Outer Hebrides in April

John and Jo

John and Jo

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We have planned to do the outer Hebrides in April. Oban to Castlebay and up making our way to Harris and then back Tarbert to Sky. Anyone done it in a big outfit? We are 8.6 tag and just wondering if this might get challenging (OK, I’m sure it might be but as long as it’s doable).

And is it advisable to book the ferrys?

Advice from guys that have done it in, especially larger motorhomes welcome.

thanks
 
We did the same route 10 years ago for Lorraines 40th at beginning of April and loved it, we thought of doing it again this year for her 50th but have decided on the NC500.

You'll love the trip and I think you'll be fine with your van although I' sure someone will be along to confirm.
 
You will have no problems at all with the length, most roads are now 2 lane, but where not it actually makes it even easier

We are not quite as long but over 8m, we have to use our air suspension to lift the rear to avoid grounding on some ferries depending pon tides, but most of the crews are really helpful they will not rush you and usually have various things to lay down to drive over to lift the rear. They have stopped me in the past to stop grounding I hadn't noticed

No need to book ferries, although you might as well book the outgoing boat as that will be the most easy to plan time wise

We will be on the west coast of Scotland ourselves pre Easter but staying on the mainland this time, we love most of Scotland but really love Harris, hope you get good weather :)(y)
 
Phone CalMac and take their advice. You will need to book the ferry from Oban without a doubt.
A hopscotch ticket is the best way to do it.
We did it in a 8.1 mtr tag. The roads on Barra are narrow but the natives are used to it and are very patient/friendly.
Kevin.
 
We did something similar couple of years ago but after doing a bit of research found the hopscotch ticket was more expensive and restrictive for the route we wanted to take.

We only booked the Oban/Castlebay leg - which was actually nearly cancelled due to weather and was a very rough crossing although Bren, who hates ferries, wasn't too bothered and managed to sleep through a lot of it.
 
Morag and Dougal said:
Oban to Castlebay booked ..16th April (y)
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Fantastic. You are going to love it. If you get the chance go in to the little cafe in the old post office on pier road in Castlebay. After an intense search throughout Scotland I can confirm that in my opinion you will find the best cream scone EVER! Homemade jam and buttermilk. Yum yum. I consider myself an expert now as can be confirmed by the size of my arse!
 
TerryL said:
We did something similar couple of years ago but after doing a bit of research found the hopscotch ticket was more expensive and restrictive for the route we wanted to take.
Click to expand...

Yes I didn't think there was much in it.
 
obanvanman said:
Fantastic. You are going to love it. If you get the chance go in to the little cafe in the old post office on pier road in Castlebay. After an intense search throughout Scotland I can confirm that in my opinion you will find the best cream scone EVER! Homemade jam and buttermilk. Yum yum. I consider myself an expert now as can be confirmed by the size of my arse!
Click to expand...
Will bear that in mind :)
 
We’re doing the opposite but maybe a couple of weeks earlier. We’ll wave as you get off the boat at Castlebay, as we are waiting to get on ;-)

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We did both campsites and wild. The coffee in the Post Office café is the best in the Isles closely followed by the café in Tarbert. Balranald campsite is highly recommended, the Minch campsite was poor.
 
WillH said:
We did both campsites and wild. The coffee in the Post Office café is the best in the Isles closely followed by the café in Tarbert. Balranald campsite is highly recommended, the Minch campsite was poor.
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Another for Balranald , stayed two nights , lovely beach and walks round the coast. Prob going back to Hebrides this year , although will go on and off from Skye , five and a bit hours from Oban to Barra was too long for the dog , and for me .
John
 
Why Oban as departure point?, popular by far is the Skye to North Uist, then having done Uist, short hop ferry to Lewis & return. If you do Ouist then you can do the day trip as foot passengers to Barra.
If you want some in depth experience, and you have time of course, as there are so many Vlogs done by him on The Hebrides, you may well get addicted, then check out this guy, who considers The Hebrides to be his second home.
PS: Dougal is the Star of show :)


Good luck, we will get over there, but out of season is best for us.
Les
 
We went Oban to Barra and traversed the Isles South to North. Spent 5 days on Barra and Vatersay then headed up. So much to see, wonderful part of the world.
 
TinaL said:
Why Oban as departure point?,
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my route
route.jpg

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With that route I now agree with the Oban/Barra leg. Get a good book though.
Hope you enjoy the trip.
John
 
5 hrs yes. I'll see how we go with the route. If we love the Hebrides that much I may cut the rest short, i've not booked much.
 
A4ED3087-B61F-4C70-B13D-68ED37EE2C22.jpeg
Dallachulish Farm CL overnight prior to catching the Barra boat from Oban. Rare period of no wind this March.
 
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Duart Castle, Mull. Wet and windy through the window of the boat.
 
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Plenty of up and down happening at the front of the boat as we entered the Minch. Two hours of pitching later Barra appears on the horizon.

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Remote Caribbean island - Vatersay! I think we are the only motorhome on the island.

We did the “Vatersay Walk”. The published 2.5 hours is about right unless you race across the land. Some of it is hard going across boggy land badly churned up by cows. Three beautiful beaches, no pubs, no cafes, no noise other than birds and wind.

The Community Hall car park has a sign saying “no overnight parking”, and we saw another one nearer the causeway from Barra. 200 yards further on from the Community Hall is a level parking area. It’s marked with a “P” on the OS map, but no signs at the place. We’ve been here two nights. 100 metres from the east beach, overlooking the Hebridean Sea, and 200 metres from the west beach looking towards North America!
 
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Others have recommended hopscotch tickets, but I take a different view.

We travelled to the Outer Hebrides in April and purchased single tickets as we went along.

We found Cal Mac really helpful on the phone and happy to advise on availability a week or so before our planned travel. As such we didn't need to book anything in advance. We waited to see what the weather might do and then turned up to buy a single ticket. And did that immediately before every ferry crossing.

We did the same route as you are planning, except the opposite way round, going from North to South through the islands.

In our case, it saved us money, but the real reason was to maintain 100% flexibility of our plans. If necessary, we could have returned directly to the mainland or Skye from any available departure point. Oh and we used the free bridge to get on to Skye from the mainland, rather then the ferry.

Just to add, all the ferries had loads of availability at that time of year.
 
Sounds good hoping to do the hebrides in may and June.ive found this site :visitouterhebrides.couk it lists public toilets and portable toilet disposal whilst travelling on those islands .was thinking of using the island hopper ticket may have another look at that .hope the weather is kind for us
 
Island Hopper commits you to a series of ferries. The price is the same as one-way tickets.
 
G-RMPS said:
View attachment 291103 Remote Caribbean island - Vatersay! I think we are the only motorhome on the island.

We did the “Vatersay Walk”. The published 2.5 hours is about right unless you race across the land. Some of it is hard going across boggy land badly churned up by cows. Three beautiful beaches, no pubs, no cafes, no noise other than birds and wind.

The Community Hall car park has a sign saying “no overnight parking”, and we saw another one nearer the causeway from Barra. 200 yards further on from the Community Hall is a level parking area. It’s marked with a “P” on the OS map, but no signs at the place. We’ve been here two nights. 100 metres from the east beach, overlooking the Hebridean Sea, and 200 metres from the west beach looking towards North America!
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No good to you , but , Community hall offrs a "cafe " in the summer months. Had lovely homebaking the last time I was there , put on a bit of weight:D
John

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