I did a comprehensive tour of the Outer Hebrides and Mull & Skye last year. It's worth noting that CalMac (Caledonian MacBrayne) do Island Hopscotch tickets which cover multiple crossings around the islands and are very good value for money. You only need to book the first crossing and can book the rest as you go. They also have a good smart phone app (I use Android - don't know about other operating systems) that shows the timetables and any delays etc. I was quite impressed with the service.

Just to say thanks very much for this very informative posting, and thank you also for your presentations at the Hubb.
Most appreciated.

thanks - I've also been looking at the Hopscotch tickets as they seem flexible and good value. Out of curiosity how long did u allow for your trip? I'm planning to do it in a week starting south of the Outer Hebrides then head North so hopefully it will be long enough to see and enjoy...

I took a day to get from home to Oban, then got the 6pm (ish) ferry over to Mull. Spent the following day on Mull then took the last ferry from Tobermory over to Kilchoan on the Ardnamurchan peninsula. From there I went to Mallaig and got the ferry to Skye and had a full day on Skye before taking the Uig ferry to Lochmaddy on North Uist. I toured around N and S Uist and Benbecula, before taking the ferry from Berneray over to Harris and Lewis. I left Lewis from Stornoway on the ferry to Ullapool. Altogether I had 4 days on the Western Isles plus a day each on Mull and Skye. It took me another day to get home from Ullapool, so my trip was 8 days total.

I tend to ride all day and have very long days when I am touring, typically 10 to 12 hours of riding with very few stops. This is probably why no-one wants to come with me! If you want a more leisurely pace then to see it all you may want to allow a bit more time. It's also important to know the ferry times and be aware that the services on a Sunday are often less frequent or may be non-existent. Many of the ferry routes only have 2 or 3 sailings per day and so if you miss your ferry then you will have a very long wait for the next one (even overnight) and this will spoil your plans.

My 2 Island Hopscotch tickets cost me a total of £127.30 last July for the 6 ferry crossings. The longest crossing is Stornoway to Ullapool which is 3 hours, so I didn't think it was bad value for money.

Enjoy!

Thanks for all the info Mate. I'll probably need a bit more than week by the sound of it as I don't plan on riding 10-12 hrs per day! well not on my Fazer anyway..

I'll probably leave Bristol and travel to Lake district on route as always wanted to do the Hard Knott and Wrynose pass on the bike so will probable camp there over night before travelling north to catch the ferry the following morning. Still looking at various Hopscotch tickets at mo. Plan to mix wild camping with the odd campsite / hostel to freshen up / recharge and mingle with others whilst on the islands.

Cheers
Steve

Hi Tim,

Many thanks for all the work you put into this!
I want to do a trip like that in the near future, and your info is inspiring!

Cheers from Namibia,

Gee

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