Outer Hebrides in April

[G-RMPS]

Oban to Castlebay booked ..16th April

Sorry to hijack your topic. Just a week to go for you, and probably exit for us too!

 

[John and Jo]

Sorry to hijack your topic. Just a week to go for you, and probably exit for us too!

Not at all and I have enjoyed it, it's been informative and interesting.

Unfortunately we have had to change plans so this will not happen for us this year. We have a week still and will be venturing to Pennines next week.

 

[John and Jo]

& Calmac were great with the refund on that ferry.

 

[G-RMPS]

OK, good.

 

[G-RMPS]

Did the touristy stuff around Uig. We called at Scallop Shack down at the jetty. Huge scallops (£10 for four), and a bag of mussels. We could stay overnight here but the lady suggested we went go the car park above the beach. What a fabulous pitch, and beach. There are campsites to the east and west but neither were as attractive as this location.

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[G-RMPS]

And so to the car park at the very top of Bernera. Another beach, another cemetery, another pile of stones, and that bell. The last mile of the road is a bit up and down but manageable. There’s toilets here, and a sign requesting a donation. Again, no company overnight. No view of the beach from the park, but just 30 metres walk. You need to scale the nearest mound for a good phone signal (EE).

We did call at the Uig distillery. It’s easy to miss as the council won’t let them put a sign on the road. They produced their first batch of 10-year malt at the end of last year. You need to blow the dust off your wallet and dig deep. £80!

Uig Lodge will also empty your wallet. £10 for a wee sample of smoked salmon.

 

[G-RMPS]

The 14 mile road to Hushinish is a “must do” event. Narrow single-track with small passing places. White lines at the road edges help until they disappear towards the end. We encountered a coach en-route who, fortunately, knew the length and breadth of his bus. We just got past.

The SW Hebrides Community are trying to welcome visitors. There’s an “aire” with EHU maybe half-a-mile from the road-end, good for 4-5 vans.

At the end there’s a car park with a few larger spaces for motorhomes. A new building with showers and toilets, chemical waste and fresh water (£3 for 50 litres) is comparable to some places abroad. Donations requested for parking.

There’s another 3-4 mile walk around the fantastic local beaches.

 

[G-RMPS]

Luskentyre is similarly not to be missed. Incredible colours in the bay. Amazing tidal beach. Another road managed by the community. There are several parking places where motorhomes are encouraged to stay overnight, but with no facilities beyond the view. £5 requested, to be paid by Paypal. Easier said than done with no internet signal. When we enquired of the guy delivering leaflets to each site he would not accept cash but suggested payment at a later date when a signal could be obtained.

There’s another 3-4 mile walk around the beaches here too.

 

[G-RMPS]

The piece de resistance is the “Golden Road” from Rodel to Tarbert. Again narrow single-track but with very little traffic. Not really any wild camping spots but several galleries and a fun road to travel. This side of Harris is very rocky with no beaches, a complete contrast to the west coast. Few pics as I had to watch the road!

We took the ferry from Tarbert to Uig on Skye and then home. No problems with long overhang on this boat.

We arrived in Uig on a Sunday evening. There’s a bar just by the ferry. No food on Sundays. The Inn up the road is closed forfood. Uig Hotel is open, but was packed to the gunwhales. Luckily we booked, but had to hike 1.5 miles each way - no taxis.

 

[G-RMPS]

A few observations...

Mid March - no other motorhomes. Mid April - streaming onto Skye and the islands.

Virtually nothing is open on Sundays, particularly Lewis and Harris.

Very few pubs and restaurants anywhere. Don’t expect music and entertainment unless you know something is on.

Similarly few shops and fuel stations. Plan ahead. We had no problems with ample fresh food where shops can be found.

Campsites are few and far between, and virtually none are open before April. If you need regular EHU, consider timing and plan ahead.

There is only on LPG point on the whole of the Outer Hebrides, in Stornoway. Was critical for us as we only have Gaslow.

We didn't book any ferries beyond the first one, and had no problems just showing up. We bought hopscotch tickets for the whole tour in Oban. We had not noticed the tickets were only valid for a calendar month. Luckily we had three days to spare.

Our overhang on a 7.5 metre van caused problems twice when getting on/off ferries. Always ask for help.

Toilets are reasonably easy to find, but usually have signs indicating unsuitability for chemical toilets. All the ports seem to have toilets, water, and chemical waste facilities. They also have free parking space for overnight stays. We were accosted emptying grey water into a roadside drain at the port in Leverburgh by an upset local. He was not blaming us, but the Council for not providing adequate facilities. He thought we were emptying a chemical toilet. Apparently people have been emptying toilets into ditches in the area. Again, plan ahead. A second cassette would be helpful, but we coped without.

Tourist stuff - cafes, galleries, craft shops, boat trips etc. don’t generally open until April, or even May, especially boat trips. We would have liked to go to St Kilda. But also consider cost, around £200 per person for a day trip!

Weather was surprisingly good, but that’s not a forecast for the future. It will, however, be windy with attendant wind chill. Take warm, and especially windproof gear, hats and gloves. Take stout walking shoes or boots. Leave high heels at home. Expect to collect sand etc in your van so take brushes/vacuums or whatever if you care.

We were away for exactly 4 weeks and that was enough to get a good coverage of all of the islands. I recommend allowing sufficient time to get away from the main roads. If you don’t want to spend that long, limit how many islands to visit. The Uists were the least populated and flattest. There’s limited camping spots on Barra. Lewis is relatively highly populated and not so scenic as Harris.

We plan go back there!

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[Caggsie1]

What a great thread @G-RMPS! thank you for time taken to keep us up to date. We’re hoping to do this one day! So we keep telling ourselves for last 10 years. May come to fruition next year. Threads like this reawaken our enthusiasm.

 

[John and Jo]

Superbly documented, thanks

 

[Southdowners]

Really interesting and great photos. Thanks

 

[tinkerbell]

We've done both routes and are lovely, may do the NC500 again, book hopscotch route then you can change times as often as you want, if space allows, no charge except if more expensive change.

 

[Jagtazman]

Our overhang on a 7.5 metre van caused problems twice when getting on/off ferries.

Which two caused problem please?

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[Alex and Lesley]

Thanks @G-RMPS I have watched your exploits with great interest, we just got our new vehicle over a week ago and plan to do this trip more or less late May early June. We are a little longer than you with about a 2 metre rear overhang, can you tell me which ferries specifically you had problems with please.

Thanks Alex

 

[G-RMPS]

Thanks @G-RMPS I have watched your exploits with great interest, we just got our new vehicle over a week ago and plan to do this trip more or less late May early June. We are a little longer than you with about a 2 metre rear overhang, can you tell me which ferries specifically you had problems with please.

Thanks Alex

Oban to Castlebay
Berneray to Leverburgh

The Barra to Eriskay folk were really helpful.
Tarbert to Uig on Skye there’s no significant ramp.

I think the Oban ferry bent our cross member down which reduced the subsequent ground clearance.

Go really slowly, and be prepared to stop. Ask someone to watch. A moment’s potential embarrassement is soon forgotten, repairs take longer.

 

[Kelsae2]

@G-RMPS Your observations have been great. Your notes about Hushinish are very welcome as this is on our list for Harris. They very much reflect what we have been reading about and are looking forward to visiting. Your report on Luskentyre and the Harris Trust camping spots are also usefull as they are also on the list.

We are intending to travel all the way down to Barra and Vattersay , then back to Lochboisdale to go over to Uig on Skye, then on to Mallaig. We intend using over 3 weeks to cover the islands, so hopefully we will manage to visit all the areas we want to see.

 

[G-RMPS]

Enjoy. We skipped the Armadale to Mallaig ferry in favour of the bridge in spite of having a ticket. The ferry is very small and we were recommended to have a booking.

Make sure you have fuel on board for the journey south. We skinflints were looking for cheaper fuel than at Kyle and ended up having to make a 20 mile detour from Spean Bridge into Ft William, which negated any cost saving and added 30 minutes