except the locals and a few tourists during the season, there are bigger honeypots nearby

T


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## Bromptonaut (22 Jun 2010)

Was on Lewis for the Spring Holiday week, me Mrs B and our daughter and son (17 & 15). Car was a necessity to get family and kit there but bikes hitched along on the roof. 

Stornoway to Callanish via the Pentland Road was magnificent. A Lewis coast to coast!!
The return ride on the main road via Garynahine was hard work and made us realise the outbound leg was heavily wind assisted. 

We also went down the west of Lewis, beyond Brenish to Mangerstadh. Parked the car a little after Timmsgarry and rode the last 10 miles or so. The road ends only a handful of miles as the Golden Eagles we saw fly from Scarp; the 'rocket post' island we've previously seen from the end of the Husnis road on Harris. Probably 100 miles away by road. Magnificent.


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## toroddf (15 May 2012)

HJ said:


> Another over looked island is Bute, which great for a weekend of pootling about, who could miss the opportunity to see the “Hanging bike of Port Bannatyne”...


 
I did this ride last Saturday and I am still (silly) grinning like a cream slurping cat. 20 miles of pure joy and countless photo stops. The full ride over Cowal too (see link above) must surely be one of the classic/best rides in this area. A very short ride, but absolute great. Great for a family outing. If we have a list of the best 20 miles bikerides, Isle Of Butes gets my vote as # 1.


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## stumpy66 (15 May 2012)

Im heading over to the outer hebrides again in a couple of weeks time (26th May) for a 9 day tour and spending a couple of days on skye. Harris is my favourite out of what ive done so far. Couldnt find anywhere to camp near the ferry terminal on Barra so we slept in the waitng room, first on th eferry to Eriksay in the morning


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## stumpy66 (15 May 2012)

Jura has a nice place to camp across the road from the distillery, just ask in the hotel, which has some nice food. Some nice views of the Paps of jura if you follow the road until it ends


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